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Patience often pays off with young pitchers, but former first-round pick Matt Manning has really tested the patience of Tigers fans.
The right-hander has seen exemplary results as a professional ahead of the 2021 season, though his debut MLB campaign was one to forget. Manning posted a 5.80 ERA in 18 starts and was even worse at Triple-A Toledo with an ERA above 8.00 in seven starts.
It’s not uncommon for talented players to struggle to get a taste of the majors, but Manning suffered another setback after reaching the injured list in April with arm issues. He missed nearly four months with shoulder and bicep injuries, one of several health issues facing Tigers personnel this season.
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Back in early August, Manning has been a different pitcher than we’ve seen in 2021 and early 2022. He has a 2.40 ERA as an ace in five starts with 27/9 K/BB over 30 innings. Exploring Manning’s last three starts makes the performance even better, with 19/2 K/BB in 18 innings against the White Sox, Angels and Giants.
If you’re looking for evidence of recent Manning changes, you can find it in his average speed. His average fastball has averaged over 94 mph, and he’s also relied on his slider more heavily than last season, throwing it 24% of the time compared to just 15% last year.
For a pitcher with a career 10.9 K/9 in the minors, Manning’s 6.0 K/9 with Detroit last season was extremely disconcerting. We’re finally starting to see what Manning is capable of now, as the Tigers look for positive momentum heading into 2023. Manning is approaching a two-start week in what could also be a valuable stretch for the Tigers. fantastic managers.
-Boston is also seeing its patience pay off with rookie Brayan Bello. The prized right-hander struggled during his streak with the Red Sox in July, but he looked fantastic earlier this week against the Blue Jays, allowing two runs in five innings with seven strikeouts. Bello has become a much more interesting prospect since last season, with a cumulative K/9 over 12.0 in the minors as well as a truly elite rushing rate over 60% this season due to his lead. elite of the upper 90s. He might be able to deliver the innings the team has been dreaming of as we enter September.
-Another groundball specialist, Adrian Houser, was bombed upon returning from IL this week. He deserves a small bye considering the difficulty level was extreme against the Dodgers, although it’s concerning that his fastball speed was significantly below his season average. Fantasy managers who need wins have a high-risk, high-reward decision to make for an available pitcher in most leagues and enter a two-start week against the lowly Pirates and Diamondbacks. It’s always a critical calculation in roto-score leagues at this point in the year as we chase down tier points and weigh it up for win possibilities with the downsides of Houser possibly tanking ERA tier and WHIP. With the bike struggles of his latest start, Houser is truly a proposition for the desperate.
-If there was any doubt, Zac Gallen has completely put his disappointing 2021 season behind him with four consecutive scoreless starts. Incredibly, the right-hander lowered his ERA from those outings against the Pirates, Rockies, Giants and Royals from 3.31 to 2.66. He’s still a long way off Orel Herisher’s 59-run scoreless streak and easily gets his biggest challenge early next week against a Phillies team that will likely have Bryce Harper back in the roster. Either way, the race was fun while it lasted.
Go twice…
To note: Probable pitchers as of Friday August 26 and subject to change.
American League
strong games
George Kirby : @DET, @CLE
Frankie Montas : @LAA, @TB
decent games
Cole Irvin : @WAS, @BAL
Matt Manning : MER, KC
Jose Berrios: CHC, @PIT
Lucas Giolito: KC, MIN
Cal Quantrill : BAL, MER
Spenser Watkins : @CLE, OAK
Dane Dunning : HOU, @BOS
Brayan Bello : @MIN, TEX
At your peril
Dylan Bundy : BOS, @CHW
Jonathan Heasley : @CHW, @DET
Kutter Crawford : @MIN, TEX
National League
strong games
Tony Gonsolin : @MIA, SD
Corbin Burnes: PIT, @ARI
Max Fried : COL, MIA
Zac Gallen : PHI, MIL
Carlos Rodon: SD, PHI
decent games
Ranger Suarez : @ARI, @SF
Mike Clevinger : @SF, @LAD
Pablo Lopez : LAD, @ATL
Taijuan Walker: LAD, WAS
Adrian Houser : PIT, @ARI
At your peril
Madison Bumgarner : PHI, MIL
Jose Urena: @ATL, @CIN
Javier Assad : @TOR, @STL
City of streamers
The following pitchers are generally available in over 50% of fantasy leagues and have favorable matches this week:
American League
Saturday, September 3: Austin Voth vs. OAK
Voth continues to keep the O’s in games with at least five innings over his last five outings, earning a 2.33 ERA. The Oakland squad continues to struggle, with a .617 OPS against right-handers, the second-worst in MLB.
Saturday September 3: Clarke Schmidt @ TB
Schmidt’s long-awaited arrival in the rotation is about to come true with Nestor Cortes sidelined. He had a great year out of the bullpen for New York and could be a good start against a Rays roster that has the sixth-worst OPS in MLB against right-handers.
Saturday, September 3: Daniel Lynch @ DET
Lynch has disappointed this year in part because of shaky control, but he can be a good starter in the right game. The Tigers are slightly better against lefties than righties, but still have an OPS under .700 against lefties, 11th worst in MLB.
National League
Tuesday August 30: Dakota Hudson @ CIN
Hudson’s inability to miss bats is a problem, but he had a strong outing at Wrigley Field on Thursday and fits in well in the batting parks with a 53% rushing ball rate. Cincinnati’s hitting stats continue to deteriorate without Tyler Stephenson and Joey Votto.
Tuesday, August 30: Erick Fedde vs. OAK
Back from injury this week, Fedde had five good runs in Seattle. Despite poor control, it again looks like a viable option over the aforementioned A-line.
Wednesday August 31: Bailey Falter @ ARI
Falter gets the nod while Zack Wheeler is sidelined and has been mostly solid in the starting role with a 4.30 ERA and 37/11 K/BB in 37.2 innings. The southpaw also has a great game against a Diamondbacks formation with a .685 OPS against southpaws.
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Total number of games
American League
5: HOLD, TB
6 : BAL, CLE, CHW, DET, KC, LAA, MIN, NYY, OAK, MER, TEX, TOR
7 : BOS
National League
6: ATL, CHC, CIN, COL, MIA, NYM, PHI, PIT, SD, SF, STL, WAS
7 : ARI, LAD, MIL
the infirmary
Here are some injuries sustained by prominent players from the past week and other players to watch in the coming week. You can get a full list of injured players at NBCSports Edge’s .
Aaron Ashby: Placed on IL (shoulder)
Graham Ashcraft: Placed on IL (biceps)
Javier Baez: Day to day (return)
Brandon belt: placed on IL (knee)
Mike Brosseau: Placed on IL (oblique)
Byron Buxton: Placed on IL (hip)
Willson Contreras: Day to day (ankle)
Nestor Cortes: Placed on IL (groin)
Seranthony Domínguez: Placed on IL (triceps)
Scott Effross: Placed on IL (shoulder)
Nathan Eovaldi: Placed in IL (shoulder)
Ty France: Day to day (calf)
Braxton Garrett: placed on IL (oblique)
Yasmani Grandal: Placed on IL (knee)
Zack Greinke: Placed on IL (forearm)
Yadiel Hernandez: placed at IL (mollet)
Eric Hosmer: placed in IL (back)
Jakob Junis: From day to day (main)
Michael Kopech: Placed on IL (knee)
Gavin Lux: Day to Day (Neck)
Chas McCormick: Day to Day (finger)
Yoan Moncada: Day to day (hamstrings)
Mike Moustakas: Day to day (calf)
Vinnie Pasquantino: placed in IL (shoulder)
Ryan Pressly: Placed on IL (neck)
Matt Reynolds: Placed on IL (hip)
Jonathan Schoop: placed in IL (ankle)
Juan Soto: From day to day (return)
Josh Staumont: Placed in IL (biceps)
Keegan Thompson: Placed on IL (back)
Kyle Tucker: Day to Day (Foot)
Jared Walsh: out for the season (shoulder)
Zack Wheeler: Placed on IL (forearm)
TJ Zeuch: Placed on IL (back)
