Points Leagues: August SPaRP Ranks

We’re getting to the point in the season where innings counts start to rear their ugly heads. On the one hand, it’s nice that teams are less likely than they used to be to just shut guys down entirely once they hit a particular number of innings more than they pitched the year before. On the other hand, it can make things almost more annoying as you don’t know when someone you were counting on is going to randomly have a start skipped or only be allowed to go 3 innings. So as we enter into this week’s rankings, we do so with that hazy, annoying fog hanging over things. Hooray!

 

The Good

Peyton Tolle, BOS

• This is what I mean. Last season, Tolle pitched a total of 108 innings. He’s already at 130 this year. With the Red Sox in the thick of a playoff race, there’s almost no chance they just shut Tolle down. At the same time, he’s been their 2nd best starting pitcher and will want him available and strong for the postseason. As things stand, he’d be in line to make 7 or 8 more starts. That would be somewhere between 35-50 more innings. Maybe they do nothing to curtail those and just let things ride, but it could also make for headaches if you’re counting on him in your own playoffs.

Troy Melton, DET

• Melton’s last outing was a bit shaky, but other than that he’s been fantastic since making his debut. But he’s another one who’s already past last season’s innings total. In his case, though, I think the Tigers are more likely to just let him go, as the innings jump from last year wouldn’t be anything outlandish. They’re also the same organization that let Tarik Skubal go from 80 IP coming back from injury in 2023 to 192 IP in 2024.

Ian Seymour, TB

• Last month Seymour was coming off a couple rough outings that at least raised a few questions about how he was going to fare as a starter. Since then he’s run off 4 QS in 5 outings (with 36 K over 28.2 IP), and the other saw him give up 0 ER. That’ll play. The only possible issue I foresee is the Rays doing Rays things because they’re the Rays. But there’s nothing you can do about that. Seymour is good.

The Good(ish)

Reid Detmers, LAA

• He probably deserves to be in the tier above. But he’s given me enough headaches that I’m sticking him here.

Braxton Ashcraft, PIT

• His last start was about as good as you could possibly ask for. He’d been struggling a bit before it, though. He’s still an easy start, it’s just that some other guys have jumped ahead of him.

Foster Griffin, CLE

• His last start in Washington and first outing for Cleveland were rough. Last time out things went better, but still not at the level he’d been showing for a lot of the season. I can’t help but wonder if he’s hit a bit of a wall, as he’s already surpassed last season’s innings total by 49. Now, he is 30 years old and has shouldered workloads this high and higher in the past. So there’s no threat of him getting shut down or babied as long as he performs well. But pitching in Japan is different than pitching in MLB, so I don’t think it would be a surprise at all if we’ve already seen the best he has to offer this season.

Nick Martinez, TB

• I admit it, I don’t get it. He doesn’t throw hard, he doesn’t get any whiffs, and he doesn’t strike anyone out. And yet he’s 12-3 and his actual ERA is still more than a run and half lower than his xERA. None of it makes sense to me. His control is phenomenal, and maybe that’s all that matters. So do I trust him? No, I don’t. But apparently I should.

Brandon Pfaadt, ARI

• Speaking of guys I don’t trust, we’ve got this guy. My lack of trust in Pfaadt is more rooted in how bad he’d been prior to his recent run of stellar performances than anything in his underlying numbers, though. He’s not striking out as many guys as you’d really like, especially in leagues that count a full point per K, but he’s been racking up QS since his move back to the rotation. His particular gig is doing the Two-Start Pitchers, but Andy_p noted the other day that there’s been a change in his pitch mix that seems to have brought out the best in him.

Sean Manaea, NYM

• His last outing saw the end of a run of four straight QS, but still saw 7 K over 6.1 IP. His velocity has been up lately and he’s looked good. Ride him if you’ve got him.

 

The Not So Good

Eric Lauer, LAD

• Based on his performance he has a strong case to be in the tier above. Justin Wrobleski hitting the IL means he should maintain a spot in the rotation for a team that, you may have noticed, is pretty good. It’s just that because that team is the Dodgers, two-start weeks absolutely will not happen, which makes him a strong candidate to take a seat on your bench if someone else does. So he’s here not because he did anything wrong, but because there’s only so much he can do right.

Shane Drohan, MIL

Kyle Leahy, STL

Peter Lambert, HOU

• This might be harsh on Lambert, as he’s been…fine. His last 4 starts have seen him complete the 6th innings 0 times, and get any outs at all in the sixth just once. As a result, he’s got a record of 0-1 in those four starts. That’s actually the same record he has over his last 6 starts. In most leagues, you want wins because wins come with points. He’s not getting them for you, and it will be hard to only going 5 innings at a time.

Anthony Kay, CHW

 

The Bad

Randy Dobnak, KC

• The results have been good, I know. I don’t trust them, and neither should you.

Cal Quantrill, TEX

Joey Cantillo, CLE

Tyler Phillips, MIA

Carmen Mlodzinski, PIT

Robert Stock, NYM

Drew Anderson, DET

Ryan Johnson, LAA

Ryan Gusto, MIA

Mason Barnett, ATH