It's been yet another successful season for Marco Estrada who is now pushing a double digit K/9 following Sunday evening's 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 12 Ks start against the Orioles. We're talking a 10.05 mark with a super low 2.30 BB/9 and 3.30 ERA to boot. Those are super studly numbers and I'm sure you didn't expect Marco freakin' Estrada to be boasting them. So what changed? Estrada barely touches his Cutter now, a pitch he threw over 600 times last season, in favor of more Four-Seamers, which had their whiff rates spike from a paltry 6.0% in 2016 to 9.7% this season. He's turning to the pitch with two strikes, allowing him to take advantage of its 33.5% O-Swing rate, where he previous relied on his Curveball against right-handers, which wasn't all too effective before. Will this whiff rate last through the year? Maybe, maybe not. I'm leaning no and I think Estrada is still a 8.50 K/9 or so arm - which is solid - but not this legit fantasy stud type. However, if he can keep that walk rate down below 2.50 BB/9 for the year, there's no reason he won't be Top 30 or even higher.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
