I can imagine those owning Kevin Gausman want to drop him so badly right now after putting up a 2.2 IP, 8 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks line following a rocky start of the year. Sure, he seemingly bounced back against Toronto last week, but Gaus now has 12 walks in 18.2 innings and just 13 Ks to his name. That's just not acceptable, especially from a pitcher who I expect to showcase a solid floor with a low walk rate from start-to-start. He increased his Splitter usage in the second half last year and for whatever reason abandoned the pitch today, throwing it just seven times among the 79 pitches total. Why he's not using his best p itch is beyond me, and to see him struggle this much with his Fastball command is very concerning. This is all without mentioning that he faced the Reds, who I wouldn't consider the cream of the crop offensively (even if they are starting the season somewhat hot). Now, he gets the Red Sox next, which is an auto-bench, duh, but I don't think I'm dropping him unless there is a clear option on the waiver wire. I think he can bounce back in a few starts, work in more Splitters and get that Fastball command back to where it was. It's still there, he's just going through a rough patch.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
