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Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Report for July 26th

Welcome to the fantasy baseball pitching report for July 26th, where we dive into the fascinating world of baseball’s most captivating element: pitching. We document intriguing patterns and metrics presented throughout the previous day each day, such as spin rate, velocity, and pitch mix. But we don’t stop there. Our reports go beyond the numbers, offering fantasy pitching analysis when certain pitchers deserve more or less attention. Whether you’re seeking a competitive edge, the next breakout star, or daily pitching refreshers, these reports have you covered.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Report for July 26th

Sandy Alcantara (9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 97 Pitches)

Pitching Report

Vintage Sandy Alcantara was on full display during his Wednesday start against the Tampa Bay Rays. I’m pleased to say that my July 19th pitching report that covered Sandy’s last start has aged quite well:

“This could be an excellent time to buy low on Sandy Alcantara. Plenty of fantasy managers will ignore some of the previously mentioned deeper metrics from his Wednesday start against the Cardinals and focus on the fact that he did not earn a quality start, and gave up eight hits and two walks. Taking that into account, Sandy’s market value will still be very low in the majority of fantasy formats. I’m still holding onto the idea that it’s more of a question of when the Marlins ace will turn his season around as opposed to if and today’s swing-and-miss stuff does give me subtle optimism. If Alcantara is able to limit his current tendency to fall apart during a specific inning in each outing his value will certainly shoot through the roof. Ultimately, there is still nearly half a season remaining in the 2023 campaign and the positives from this start, mixed with his already low fantasy value, makes Sandy Alcantara an interesting buy-low candidate.”

While the sample size may be small, there were many positive takeaways from Wednesday’s complete game. First, the start marks Sandy’s second complete game of the 2023 campaign and the first since his second start of the year on April 4 against the Minnesota Twins. Second, Alcantara earned a superb 19 whiffs in the outing. The slider and the 4-seamer both generated seven while the changeup worked four and the sinker picked up one. The slider was phenomenal in this outing as in addition to the seven whiffs on 17 swings, achieved a 41% CSW. The Dominican international also masterfully limited the Rays batters to a measly 79.4 mph average exit velocity.

Fantasy Analysis

I think that you have to ride out the Sandy Alcantara wave for the rest of the season. In two straight starts, he has shown us that he still has it and can still be an ace in 2023. Realistically, I would not be looking to sell my shares in Sandy at this moment and likely would not be looking to buy into his stock after a start as dominant as this one. Overall, while he needs to sort out the changeup, the majority of the underlying numbers look good for Sandy moving forward. Here’s hoping for a Sandy Alcantara resurgence in the second half of the 2023 campaign.

Freddy Peralta (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 K, 89 Pitches)

Pitching Report

Freddy Peralta completely dominated the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. He earned a colossal 24 swinging strikes while tying a career-high by striking out 13 batters. Perhaps even more absurd was that he accomplished these monster bat-missing numbers on only 89 pitches. At the pitch-by-pitch level, his 4-seamer was electric in this start as it amassed 12 swinging strikes on 20 swings. While it was only thrown in the strike zone 45% of the time, it didn’t seem to matter as Reds batters were swinging at it 43% of the time it was thrown outside of the zone. As far as his secondary pitches go, his slider baffled Reds batters picking up seven whiffs and an elite 48% CSW. Despite only throwing the pitch seven times in this start Peralta’s curveball worked two whiffs and 3 called strikes for a 71% CSW.

It’s worth pointing out that Peralta is likely going to have to hit the strike zone more than the 43% in this start if he’s trying to rack up double-digit strikeouts in his starts. Another area where the Brewers righty could’ve improved in this start was the 103.5 average exit velocity on the four-seamer. While there was no damage in this start, an over 100 mph average exit velocity, paired with a 45% zone%, is not going to dominate every major league offence.

Fantasy Analysis

I’m not sold on Freddy Peralta being this good again in 2023. Although, that’s a high bar to achieve and he doesn’t have to strike out 13 batters to be an effective pitcher in fantasy. While I think we witnessed his peak. it appears that Peralta is on the upswing. Excluding his recent start against the Atlanta Braves, he has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of his nine previous starts. We likely aren’t going to see Peralta return to his 2021 numbers this year but I wouldn’t count him out of a small resurgence in the second half of the season. I’d consider Peralta to be in the top-40 rest-of-season starting pitching options in fantasy baseball.

Photo Credit: © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Players mentioned:

Sandy Alcantara, Freddy Peralta

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