Surely, we had seen all we needed to see from Alek Manoah by now. At least, those were my feelings heading into the weekend.
Yeah, there was the stellar rookie showing in 2021 and the third-place Cy Young finish in 2022, but those had been relegated to a distant memory by his disastrous 2023, which included a 5.87 ERA, a 1.74 WHIP and multiple trips back to the minor leagues.
And while it was reasonable to wonder if an offseason marked by weight loss and new discoveries was enough to set Manoah back on the right path, his season debut May 5 instead offered more of the same. He allowed six earned run on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts over four innings.
So surely, we had seen enough, I thought ... until it was clear that we hadn't.
Possible waiver wire pickups
What's most impressive about Manoah's redemptive outing Sunday is that it came against a Twins lineup that was among the hottest in baseball, having averaged 6.5 runs in its previous 19 games. What's most revealing about it is that he issued one walk and threw 71 percent of his pitches for strikes. That's compared to four and 57 percent in his previous outing. It's compared to 6.1 per nine innings and 61 percent last year. In fact, it's fair to say that loss of control is how Manoah's troubles first manifested. The stuff remained intact, more or less, and at least for one start, he was executing with it. He was so efficient, in fact, that he needed just 78 pitches to make it through seven innings. Granted, one start isn't enough to declare Manoah fixed. Maybe it's just a blip and you'll be dropping him again next week. But if you wait until it's obvious he's fixed, you'll have surely missed your chance.
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You wouldn't think Jon Gray would have anything new to offer at age 32, but his latest gem Friday at Colorado continues a stretch of him looking the best he ever has. Over his past seven appearances (six of them starts), he has put together a 1.64 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 10.3 K/9. It's his slider in particular that's playing up, accounting for 27 of his 36 swinging strikes in his past two starts, and he's throwing it 46.2 percent of the time this year compared to 33.5 percent last year. Is this another case of a pitcher ascending to new heights simply by throwing his best pitch more? It can't be ruled out, and given the offense Gray has backing him up, a bunch more wins could be in his future if he keeps it up.
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I'm at a loss for why Christian Scott is as available as he is given how well his first two starts have gone. The 24-year-old has been exactly as advertised so far, averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings with a 16.8 percent swinging-strike rate that would rank second among qualifiers, behind only Jared Jones. The control has been excellent, and even the home run issues that afflicted him at Triple-A haven't really come home to roost yet. He did surrender one in Saturday's start against the Braves, but given the quality of that lineup, giving up only one is almost a victory. Leaving a pitcher of this caliber on the waiver wire, as Scott is in nearly 30 percent of CBS Sports leagues, is basically malpractice.
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Max Kepler hit .306 with 12 homers and a .926 OPS in the second half last year and seems to have picked up where he left off this year. It wasn't obvious right out of the gate because a bruised knee landed him on the IL for a couple weeks, but since returning, he has hit safely in 18 of 19 games, batting .413 (26 for 63) with three homers, nine doubles and a 1.163 OPS. He's striking out at only a 16.8 percent rate, which isn't altogether uncommon for him, and has already hit a ball as hard as 115 mph, giving him his highest max exit velocity since 2016. The biggest knock on him is that he sometimes sits against left-handed pitchers, but it seems like a minor quibble given how his past four months have gone.
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The good signs we were seeing from Taj Bradley on his rehab assignment carried over to his 2024 debut. Now fully recovered from the pectoral injury that sidelined him for the start of the year, he came through with six one-run innings against the Yankees. He may have been fueled by extra adrenaline, though, given that his velocities were up across the board, but the extra 2.4 mph on his cutter looks like it might be intentional. He was throwing it harder on his minor-league rehab assignment as well, during which he put together a 0.82 ERA, 0.46 WHIP and 12.3 K/9. Given his high prospect standing prior to last season, it wouldn't be surprising to see Bradley take a step forward in Year 2. Everything we've seen from him so far points in that direction.
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With another save Saturday, it should be obvious by now that Trevor Megill is the Brewers closer. He's secured each of their past four saves (omitting a three-inning save for Kevin Herget in a blowout win) and has looked good doing it, his fastball peaking at 100 mph. Meanwhile, Abner Uribe has been relegated to the minors, and Joel Payamps seem best suited for middle relief. Perhaps those past fakeouts have made Fantasy players hesitant to buy into a Brewers closer again, but Megill seems poised to handle the role at least until Devin Williams is ready to return in the second half. I'd be looking to add him ahead of Yennier Cano, for instance, who seems like only a placeholder for the Orioles until Craig Kimbrel regains his confidence.
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Robert Gasser's debut this weekend didn't receive quite the same fanfare Paul Skenes', but he was the better performer of the two, prompting the Brewers to keep him in the rotation for now over Tobias Myers. The left-hander isn't a particularly hard thrower, but he had no trouble missing bats in the minors, registering 11.1 K/9 over parts of four seasons. The strikeout total in Friday's start was nothing to write home about, but his 12.7 percent swinging-strike rate offers hope for more. His sweeper-heavy approach (45.6 percent usage) probably helped in that regard, though he also has a cutter that he didn't even break out in this one. It's probably not an ace profile, but the Brewers have had success developing starting pitchers in the past, making Gasser worth a shot in deeper leagues.
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Davis Schneider slashed .275/.416/.553 at Triple-A Buffalo last year and then slashed .276/.404/.603 upon reaching the majors. He homered 29 times between the two stops, maximizing his power output with a pull-heavy fly-ball approach, so it seemed strange to me that the Blue Jays weren't so motivated to have him in their starting lineup at the start of the year. But they seem to be now, having started him in 12 of their past 13 games. During that time, he's hit .368 (14 for 38), and it's brought his season numbers in line with what we saw last year. Schneider's power is an obvious selling point, but his on-base skills make him a worthy target even in points leagues, which tend to be shallower.
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