Welcome back, FA Nation! Get ready for this week’s edition of Category Impact! If you’re new to the site or just forget how this article works since last week, let me offer a quick refresher.

Category Impact will offer up anywhere from four to six players that can help you out in a certain category, whether it is stolen bases, home runs, or strikeouts. Some weeks, there will be an added focus on a specific categories, while others will be just players that you will want to pick up, but there will be in-depth analysis detailing exactly what category, or categories, a certain player will be of added benefit.

This week’s featured category is…. QUALITY STARTS!

Daniel Mengden , OAK – Mengden might just be the stingiest pitcher on the mound right now, aside from Milwaukee’s Josh Hader . Mengden has logged a quality start in five straight starts, allowing just four earned runs over the course of his last 30 innings. The strikeouts haven’t been anything to write home about, but he’s not walking batters and he’ sporting a WHIP below 1.00, which is always a good thing. Three of his five most recent starts have come at home, which is certainly a pitcher’s park to say the least.

He’s experiencing more success with his slider this season compared to last year. The velocity on it is a bit down from 2017, but batters are hitting roughly 35 percentage points lower against that pitch. In a world where spin rate is front and center, it’s worth noting that the spin rate on all of his pitches his up. Take a look for yourself (via Baseball Savant)

PITCH

2017 SPIN RATE

2018 SPIN RATE

Fastball

2077

2088

Slider

2089

2222

Changeup

1774

1854

Curve

2350

2492


Increased spin rates make it tougher for the batter to pick up the pitch, and perhaps that is why we are seeing prolonged success with Mengden here in 2018.

Alex Cobb , BAL – It will continue to be a roller coaster with Cobb, as his inaugural season with the Baltimore Orioles has been miserable to say the least. Cobb has won double-digit games in four of the last five seasons, but this season, he’ll almost assuredly get to double-digit losses before wins. Through his first nine starts of the season, Cobb is a whopping 1-7 with a 6.80 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. His BABIP (.371) and FIP (5.40) signify some sort of progression to the mean occurring, his spiked home run rate cannot be ignored. When he initially inked his deal with the Orioles, there were concerns about the home ball park, but even the biggest of critics may not have seen his current mark of 1.75 HR/9 through the end of May.

For his career, he’s been typically good in the month of May with bad results in the month of June. His 4.38 ERA in the month of June is the highest in any month of his career, but perhaps this year, the results are switched. He’s going to need to keep the ball in the park, but given his home stadium and strong division, he could be well on his way to a career high mark in the HR/9 department. However, despite going 1-4 over his last five starts, he’s logged three quality starts, and was just one out away from a fourth. Proceed with caution, but he’s available practically everywhere.

Reynaldo López , CWS – If there was ever a time to buy on Lopez when the price is low, it’s right now. If he was owned in your league, he may have been dropped after his clunker against the Indians. He last just 2.2 innings, marking the second time in his last four starts that he’s failed to complete three innings on the bump. He’s logged a quality start in seven of his first 11 starts on the season and even though the strikeouts haven’t been there as much to date, he’s displayed in the minors that he can strikeout around one batter per inning. Also, keep in mind the kid is only 24 years of age with 153 big league innings under his belt.

He has no major split weakness in terms of the handedness of the hitters, and even though lefties are hitting roughly 40 points higher than righties against Lopez, they are still hitting a weak .221 against him. However, the problem lies in where he lines up for his starts. At home, he has a 1.85 ERA and an opposition batting average of .143. On the road, his ERA and opposition’s batting average balloon to 4.28 and .269 respectively. He can be a valuable arm moving forward, especially if he builds upon these splits. Lopez will continue to develop and is a must-add at this moment.

Ross Stripling , LAD – Don’t look now, but this dude is absolutely dealing right now! He’s allowed just four earned runs over his last six appearances (spanning 30 innings), and has punched out seven or more batters in four straight starts, including nine or more in each of his last three! Sure, one start came against the lowly Padres, but the Phillies and Nationals are no joke offensively.

There’s no surprise to his hot start to the season. The average exit velocity is down from previous years, opponents are barreling the ball less, and his hard hit percentage is down nearly four percent from last year, and almost 10 percentage points from 2016. The opposition’s batting average against his four primary pitches are all down from last season and pitching for the Dodgers gives him plenty of opportunities to rack up some wins. It remains to be seen what his role will be when the rotation gets fully healthy, but at this juncture, he’s given them zero reasons to remove his name from the rotation.

BONUS: Álex Reyes . The early removal from his season debut may scare some people off, and if it does, STRIKE LIKE A SHARK IN THE NIGHT. He’s a generational talent to say the least and needs to be owned in ALL formats. Despite landing on the disabled list, he’s worthy of being stashed on your roster if you have the luxury of depth.