Few things in this world are more satisfying than a 12:35 baseball game. It may not be the most talent filled game by any means, but hey after watching the NBA playoffs, any sport is a breath of fresh air. We get a pretty intriguing pitching matchup though with the young flamethrower, Hunter Greene, and perhaps a pitcher that is a little under the radar in Justin Steele. This is Justin’s second season in the majors and he has fully transitioned into a starter. He has now thrown 89+ pitches in back to back games, resulting in 10 and 9 K performances. I think he is in a good spot to continue his success this afternoon.
Justin will be making his 4th road start of the season. He is off the nice start in the strikeout department with 18 K in 13.1 innings. He will also be making his 5th start during day games in which he has racked up 26 K in 19 innings. The lefty technically has a 5 pitch arsenal but has only thrown his change up 8 times so far this season. He mostly features a 4 seamer, curveball, slider, and sinker. His slider and curve should be our friend today as both have generated 33.3% or better whiff %.
The Reds have been a frequent target for me as they are 6th in the league in strikeouts per game, and 3rd most at home. They have struck out 10.33 a game over the last 3. For the season, they have a 26.4% K rate vs lefties so I think Justin Steele is set up nicely to continue his great stretch.
