`SP Roundup (1 Mar): What I saw

Andrew Painter (Phillies)

2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K, 20 pitches, 3 whiffs

This was a very solid outing by Painter. He threw mostly fastballs (65%). He needed only 20 pitches to get 6 outs. The command was good (something he struggled with last season). His velocity was good, averaging 96.8 mph. There was some talk online that the vertical movement of his fastball needs to be better to be more successful. The IVB averaged 16, so it’s not far off where it needs to be. If I were the Phillies, I would be extremely happy with this outing.

Will Warren (Yankees)

3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR, 50 pitches, 8 whiffs

Warren continued his good spring with another strong outing. He pounded the strike zone with his four-seamer and sweeper in an efficient outing. His velocity is up from last season, which is a promising sign. I really liked his sweeper yesterday. It had a CSW of 46% and a whiff rate of 50%. Warren could prove to be a valuable piece to the Yankees rotation, given the injuries to Cole and Rodon at the top of the Yankees rotation.

Shota Imanaga (Cubs)

2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, K, 3 HR, 47 pitches, 5 whiffs

There were some positives and some negatives. Let’s start with the obvious negatives. Shota gave up three solo home runs. He had a problem with home runs in 2025, too. This is something that the Cubs faithful will want to see improve. On the positive side, his velocity is up significantly from last season. He pounded the strike zone in this outing and has a 0% walk rate so far this Spring. In his next outing look to see if he can limit the hard contact.

Anthony Kay (White Sox)

2.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR, 54 pitches, 8 whiffs

Kay returns after spending two seasons in Japan, where he was dominant with a 1.74 ERA. The White Sox signed him for 2 years/ $12m and he’s projected to feature in their rotation.

Kay threw 5 different pitches, including a new sinker, which he learned in Japan. He has some decent stuff. His sinker and changeup generated some whiffs. His fastball velocity is up almost 2 mph, but it’s still pretty pedestrian at 90.3 mph. He only gave up two hard hits and battled valiantly in this outing. There’s a lot to like, and he could be servicable as a back-end rotation guy for the White Sox this season. In his next outing, I would want to see better control.