Hurston Waldrep was terrific once again for the Braves, shutting down the stout Phillies offense in Atlanta's 3-1 win on Sunday Night Baseball. Since being recalled on August 2nd, Waldrep has been one of the better pitchers in baseball. Waldrep's 1.01 ERA in that span is the best among all starters, and he's done it on the back of his moneymaker, the splitter. Waldrep's splitter has generated a 45.7% whiff rate, and its 50% whiff rate as well as its 100% ground ball rate against the Phillies was the driving force behind another strong outing.
Pederson's turnaround in August needs to be studied. For all of about four months, Joc Pederson was in a slumber. In August, Joc has broken out of his hibernation, elevating himself into one of the Rangers' key bats as they hit the home stretch, trying to earn a Wild Card berth. In the Rangers' win on Sunday over the Athletics, Pederson mashed another home run and drove in three runs. Pederson was running a 42 wRC+ across 198 plate appearances through the end of July with just two home runs. In August, he's hit six home runs and is slashing .286/.351/.586 across 76 plate appearances. We've seen Pederson have crazy late-season turnarounds (see: Joctober), and this late surge is helping save the season for the Rangers.
After a sluggish July, Devers has rounded back into form in August. Devers mashed a home run to dead center in the first that opened the scoring onslaught for the Giants in their 13-2 win over the O's. Devers is slashing .291/.397/.592 in August with 9 long balls, a 16.5% walk rate, and 20.3% barrel rate. This is the player the Giants traded for, and though it's too little, too late for their playoff hopes, this return to form bodes well for the years moving forward.
The end of the season has been a bit tumultuous for Judge, but he's now homered in back to back games for the first time since early July. Raleigh has made the MVP race extremely tight in his history-making campaign, but Judge continues to prove day in and day out that he has no peer at the plate right now. Judge's 426 foot blast in the first inning registered at 112.6 off the bat and was his 358th of his career, moving him into top five all-time in Yankees history. This tied him with Yogi Berra, and he now only trails Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth.
Aroldis Chapman has been the best reliever in baseball in 2025, full stop. Chapman picked up the save for the Red Sox on Sunday, striking out a pair in Boston's 5-2 win over the Pirates. Chapman blew a save against the Brewers back on May 28, and since then, across 35 appearances (32 IP), he has surrendered just one earned run. He has not allowed a run in 15 straight outings. All four of Chapman's pitches (4-seam, sinker, splitter, slider) generate greater than 30% whiff rates with his splitter and slider running north of 40%. Not bad for a guy who just learned how to target the inner third of the zone...allegedly.
Joe Ryan cured his recent struggles with seven shutout innings against the Padres. Ryan's fastball was cooking all day long, generating 15 whiffs (42%) and six of his eight strikeouts. Ryan, alongside Byron Buxton, has been one of the few consistent bright spots on a now rebuilding Twins team.
Verlander turned in an all-timer of a gut-it-out performance, finding himself with traffic due to walks in nearly all of his five innings, but when he needed whiffs the most, he was able to get them, striking out 10 Orioles across a ludicrous 121 pitches. Verlander turned back the clock in San Francisco's blowout win over Baltimore, striking out the side in the 4th as he generated 23 whiffs, the most of any pitcher on Sunday.
It's been a bit of an up and down season on the whole for Jose Soriano, but when he's been on, he's been dominant, and Sunday was an example of exactly that. Soriano shut down and shut out the Astros across 7 innings, fanning 8. Soriano's knuckle curve generated a 64% whiff rate, and Soriano allowed just two batted balls that weren't groundballs throughout his outing. Soriano is one of the elite groundball pitchers in the league, and coming into the outing with a 100th percentile groundball rate (66.5%), that percentage will only go up.
Yamamoto shut down a Diamondbacks offense that had given the Dodgers fits the previous two days, and he did it with his splitter that looked about as good as any splitter in baseball on Sunday. Yamamoto threw his splitter 27% of the time, inducing 11 whiffs on 15 swings, good for a 73% whiff rate. It's the second time this season that Yamamoto has registered double-digit whiffs and the third time he's generated a 70+% whiff rate with the pitch. Yamamoto's sophomore season in Dodger blue has been a resounding success. He is just one of nine starting pitchers with an opponent average against under .200, and is one of 13 starters with a K-BB% over 20%. He continues to look the part of their Ace.
I mean I am at least intrigued. I won't roster him yet but definitely intrigued. Needs to be noted that the Jumbo Shrimp were running all over the place last night. 4 players combined for 8 steals off Francisco Mejia.
I was bullish this time last year, I believe I even came on here and called him a big buy low. I don't think I can justify his presence in my farm system with 50 spots. I might come to eat these words later but he's not limiting hard contact, nor going deep enough into games anymore. Maybe the Twins get him right this offseason.
Pablo should dominate like this at this level. Was pulled after 82 pitches so presumably he had a pitch limit in that range. How he finishes and if he gets a good run in Minneapolis to end the season will help dictate his trade value this offseason.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Watch Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live & Stadium! | Check out the On Deck Podcast! | Dynasty Team Writer/Podcaster | I love the Tennessee Volunteers, milk, pitchers, catchers, & you <3 P4:13
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
