Jose Soriano's Crucial Pitching Matchups This Week

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00:00Jose Soriano of the Angels is one of those pitchers where he's going to need some run support to get you a win.

00:05Doesn't get a ton of strikeouts, but does have really good matchups this week, Tom.

00:10He faces the Pirates on the 22nd, and the Twins, who have been one of the bigger disappointments in the American League,

00:17faces off with them next weekend in Minnesota.

00:21I'm going to guess at some point in the month of April, maybe it's the end, that the weather is going to warm up.

00:26I mean, this has been, for our friends around the country here, a cooler April than I can remember in a while.

00:33Yeah, a cooler April. Minnesota certainly hasn't gotten things going.

00:36I got to say for Soriano, especially with these matchups, it's got to be like all systems go, right?

00:41And like you said, he's never a big strikeout pitcher.

00:43We're never going to be looking at him to pile up the strikeouts, but six innings, six innings, one tour, runs,

00:49maybe has four strikeouts, but with a ground ball rate over 60% against these offenses,

00:55he can really limit them in terms of power.

00:58I say if he's available, you grab him, and if you have him, you're starting him both times.

01:02It is just ready to fire with Soriano this week.

01:05Yeah, yeah, I think so too.

01:07And again, sometimes this is more about the matchups and the players here,

01:10but certainly Pittsburgh not setting the world on fire.

01:13And without Royce Lewis, once again, the Twins just can't get out of their own way a little bit on offense.

01:19All right, so let's move over to the Royals here.

01:22And one great matchup, one tough matchup.

01:25So do you roll the dice here, Tom?

01:27Because you want Bubik in your lineup here, Chris Bubik of the Royals, against the Rockies, without a doubt.

01:34But then you've got to face off with Houston.

01:36And look, I mean, Houston's offense, at least to start the season, may not look like it has in the past.

01:42I mean, there's a lot of players who have come and gone out of that organization,

01:44but now all of a sudden this guy Cam Smith hits two home runs.

01:48Maybe he's about to catch fire here, and that creates some danger here for Bubik here.

01:54But is it a dice roll for you?

01:55Because it's 100% in on Colorado.

01:57Houston's got to be less than a 50% shot.

02:00It's got to be less than 50%, but I'd be willing to roll with it.

02:03I think the skill set that Bubik has, I'm interested in him because he wasn't a starter last year,

02:10but he's a starter this year.

02:11And when we see a hard contact rate at only 26% combined with a 47% ground ball rate,

02:18that means he has a 49% medium contact rate.

02:20If he can take the power away from Houston, there's a chance he has a good start.

02:25So absolutely 100% all in on the Rockies.

02:27And I'm cautiously optimistic that he has a good start against the Astros as well.

02:32Are the Rockies, you think that the, I mean, the White Sox have lost five in a row too,

02:37but are the Rockies the ultimate fade?

02:39Because even at home, they don't seem to be hitting.

02:42At what point, like, you have to prove it to me.

02:45Like, we know the runs will be there at times, but, you know,

02:49even Sam knows that Mackenzie Gore is going today on Saturday versus the Rockies.

02:53Like, we're not starting Mackenzie Gore.

02:56It's the Rockies.

02:57They are at home.

02:58The runs could be there.

02:58He'd give up four runs, so you lose out on a potential win or QS,

03:02but he's also going to have eight or nine strikeouts.

03:04Yeah.

03:05No, I mean, right now, I mean, to fire the hitting coach three weeks into the season,

03:09when you spent the entire offseason having a game,

03:12it is very unusual to see a coach fired, you know,

03:16basically before the end of April.

03:18And it's the first one in the baseball season.

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