I'm going on HQ to discuss this pick in a bit. The more I look at it, the more I like it. Kyle Freeland has had success against this current Phillies lineup, holding them to a .189 average and recording 38 strikeouts in 122 career at-bats. The last three times Freeland faced the Phillies, he struck out 8, 6 and 7. Freeland looked strong in his first start of the season vs. Tampa Bay, pitching six scoreless innings and striking out seven. I make this closer to -135 at 4.5.

FanDuel. After a dominant seven strikeout performance on Opening Day, and coming off a spring where he struck out 24 batters in 19 innings, I’m liking Kyle Freeland to punch out at least five Phillies today. Despite being a contact-oriented pitcher for most of his career, Freeland has had early success with a new sweeper he unleashed this spring. Already with solid career numbers against the heart of this Phillies lineup, I like Freeland on this line.

Peep my HR write up on Nick The Stick. He has seen this pitcher quite well and loves to swing for the fences in this bandbox. Kyle Freeland struggles to get ground balls. I do believe Freeland could pitch his way into being a deadline piece for the Rockies but this is a bad match-up for him and I expect Castellanos to be up multiple times with men on base. He has 3 HR and 4 RBI in 14 ABs vs Freeland.

Kyle Freeland might have found something late last season and he presented himself well in his first start, but Nick Castellanos has 3 HR off him in 14 ABs. He's already swinging a pretty hot bat and Freeland's propensity to give up hard contract in the jet stream could be a problem. Freeland was only in the 38th percentile in GB rate, was 7th percentile missing barrels and 14th percentile in average exit velo in 2024. He's a pitch-to-contact guy without chase stuff. He's given up 5 HR in 18 2/3 IP at Philly with a .500 SLG. And I have major questions about the Rockies' pen.