After spending way too long on the DL, Drew Smyly returned from a shoulder injury to give owners a line of 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. This is why you don’t start non-aces for their first start when returning from an extended DL stint. Guys need some time to get back into the groove and be effective, and I wouldn’t judge Smyly too harshly after this performance. If you don’t recall, he had a solid three starts to begin the year and could easily have a sneaky September to propel you to a trophy. I’d be holding him in 12 teamers and hoping for a solid rebound in O.Co.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Chris Sale – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 2 BBs, 15 Ks. Aces gonna ace. For realsies, only six batters made an out that wasn’t a strikeout. SIX.
Madison Bumgarner – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 14 Ks. Jeez, that’s prime time Bummy. The Giants are falling out of the playoff race with the NL Central hogging the wild card like it’s the photobooth at a Bar Mitzfah and he’s putting the team on his BACK. It also helps that he went 2-for-3 with a double and a HR, which means SportsCenter will be fawning over him like he’s the leader of the boy band “Altuve and the Giants”. Have fun with that.
Chris Rusin – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. Rusin has limited upside, pitches his home games at Coors Field, and doesn’t deserve a spot on your team. This should be the blurb for every Colorado starter. Yes I know this was a complete game shutout. Yes I know it was inside Coors. I refuse to do not the blurb. THIS CHANGES NOTHING.
Shelby Miller – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 10 Ks. Through the first seven innings he had a Nono. Nuno? Nah, we’ll talk about him later. It was broken up in the 8th and he left quickly after. Look, I get his Cutter has changed him a bit, and hey, 10 strikeouts are 10 strikeouts. But then you remember – i.e. I’m telling you – that he had four straight outings of 4 Ks or fewer.
Taylor Jungmann – 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Our Call Boy did his job
Drew Hutchison – 6.2 IP – 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks. Was this at home? Checks game recap. It was at home.
Zack Greinke – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Ian Kennedy – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 8 Ks. Let’s lay down some facts. Since June 13th, Kennedy has a 2.76 ERA across 11 GS not including last night. You’d think that would be a sign of great things to come and I should have been telling you to jump on board for ages. Well, that sparkling ERA came with a 5.10 FIP and 4.28 xFIP. His K/BB isn’t very enticing either in that time, and the clock will strike midnight soon. Hopefully it’s on your opponent’s team and not yours.
Carlos Carrasco – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. I’m liking Carrasco quite a lot these days, and he fully deserves his Top 20 rankings.
Jeff Locke – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Whoa whoa whoa, Locke actually did something all around acceptable. Crazy.
Matt Harvey – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BB, 6 Ks. Not bad Harvey. Not amazing like your buddies Thor and deGrom, but good.
Rubby De La Rosa – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Those four walks are hurting more than Denise breaking up with me in 6th grade (WHY DENISE? WHY?!) and you couldn’t give me just a few more Ks? Just a couple?!
Tommy Milone – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Milone is way too close to my buddy Karl’s name who is definitely not actually my buddy. He just delivers my mail. (That joke is solid and y’all who get it you know you gave a chuckle. ADMIT IT.)
Mike Fiers – 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. That works Fiers. Sure it doesn’t have the K total we really want, but it works.
Luis Severino – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. A two run shot from Bautista in the 3rd was the big blow, but otherwise Severino looked good. I’d be jumping all over him if he’s dropped into waivers.
Anthony DeSclafani – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. The lights dim as the music starts to change. You’re confused when suddenly…a ball drops above the middle of the dance floor and the lights come on to reveal Tony Disco standing in the pose you can only imagine your creepy uncle making inside a club. Sucks to tell Tony that his groove died when his WHIP was sent to the shop for repairs.
Wei-Yin Chen – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. I will take this and a chocolate cake. I love me some chocolate cake.
Yordano Ventura – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Pretty dang solid from Ventura. Good bounce back from a 6 walk effort last time.
Carlos Martinez – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Ehhhh not ideal but you’re going to keep him around on your staff and hope for the best.
Dan Haren – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. If I knew that blegh was going to show up, I wouldn’t have come at all.
David Phelps – 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. It’s no surprise David has “help” in his last name.
Joe Ross – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 6 Ks. He was perfect through the first six with six Ks, then ran into a good amount of trouble pitching from the stretch in the fourth. The Nationals seem to have a problem with that – Strasburg had the same issue this season – but hopefully he can make an adjustment and bounce back next time out.
Yovani Gallardo – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks. Gallardo got Singled Out and no one is shocked.
Hector Santiago – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Wait, his near .200 BABIP wasn’t legit???
Matt Boyd – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Yeah, Boyd has some upside but it’ll come with starts like these. If it didn’t he’d be sitting muuuch higher up like a toddler in a restaurant.
Henry Owens – 6.0 IP, 7 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BB, 10 Ks. Really shocked to see the high K total, and I don’t think he’s all that great. I should mention though that the 7 ER were a product of three gopher balls and he has a better floor than this.
Vidal Nuno – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BB, 2 Ks. There’s a reason his last name isn’t NuYes.
Aaron Harang – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. HARRAANNNGGG!!
Kendall Graveman – 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. Graveman’s solid stretch after his minor league stint was flawed, and now everyone believes it.
Today’s Streamers
NONE – There really isn’t a great matchup for you to go with here. First you have CC Sabathia against the Twins where he could get a Win, but it’ll be at the cost of a good ERA/WHIP. Then you’d consider Chris Tillman vs. Oakland, but he hasn’t looked the same since his ankle injury. You could consider Carlos Rodon after his 11 K night, but he’s a Cherry Bomb and taking a big risk like that on Monday isn’t ideal. If you need something, consider those options and see what you’re game for.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Kevin Gausman vs. New York Mets – Okay, so let’s be honest here. I understand that the Mets have improved their offense – not to crazy levels, but better – and Gausman hasn’t been solid like a rock, but he did have 8 Ks last time and the other streaming options are pretty lackluster. Chase Anderson @ Pitt? Yeah right. Feldman Schmeldman against Tampa? Ehhhh. I’d prefer to flip the coin with Kevin.
Game of the Day
Cole Hamels vs. Taijuan Walker – You have Hamels who has been struggling in Texas mixed with Taijuan would could nuts on a given night. Sounds like a party.