One of the more polarizing players in Fantasy this year has been Michael Wacha, who before tonight’s outing featured a 2.66 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. I’ve heard him being heralded as a Top 20 guy (“he’s simply a great pitcher”) and I’ve never bought into it, though he’s peaked this year on The List at #25. The reason is simple: his numbers detail a decent amount of luck – 3.50 xFIP, 19.1% soft contact, .265 BABIP, and a 22.1% LD rate – while his strikeout numbers aren’t there (7.11 K/9) mixed with the under-the-hood stats to justify a higher ranking. He rebounded with two straight 1 ER starts after allowing 11 ER in his previous three outings, but he regressed again tonight with 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. I get that Wacha is more of a “pitcher” ala Wainwright than he is a tosser like, say Salazar or Sale, but that doesn’t mean it will correlate with consistent high performance nights in fantasy, and it’s tough to deny that his ERA is better than it should be. I’m still selling, and while you may have to wait a start or two to get proper value, I suggest you do too.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jacob deGrom – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. I feel like a parent who grounded their kid and is seeing results. I’m sorry I dropped you out of the Top 10, but it was for your own good!
Clayton Kershaw – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 13 Ks. Ohhhh so that’s why Kershaw is ranked #1.
Trevor Bauer – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. So…um…where’s the regression that Mr. Bauer himself said he was going to have?
Julio Teheran – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Not good enough Teheran. Interesting, but I’m slowly shaking my head with incurable disappointment in my eye. Just my left eye. That’s my bad eye.
Tommy Milone – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Here’s the good news. This is the seventh straight start Milone has allowed 2 ER or fewer. Here’s the bad news. It comes with a 4.49 FIP, 4.37 xFIP, 6.03 K/9 and a 3.02 BB/9. No I wouldn’t pick him up, not with a floozy in a jacuzzi. You’re bringing that joke back? Seriously? WHATEVER I DO WHAT I WANT.
Jake Peavy – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Easily his best start this season and it could be that way for a bit.
Dan Straily – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Straily intrigues me. His breaking pitches and Changeup were effective and generated outs left and right. I see him as an occasional streamer but nothing more.
Andrew Cashner – 7.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s like a bowl of spilled Cap’n Crunch cereal. You can see it being mighty tasty if put back together right, but for now all you can do and stare at what could have been.
Ubaldo Jimenez – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. A WHIP of 2.00 but an ERA of 0.00 and 5 Ks. Man that’s more indecisive than an 8 year old choosing just one candy bar at a bodega.
Charlie Morton – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Hey Charlie, how does it feel to put up blegh numbers all the time? It feels great Bob. Just freakin’ great.
Chris Rusin – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 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.
Jason Hammel – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. He left the game with hamstring tightness. That doesn’t sound good :(
Scott Kazmir – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. And Kazmir departed early with tricep tightness. That DEFINITELY doesn’t sound good.
Chris Archer – 6.0 IP, 9 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. And Archer was booted from his start after being just plain horrible. This is the worst game of Would You Rather I’ve played in a while.
Rick Porcello – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. So a 1.50 WHIP, 3.00 ERA and 4 Ks is a great start from Porcello. Recognize. Consider. Live. Poetry.
Tom Koehler – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I guess he can be good every so often like most MLB pitchers, but an xFIP and FIP well over 4.00 with a 6.46 K/9 is not enticing one bit.
Anibal Sanchez – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 6 Ks. Anibal and I aren’t even answering each other’s emails anymore.
Mike Fiers – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. May the Fours be with you. Seriously, you need that kind of luck if you’re starting Fiers. Too bad he didn’t work out too well as the Call Boy.
CC Sabathia – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Why aren’t you in the bullpen. Seriously, I’ve yet to hear a good reason why Sabathia’s not in there and Adam Warren is.
Jeremy Hellickson – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Ahhhhh, that’s more like it. Way to cut your Ks in half in just one start there bud.
Drew Hutchison – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Dang he really is bad away from Toronto. Hutchison couldn’t even disable the ChiSox bats. THE CHISOX.
Jeremy Guthrie – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Why is he still pitching?
Matt Shoemaker – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Man, I really liked Shoemaker entering this season. I really did guys. :(
J.A. Happ – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s another edition of The Happening, where you may convince yourself that this is the time he gets it right only for another horribly bad ending.
Adam Morgan – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. He’s not good and was matched up against Kershaw. It wasn’t meant to be, kid.
John Danks – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Martinez isn’t the only JD that’s serving up bombs.
Matt Harrison – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks. Welcome back from a very long DL stint Matty. Hope it’s just like you remember it.
Today’s Streamers
Cody Anderson vs Houston Astros – Do I want to select a guy who has a K/9 under 4.00? Not at all, but he’s the only guy out there with any sort of track record in a good matchup as he faces the Astros. If there is any team that can give him some decent K numbers, it’s the gang in Houston.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Michael Montgomery vs. Los Angeles Angels – You know I hate this, but the only other one I’d consider is Chase Anderson vs. the Mets, and I like Monty’s hot hand more right now.
Games of the Day
Jose Fernandez vs. Cinciannti Reds – Come on, it’s more Jose! We’re all still a little bit starved.
Felix Hernandez vs. Garrett Richards – I’ll be doing a Breakdown on Richards, and I’m lucky to have someone like the King on the otherside of the ball.