After outings of 9 ER and 5 ER, owners were desperate for something they could salvage from Cole Hamels, especially Philadelphia fans who wanted him to have any value at the trade deadline. Well, not only did he no-hit the Cubs, he did so while mowing down 13 batters, ending with a line of 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 2 BBs, 13 Ks. Hot damn that’s beautiful. I believe there was a lot of emotion involved with this start for Hamels as it was most likely his final start in a Phillies uniform. This start doesn’t make him hint at the Top 10, and I’m still debating if it means he climbs above Cueto to #15. His main problem is consistency, as he’s had six starts of 5 ER or more this season. I get the feeling that if he is traded to a contender in a decent division (i.e. not the AL Beast), Hamels’ competitive spirit will propel him to better outings daily. Just a hunch that I don’t expect you sign onto, but it’s just like my opinion, man.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Johnny Cueto – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Reds fans emitted a sigh of relief as Cueto didn’t lower his trade value as we near the 31st deadline. But we don’t talk about real baseball here, my bad. Aces gonna ace. Update: Cueto is now a Royal and it doesn’t affect his fantasy value at all.
Rubby De La Rosa – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Glad he lowered the walks, raised the Ks, and silenced the Brewers. I’m still cautious with Rubby as longballs are his weakness and he pitches in hitter’s haven Chase Field.
Carlos Martinez – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Cmart just keeps on cruising along, though this is his first start since before the ASB as he had four innings of relief last weekend. Do I like his 3.41 BB/9? Nah, but it’s not as detrimental as the 4+ for Ross and the current atrocity that is Shields. I’m not worried about an innings limit for those in H2H leagues as the Cardinals will need him down the stretch to preserve their division crown.
Shelby Miller – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. FYI, Shelby got the Loss this game. I rarely talk about W/L because it’s incredibly arbitrary and only in extreme cases of bad pitchers playing on great teams should you ever strategize around it. I just feel bad because the kid is pitching a career year and silly people will look at his 5-7 record and think otherwise. Double FYI, Drew Hutchison has a 9-2 record. Freakin’ baseball.
Miguel Gonzalez – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Miguel…no. Sorry, I’m not going to be the guy that takes a knee to tell you in a soothing tone that I believe in you as the piano music fades in and I make dramatic motions with my hands. Not gonna happen.
Scott Feldman – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Feldman Schmeldman.
Madison Bumgarner – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Though I really just don’t like Bummy like the rest of the guys. I feel like I should have moved Archer above him last week and I may correct it tomorrow.
Danny Duffy – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Duffy is pitching like this? Straight into my veins. Those who understand the connection of that joke, you’re awesome. Those who don’t, you’re still cool. But in all actuality, Duffy is not someone you want in your veins or on your roster.
Chris Sale – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Solid, not a fire Sale, but solid.
Alfredo Simon – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Alfredon’t.
Matt Harvey – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Okay, I’ll take this start from Harvey. Why? Because he lowered the walks and took a step in the right direction. It’ll boost his confidence and it could mean a solid outing against the Nats await.
Ian Kennedy – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. I almost just wrote that Ian Kennedy was returning to The List tomorrow because he has a 2.53 ERA across his last 8 starts. You’d think that would be good enough right? Not when it comes with a 5.20 FIP and 4.11 xFIP. Yeah, I’m gonna do you a favor here and make sure you steer clear of that giant bullet.
Taylor Jungmann – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Good to see the Ks, bad to see the most walks he’s allowed all season. I don’t have super high expectations for Taylor but he can be a serviceable guy in a 12 teamer. You’re gonna see a few bumps as we conclude the season, but I think you’ll be holding onto him.
Chris Bassitt – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. He has a rotation spot for a bit now that Scott Kazmir has packed his bags for Houston. I don’t like him much at all, actually for a lot of the same reasons as Kennedy, just without the K upside (5.61 K/9). I think some will be tempted to roll with him, but avoid him and his 4.01 FIP/5.07 xFIP.
David Phelps – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Nah Phelps, nah.
Gio Gonzalez – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. I guess this is cool. Just kinda short like Shaq’s acting career.
Jake Arrieta – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Ehhhh at least he was still able to give you 8 Ks for the night.
Tommy Milone – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Remember when people wanted to stream him against the ChiSox? That was the only time people I can remember that people wanted him. He gave owners a 2.00 WHIP that start…
Erasmo Ramirez – 7.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Yeah, he’s not all that good. It’ll be better in future outings – slightly – but he’s not your savior.
Hector Santiago – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Whoa, are his peripherals starting to catch up with him? Are those Regression Angel wings I’m hearing out my window? GO AWAY, DON’T YOU KNOW HOW EARLY IT IS?
Steven Wright – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. There can only be one knuckleballer that people care about (kinda) and his name is not Steven Wright.
J.A. Happ – 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 1 Hits, 4 BBs, 1 Ks. Yeah, that Happened.
CC Sabathia – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. For the love of—can we please stick him in the bullpen already? I’d take Adam Warren over this, and then there’s the whispers of prospect Luis Severino getting the call this week. Now THAT would be awesome.
A.J. Burnett – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Uh-oh. Dang, I’ve been on the Burnett train for a while, and now he holds a near 4.00 FIP/xFIP across his last six starts. He’ll be seeing a hit tomorrow :(
Chris Rusin – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 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.
Drew Hutchison – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Was this game away? Checks notes. Yup, it was in Seattle. You know not to start him outside of Rogers Centre, right?
Carlos Carrasco – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Oh man, this is just not Carrasco’s season. Look, what’s going to happen is he’s going to annoy a ton of owners this season, luck just isn’t on his side, then he’ll be a steal around pick 130 next year. Seriously, those peripherals detail a Top 10/15 guy, not this. Even his xFIP from this outing was 2.41.
Yovani Gallardo – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. This toga party has gone from being hosted at your favorite frat to hosted by your parents.
Zach Lee – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Oh man, sorry fellas. Our Call Boy was just not what we wanted. I was looking around and obviously saw someone say “I CAN’T BELIEVE PEOPLE THREW HIM OUT THERE” There’s always that guy. But seriously, it was the pitiful Mets offense in Metco and Lee had been dealing in the minors. He got completely Singled Out and that just happens sometimes. Don’t let this sway you from trusting guys moving forward.
Today’s Streamer
Wei-Yin Chen vs. Tampa Bay Rays – I’ll take one easy stream please. k thx.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Kyle Hendricks vs. Coloroado Rockies – That might look weird since it’s against Colorado, but it’ll be played in Wrigley and the Rockies are a poor team on the road. Throw in the possibility that Nolan Arenado will be resting his hand, and you have a solid stream.
Game of the Day
Gerrit Cole vs. Joe Ross – Oh man, there’s just so much cool stuff about this game. Both pitchers are young and ELECTRIFYING, we get to see Harper face Cole, and Ross can prove that he needs to stay in the Nats staff no matter how unlikely that reality will come to fruition.