Johnny B Bad

This might be a little late, but I want to make it pretty clear that Johnny Cueto can be dropped in your league after going 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 6 BBs, 2 Ks against the Marlins and missing his earlier start due to an ear infection. Sure, it’s possible this was a product of lingering effects and this wasn’t so bad until the seventh inning where he loaded the bases without an out, but it’s getting crazy here, with four of his last five containing at least three walks and five straight starts under 6 Ks. Cueto hasn’t had a single outing where he allowed 0 ER all season. He’s allowing 35.4% contact and I’d rather own Luis Castillo. Make the swap before you have to keep enduring Cueto and his mediocrity and have some fun in your life.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Clayton Kershaw – 9.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 13 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Only Kershaw would fan 13 while throwing a CG under 100 pitches. And of course he earned the Gallows Pole with 22 whiffs…just six shy of the amount of balls he threw across the entire start (Thanks @ShafiqDe!). Crazy.

Yu Darvish – 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks. Okay this is overall solid and all. Am I the only one that sees this make a sour face looking at four walks with under a K an inning? I know it’s not rational – this start is great – it’s just…I want more from an ace, you know?

Kyle Freeland – 8.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. Phew, if he had gotten that no-hitter then I would have to be fielding questions all week about why he’s not on The List. Wait, he won’t be on The List tomorrow? Probably not. Dude just isn’t very good and even with this start he holds a 5.45 K/9 with a 3.44 BB/9 while pitching in Coors and a 4.89 xFIP. Jeeeeeez that’s bad.

Jerad Eickhoff – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. So…um…DLH is still real. I SWEAR. This is really really good from Eickhoff, but it was the Padres and only five frames and I can’t get on the bandwagon just yet.

Felix Hernandez – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Daaaaaang Felix, you’re looking mighty fine. Did you get a haircut or something? Nah, but I am wearing a fedora, is it that? No. Definitely not that. Whiffs? Nah, just 9…Velocity? Meh, 91.3mph…Ohhh who did you play? The Athletics. Ah yes, the team with the second highest K% in the majors. Blame it on the Athletics. Well alright, there’s a little more to this than that and he should be rostered n all but don’t put too much stock into this. Felix could easily walk five in his next outing without 4 Ks to boot and we’re back to the whole headache schtick again.

Lance Lynn – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Man this is so close to a Minimalist Score – which is a total dying art because pitchers are getting pulled so fast unless you’re a stud and have 10+ Ks – but saying Lynn almost had MS is not

Brad Peacock – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Another QS for Peacock – his third of the year (ahem…FAST…) – but I’d be lying if I didn’t say those walks are freaking me out. Please just have a 6 K 1 BB outing with 2 ER and make me really pumped. Do it for Frank. Who’s Frank? I’m sure there’s someone named Frank who owns Peacock out there. Do it for him.

David Price – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Solid outing from Price as our confidence rises. Don’t mess this up, we’ve been waiting for you to arrive like it’s Helm’s Deep.

J.C. Ramirez – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. …yay? Five walks and only 2 Ks as he’s fanned more than five batters since the start of may – 6 and 7 K games. Man, I miss the 9, 7, 9 K streak he had in April. It’s not like you’re having a ton of success pitching to contact Ramirez, go back to the old days!

Homer Bailey – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s two straight 1 ER starts, but can we really be happy with this? CAN WE? Well yeah, I needed a Quality Start and a low ERA. Oh, okay fine. What does second half Bailey have in store for us though? There could be plenty of starts like this one – albeit the walk rate is high here – as I see a low ceiling but a better floor than most of your wire. It’s about your needs, y’all.

Corey Kluber – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace. He was pulled after five because the walks drove up his pitch count north of 100. Pfffft, Kershaw pitch a complete game in that time.

Chad Kuhl – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. My boy Taillon was scratched due to illness, so Kuhl had to step up on three days rest, leading to an early exit. Kuhl story, bro. Man, I should have just said that and left.

Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. You know, Corbin has been racking up the Ks lately andthe one change I’ve seen in these two recent games are a heavy reliance on Changeups, sitting at 15% and 25% in these two games after averaging 9% in games prior…But come on I can’t be falling for Corbin again, right? RIGHT?

Michael Fulmer – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Careful, Icarus. Fulmer had six solid frames in the bag with 70 pitches, then came out for the 7th and was met with a single, HR, single, single, hook. So not cool.

J.A. Happ – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. The Astros are good. Happ had a tough second inning with an error that led to two longballs for three unearned runs and helped cut his day short. Don’t let this one make you bitter towards him, you’ll enjoy his second half.

Chris Archer – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. You came for the Ks and you can’t be upset when his WHIP/ERA aren’t great. That’s kinda the Archer M.O. and why he’s staying out of the Top 15.

Daniel Gossett – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. I don’t think y’all were expecting a Gosse egg anyway, but if you had any high hopes still, get rid of them like bed bugs. No one wants any of that.

Jimmy Nelson – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Back-to-back hits from Chase Headley and a 2-run blast for Clint Fraizer were all the damage you see here. Love him, cherish him, hold him tight as Nelson isn’t going to decline in the second half.

Joe Ross – 3.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Well this is bad. Also the fact he got pulled with tricep tightness. Well this is really bad. Drop him for Cahill/Clevinger/Castillo, etc.

Jose Urena – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. If you start Jose, Urena boatload of trouble.

Trevor Cahill – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Hmmmm. A 1.20 WHIP with 8 Ks…but 4 ER? Do I really have to make this a tie? He got the Loss. FINE. Streamer Record 47-31-12.

Ubaldo Jimenez – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Yeeeeep, that’s Ubaldo alright.

Jon Lester – 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. This doesn’t look as bad as the 10 Runs, right? I’d buy low after this one, it was clearly just a bad day that he could find his way out of. Womp womp.

Sean Newcomb – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Newcomb was able to scavenge 7 Ks as he faced the Nats. It was a clear bench unless you streamed for Ks.

Danny Duffy – 7.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. The Duff man couldn’t avoid a trio of HRs that accounted for 4 ER as he actually pitched pretty dang well against the Dodgers.

Steven Matz – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Just one whiff from a non-Fastball in 31 thrown is really disheartening as Matz’s command just wasn’t there. I want to believe in Matz a ton for the second half, but I question if he’ll get into that groove we know he can get into. He’ll be in the mid 30s tomorrow.

Masahiro Tanaka – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Add another pair of HRs to the Tanaka nightmare that is 2017. He had three straight without a longball before today and it’s really the only fault in today. I think you still tough this one out.

Carlos Rodon – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. And here’s the floor of Rodon in case you had forgotten. I mean, this was Coors and you had no reason to be throwing him here unless it fit your needs in a H2H league. He’ll be hovering in the 50s or 60s all year like the PEAS he is.

Kyle Gibson – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Cutaway Gibson. The best kind of Gibson.

Today’s Streamer

ALL-STAR BREAK Y’ALL – Seriously, it’s kinda nuts that I get a few days off from these roundups. My life is going to feel so…empty. Ha ha NOT! There will be at least one special article from me this week + the First Half GIF Tournament + The List tomorrow of course. Oh and a Podcast or two. WE’LL GET THROUGH THIS.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

ALL-STAR BREAK Y’ALL x 2

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

ALL-STAR BREAK Y’ALL x 3

Game of the Day

Home Run Derby because I guess Hitters exist – Judge is winning this. Duh.