Sitting at #4 on The List is Jacob deGrom, which doesn't look all too good when he goes 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 5 BBs, 6 Ks, raising his ERA to 3.97, BB/9 to 3.84, and a 1.37 WHIP. That is not #4, that shouldn't even be Top 20! Right, okay. Will he be #4 on Monday? Nah, I can't do that after such a step back. Do I think he's Top 10 still? Absolutely. There is just so much to like about deGrom. xFIP of 3.05 with an atrocious 18.2% HR/FB rate that will fall. 12.18 K/9 driven by an absurd 15.1% whiff rate that ranks fourth in the majors. His IPS is easily over 6.0 and he has a history of great control that indicates his walk rate should be much lower moving forward. But why is he walking so many batters? That part I honestly don't understand and makes me believe he'll be walking fewer batters in the near future. His zone rates are similar, he's getting more strikes with his increased whiff rates and he hasn't wildly changed his approach when behind in the count. So the walks aren't the biggest concern of mine, but it's actually the amount of hard contact allowed - 37.6% compared to a career 30.4% career. That's very worrisome and indicates that his 18.2% HR/FB, while elevated, isn't so far off from how he's pitching. Still, with the increased whiff rates and history of better control, I think you're going to see a much better deGrom here on out, one very worthy of the Top 10 especially when few are exhibiting the upside he presents. I would be buying low and holding if I owned him.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
