Lance Maturation

Let’s talk a minute about Lance McCullers after another solid outing of 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. I find it odd that Cole, Duffy, and Fulmer have been requested to get the Aces Gonna Ace tag, but nothing about McCullers yet. I’m not giving him it today, but man does that 2.48 ERA and 10.06 K/9 look super sexy especially with a 2.62 BB/9. Holy Wade Boggs’ Mustache! One of my biggest worries entering the season for McCullers was his history of poor walk rates…which makes sense given that his Curveball is his best pitch and his Fastball command is questionable. But there it is, well under 3.00 and he’s looking like a stud because of it. The other knock on him was a poor injury history, but that doesn’t seem fair now since everyone and their barber’s cousins are on the DL. Lance has been healthy as a kite and I can’t dock him for “potential health” anymore. Healthy as a kite? Yes. A soaring kite is the symbol of good health. Duh. Anyway, I won’t deny that I have my gut telling me this is going to slow down (maybe it’s his sub 6.0 IPS? Or that this is still just 11 starts and not a full season’s worth of data?), but my head says the dude is going to be your #1.5 for the season. Random Sidenote: Bonus points if you guess can guess the reference used for today’s headline pun. It’s a bit of a stretch. And by bit, I mean “yes, it’s definitely a stretch.”

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Josh Tomlin – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. I’m sure some of you thought I’d lead with Tomlin…

Christian Bergman – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. …or even Bergman. Why would I do that? Y’all already know that they aren’t guys you should be rostering, let alone trust on a given night, right?

Jimmy Nelson – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks. Now Nelson, well, Nelson is a guy who has those moments where it all clicks. Where he exhibits everything the scouts saw and make them nod with approval. See? That’s what I saw back in 2012. Sure you did Frank, did you also see that he’ll probably allow another clunker of a game next week? I see Nelson as HR style pick, a VPR darling. Need to take a risk on a Saturday to secure a win? Nelson is your guy. Just don’t throw him out there on a Tuesday and ruin your whole week.

Andrew Cashner – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I’m still Cashing Out. This isn’t for me.

Johnny Cueto – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. This might come as a shock, but in Cueto’s 11th start of the year, he finally recorded and outing with fewer than 2 ER. It’s about time, fella. You may get a small bump tomorrow, but I also want to wait past the first date, you know?

Miguel Gonzalez – 7.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Dude was perfect through the first six, then the Tigers realized they were facing Gonzalez and said, Miguel…No. I still don’t want to trust this guy. He’s a TEEs and you should know it.

Matt Harvey – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Ehhhh, I saw a little bit of this and Harvey’s command wasn’t all too good. I need more than this outing to get on board again.

Michael Pineda – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s a PQS with a 1.00 WHIP and 5 Ks. I wanted a little more against the A’s, but sure, I’ll take it.

Joe Biagini – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. His Curveball + Changeup were working super well today and it’s great to see him pushed to 95 pitches today. I think you can wait one more week before grabbing him – he gets the Yanks next – but I want him in a 12 teamer after that.

Alex Cobb – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. That 1.60 WHIP hurts, but the rest is cool. I understand a lot of you are running with Cobb and his 3.67 ERA, but I worry for you. A 6.42 K/9 with a 4.10 FIP isn’t someone I’d favor more over a typical streaming option.

Jose Urena – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 6 BBs, 7 Ks. SIX WALKS?! Urena ton of trouble mister!

German Marquez – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. There’s a fun battle going on in Colorado to see who is going to be the proper #2 behind Gray.

Rick Porcello – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Porcello, I know you’re trying to bring down your value to give me more time to deal for you, but I think those that already own you would appreciate it if you didn’t get Singled Out, okay?

Kyle Gibson – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. You know it’s a bad situation when I see this and think “good job, Gibson.”

Andrew Triggs – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. That 1 ER is deceiving as Triggs also allowed another five unearned runs on top of it, including a Aaron Judge grand-slam.

Lance Lynn – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. This was in Coors, nothing too surprising here.

Jhoulys Chacin – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Chacin will do well when Jhoulyst expect it.

Scott Feldman – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Feldman Schmeldman. At least you got your Win if you needed it?

Matt Shoemaker – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Welp, I guess it was a “hot streak” of three games? Hard to trust him next time

Tyler Glasnow – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. At least no walks? Yay?

R.A. Dickey – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. You guys know the deal. We do? Dude, yes. Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer.

Clayton Kershaw – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I can’t remember the last time I saw Kershaw’s FIP above 3.00, but here we are at 3.06.

Jordan Zimmermann – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. If you’re looking for JZ’s greatest hits, you’re a few years too late.

Jon Lester – 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. I feel like we’re picking a daisy he. He loves my team, he does not, he loves my team, he does not…GET IT TOGETHER LESTER.

Zach Eflin – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Did you expect anything else from Eflin? Why?

Joe Ross – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 12 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Ah, so that’s why he’s owned in under 25% of leagues. I’m sure some of you are concerned. I too am concerned about my streaming winning streak coming to an end. But it will return! No Nick, we’re concerned about Ross. What do we do with him? Oh. What you do is look inward and see if you’re a gambling man. Ross has the stuff to be a good starter for you and the Nationals, but man does his command suck right now. Yes, he can get that back. No, it’s not going to be a smooth road from here on out. Do you want to take that chance or take a stab at streaming instead? I’d probably do the latter unless it’s a deep league. But back to the important stuff…add one to the loss column…Streamer Record 25.5-17-7.

Alec Asher – 2.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. I know we all saw that GIF of his awesome Fastball, but unfortunately we can’t bottle that and do it every pitch. That’s baseball, Suzyn.

Danny Duffy – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Man, the moment I start to question my Duffy stance and give him some praise, it’s like he finally looked up at me with a sly grin and said “I just wanted to hear you say it.” Now he has a 7.08 K/9, 3.28 BB/9, and a 3.42 ERA with a 4.62 xFIP (5.1% HR/FB!). This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.

Patrick Corbin – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 10 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. So much for that new arm slot. Womp womp.

Today’s Streamer

Jordan Montgomery vs. Baltimore Orioles – The O’s don’t like lefties and Montgomery is looking solid.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Tyler Anderson vs. Seattle Mariners – Seattle doesn’t like LHP and Anderson is on a roll.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Dan Straily vs. Philadelphia Phillies – I hate this one, but Clevinger and Godley are both over 25% owned now and I can’t pick em. I’m taking a half point here – hopefully the last you’ll see so I can get rid of it in the record. Watch, you’ll lose and now you’ll have two of em. DON’T SAY THAT.

Game of the Day

David Price vs. Chicago White Sox – Well well well, look who’s decided to finally show up. This is a DLH situation, by the way.