Last week I dropped Carlos Carrasco a few spots because he just wasn’t living up to the incredible FIP/xFIP numbers he had been expressing all year. I did it with a heavy heart, but felt I had no choice. Since then he’s had back-to-back nine inning performances including last night’s 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Better late than never, and it’s all going Carrasco’s way right now, reducing his hard contact allowed immensely in his last three games. He’ll be jumping up like you did as an owner in next week’s ranking unless he does a complete 180 against the Twins on Sunday, which is more doubtful than Yordano Ventura being a mature adult.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jake Arrieta – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. This is the third straight game from Arrieta with three walks. Uh oh. I want to turn a blind eye so blindly cause, you know, it’s Arrieta, but there’s clearly something up with Jake right now. Unless he corrects it in his next start, he’s getting a drop or two.
Chris Bassitt – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. The positive here is that he finally struck out more than 4 batters in the last two starts, the negative is that his FIP is 3.68 (not the worst) and his xFIP is 4.49 (kinda the worst). A lot of people are going to run after him as a cheap option now, but I’d be cautious is his next outing against Houston.
Matt Shoemaker – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Our Call Boy got the job done and then some. I’m still cautious long term given his FIP/xFIP, but you best keep rolling with Shoemaker til the brick wall comes. Horrible advice for driving, good for fantasy – my new slogan.
Jonathon Niese – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Near identical back-to-back starts from Niese, and this is probably the best start you’ll see all year from the forgotten Met.
Jimmy Nelson – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. That’s four shutout performances in his last five games, so you already know that you should keep tossing him out there. Keep a short leash if it crumbles, though.
Marco Estrada – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. You’ll be wishing you had your eyes open and shouting Polo instead.
Jake Peavy – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Still not sold on Peavy. Sorry, he’s just too unpredictable with his age and he hasn’t been facing the best of teams that lower my confidence even more.
Chris Archer – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Danny Duffy – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. I like Duffy like my Aunt Jane. Hint: I don’t like my Aunt Jane. Double Hint: I don’t have an Aunt Jane.
Shelby Miller – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Just because it’s not a big regression doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Anthony DeSclafani – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. Tony Disco is laying down a serious groove! It’s a one-hit wonder though. :(
Max Scherzer – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. He struggled in the fourth and was unreal the rest of the game. Just how it is sometimes.
Brad Hand – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Hand is still not good. Leg is sore. Nose feel itchy.
Masahiro Tanaka – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s not the Tanaka we want, but the one that doesn’t kill our week. It’s been a crazy road following Tanaka the past season and a half, and we’re still just as lost as ever figuring him out.
Jerome Williams – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Jerome! Stop Jerom— hey, this isn’t soooo bad. Well, that 2.00 WHIP is killer and not in a good way.
John Lackey – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. The Reds seemed like a decent matchup. *Shruggs*
Henry Owens – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. The debut for the newest Red Sock pitcher wasn’t as exciting as we hoped, but it’s tough having a debut in Yankee Stadium plus there’s that theory of mine about not starting guys in their debuts. Jitters are real and screw more things than Ron Jeremy. Poor kid has another tough outing away against the Tigers, but then could be startable versus the Mariners. Keep an eye out.
Andrew Cashner – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. If you haven’t dropped him yet, what more of a sign do you need?
Miguel Gonzalez – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Miguel…no.
Phil Hughes – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. He’s been worse than you think. 4.72 FIP, 5.29 K/9, and a 1.25 WHIP. 2014 never felt so far away…
Yovani Gallardo – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Gaaaaaaaah that’s not good.
Alex Wood – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Welcome to the Dodgers where the bullpen allows a grand-slam immediately after you get pulled. He was cruising through six before that implosion.
Jon Gray – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s hard to be excited about Gray and not be a 50 year old suburban mother.
Justin Verlander – 7.0 IP, 5 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. After he gave you his upside last time out, he now gave you his floor. What a guy.
Vidal Nuno – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. I feel like I’m back in the early aughts metal scene (circa 2000). Nu? NO. GET OUT OF HERE LIMP BIZKIT.
Dan Straily – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. So happy McCullers was sent down for this. I know I know, whatever let me be upset.
J.A. Happ – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. That Happened.
Chris Sale – 5.1 IP, 7 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. This is Sale’s second straight 7 ER game, only the fifth game all season above 3 ER. I can’t say I’m all too worried, though his command was a bit off tonight. Call me crazy, but even when he gets lit up, the kid still gives you nine strikeouts. Let’s also mention that he had allowed only one ER through four, and three through five.
Patrick Corbin – 1.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. It was rainy and Corbin had already thrown 50 pitches, so when the tarps came off Corbin was no where to be found. It’s not like he was dominating anyway, so you should probably be happy it wasn’t worse.
Today’s Streamer
Brett Anderson vs. Philadelphia Phillies – It’s the Phils and Anderson is very capable of taking advantage.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Joe Ross vs. Arizona Diamondbacks – Sure, it’s not the best matchup, but it’s the last we’ll have from Ross for a long while and you best milk that cow before she moves to another pasture. Or something like that.
Game of the Day
Luis Severino vs. Boston Red Sox – It’s the highly anticipated debut of Severino for the Yankees and you can bet I’ll be watching. If you miss it, I’ll have a Breakdown for you guys hopefully before noon Thursday morning.