I throw a lot of shade at Gerrit Cole as I call him the King of Really Good. I still stand by that after he tossed 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks against the Mariners yesterday. Yeah, I know that this isn’t Really Good, it’s Really Baller. And look, I want Cole to propel himself to a comfortable spot in the Top 15, maybe even Top 10. That would be fantastic. But I just don’t buy that he’ll be this productive in future starts and remember, he still hasn’t had an outing about 7 Ks all season. That’s in 15 starts! There’s also his 3.8% HR/FB rate that is as sustainable as an economy based on endless growth, which makes you wonder if his 3.92 xFIP will come into play in the near future. But hey, this is a season of so many unappealing starters disappointing left and right and Cole is a guy that is holding steady despite not giving you ace performances errr day. I don’t call him a King for nothing.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Stephen Strasburg – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. You didn’t believe his last start was the start of a decline, right?
Madison Bumgarner – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. Aces also gonna ace. Please give me more outings like this and don’t slow down at all, K?
Carlos Carrasco – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Awww come on Carrasco, you’re just as good as the other kids.
Dan Straily – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Man Straily is such a TEEs. Even if I cherry pick his last five starts to give him a 2.41 ERA, it still comes with a 5.04 SIERA and 5.32 xFIP and just a 6.15 K/9. On a losing team. Blegh, no thank you.
Archie Bradley – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Bradley’s walk issues are still apparent and this was against the Brew Crew. Not for me.
Jason Hammel – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Always entertaining to see a guy’s lone ER come from a longball slugged by the opposing pitcher. Anyway, I will note that Hammel would have about a 2.50 ERA if we remove his 10 ER/4 IP blowup against the Mets five starts ago. I will also mention that he currently holds a FIP/xFIP/SIERA all above 4.20. So I guess I’d be rolling with him if I own him and selling if someone is buying.
Lance McCullers – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Always fun to see McCullers have one of his upside heavy nights. I wonder if he can keep those walks in check against teams not named the Yankees, though.
Matt Moore – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. You may look at this stat line and think that Moore dodged a bullet. Or you could look at his 5.69 xFIP from this start and confirm that notion. I would hate be depending on Moore on my roster. There are better dice to roll.
Jon Gray – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Gray broke the rules and did well against the Orioles last night. If you had the huevos to start Gray, you’re super happy with this, three strikeouts be damned. This changes nothing in my book though.
Yu Darvish – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Darvish is on cruise control as he’s yet to have a massively disappointing outing while the strikeouts keep flowing
Adam Conley – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I’ll take this from our Call Boy as Conley gave us 6 Ks and 6.2 innings of shutout baseball. A disappointing WHIP, but worth it.
Dylan Bundy – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. So all three baserunners scored as he allowed two longballs in the sixth inning, which looks to me like a problem that isn’t going to go away for a while. His Changeup was looking great yesterday though, and he was able to get half of his Curveballs for strikes. There is clear upside here, though I still have concerns about his Fastball command.
Logan Verrett – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. I’ll make this easy. Verrett isn’t yet another Mets pitcher you want to own.
Anthony Ranaudo – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. It was his first start of the year and he’s just a Cup of Schmo.
Michael Fulmer – 7.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. I want to say the regression has begun – and it probably has – but this was against the Red Sawx so I’m obligated to stall it for another start. I’m still selling given his inevitable shutdown and FIP/xFIP being in a huge fight with his ERA. Apparently something was said about someone’s mother.
Danny Duffy – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s #DuffyVelocityWatch2016 and he registered his second lowest mark of the season yesterday with a 95.07 mark. Still a full 1 mph higher than his lowest, but he’s now had his five lowest average velocities in his last five starts. I’m a little scared guys. I’m a little scared.
Sean Manaea – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 11 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. If you want to talk about being Singled Out, take a look at this start from Manaea who held a 2.39 FIP and 1.69 xFIP in this affair. Hard not to love the 9/0 K per BB as he finally flexed his upside muscles. Sure, it didn’t come with the WHIP + ERA you were hoping for and he had only 10% soft contact in this game, but I think I’d be rollin with him against the Angels next anyway – even with their recent hitting prowess.
James Paxton – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. It’s a weird relationship with Paxton as he’ll blow your socks off against a tough team like the Blue Jays, then be pretty mediocre against a below average squad like the Pirates. I don’t expect this to really change this year, even if he got a bit Singled Out in this affair. I still love him and will keep throwing him out there in favorable matchups, though he gets the Red Sox next and I’m certainly benching him for that.
Brandon McCarthy – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Ehhhh seven Ks in just four is encouraging, but the Dodgers pulled him with just 83 pitches under his belt after throwing a 39 pitch inning (four of which came on an intentional walk). I still love McCarthy, though his next two starts may warrant a bench (at Coors and then against Boston).
Luis Perdomo – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. It takes more than a Fastball with great movement and velocity to make it in the bigs these days kiddo.
Eduardo Rodriguez – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I mentioned in the Podcast yesterday that I wasn’t totally sold in EDU’s rebound and BOOM he falters against Detroit. I really just don’t see Erod putting it all together this year. It’s possible, but I think we’re going to see a good more of these starts ahead.
Masahiro Tanaka – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Noooo, you’re supposed to be the stable floor that we need to stand on. But the Yankees lost due to him. Oh. Yaaaaaaay! CAN WE PLEASE SELL NOW?
Adam Wainwright – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Well this is stupid. The Mets had their way with Waino, which was climaxed by a Cespedes two-run shot after a long nine pitch at bat. Blegh.
Matt Shoemaker – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Uh-oh, has the clock struck Midnight? Nick, I can hear birds chirping. What’s wrong with you. I don’t even want to justify that with a response. Anyway, no. Sure, the strikeouts are not what’s expected from Shoe – or really anyone for that matter – and four of those earned runs came in the seventh where he didn’t even get an out. Keep riding this train on the track to glorytown.
R.A. Dickey – 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. R.A. told me him and Lil’ were related. Don’t trust a knuckleballer.
Jimmy Nelson – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Oh Jimmy, we wish you were a star.
Mike Foltynewicz – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 12 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. You may think that this is ultra disappointing since it was against the Twins, but think again. Well fine, it’s not a good start at all, but the Twins are actually 4th in wOBA across the last 30 days. So much for being a streamable team…
Zach Eflin – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 4 BBs, 1 Ks. The bubble was bound to burst, though I can’t say I expected this kind of blowup against the Marlins. At least this hammers in the point that Eflin is just a streamer here and there and not a guy that should be squatting like a Slav in your roster.
Tyler Duffey – 1.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. Never again Duffey. Well at least not in 2016 unless I see some major changes. He’s still a Young Gun but you’re better off just forgetting he exists for the rest of the season.
Today’s Streamers
Robbie Ray vs. Milwaukee Brewers – Ray fanned ten batters last time out and those Ks are flowing like Lannister locks.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Ivan Nova vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Not much else to go with other than Nova, but he gets a good matchup and has found his groove with the Yanks. I don’t expect his success to last, but might as well roll with him while he’s hot.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Nathan Eovaldi vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Man this one feels dirty. If Drew Smyly was dropped in your league I’d prefer to start him, but in other circumstances, Eovaldi has looked better in his return to the rotation and the Rays aren’t a major force to reconsider rolling with him.
Game of the Day
Aaron Nola vs. Atlanta Braves – I’m banking on a Nola return to form here and I’ll be watching intensely.