Trevor’s Drone Strikes

Trevor Bauer isn’t a pitcher I give much focus on because he’s a guy that seems to be a known entity: Great strikeout numbers with a questionable walk rate that is prone to major blowups. With yesterday’s 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks that narrative hasn’t changed a whole lot…but it would be remiss to not mention that his last three games have returned 22 strikeouts, a 7.4 IPS, a 1.23 ERA and just 3 walks. We’re witnessing the ceiling of Bauer right now and some could be convinced that it’s the start of him putting it all together. He’s cut back on his Sinker usage (from 10%+ to around 3%) in favor of more Cutters and Changeups in these recent outings, which means he’s throwing less of his worst pitch in favor of more of his not-as-bad pitches. Not as bad? Yeah, Bauer’s only consistent pitch really is his Curveball and sometimes his Four-Seamer. It’s possible that he’s made a major change with his Cutter (20%+ usage yesterday with a near 1.0 pVAL after averaging sub 10% usage prior), but I’m not buying it. What I see here is someone on a good run at the moment and will most likely show his ugly side again sooner rather than later. He gets the Sawx next time out, which could go either way. He is a Cherry Bomb after all.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Bartolo Colon – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Colon is just having a fantastic time now as he fulfills his promise to pitch until he’s 45. I’ve been searching for a new nickname to give Colon now that he’s in Minnesota and I think I’m going to go with Paul Funyun. I think that works. Anyway, this isn’t a reason to get on board here.

Justin Verlander – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Sooooo I think Verlander is fixed. Maybe. Probably. Yes. He’s fixed.

Madison Bumgarner – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Nice to have you back Bumgarner.

Gio Gonzalez – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. This is going to stop at some point, right? We all know the vast gap between his 2.59 ERA and 4.26 xFIP, but at the same time he gets the Angels, Padres, Mets, Marlins twice, Phils, Braves, Braves, Mets, Phils to end the year. That’s the best schedule you will find. I can believe that this is going to be one of those “welp, that was a year where everything went his way” and 2018+ it’ll be more of the 3.60+ ERA Gio. It sounds like you’re conceding this one. Yeah, you could say that.

Miguel Gonzalez – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Miguel…no. You guys deserve a little more than the normal schtick, but this is a Birthday Party, not the start of a major trend.

Kyle Hendricks – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Blegh. Hendricks seems like such a headache to me.

Jake Odorizzi – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I feel bad for Odorizzi. He was making his first start back from the DL and then gets a liner into his ankle that removed him in the fifth. He’s considered day-to-day now as he avoided a major injury, but any starter missing time in Tampa Bay makes us all scream “HONEYWELL” like Pooh just stumbled across the well of his dreams. If I had to guess, I’d say Odorizzi misses one game here and it won’t mark the debut of Honeywell.

Martin Perez – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. As I’ve mentioned before, Perez is that 12-year-old kid always trying to get his father’s attention as he jumps into the pool. Hey Dad! Dad! Watch! Okay son…Dad! Did you see that? Uh huh, that was great Martin…

Troy Scribner – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Fast and I spent a surprising amount of time talking about Scribner on last night’s podcast, but that had nothing to do with how he actually performed. He was sent down to the minors now as he’s a Cup of Schmo, so let’s just forget Scribner was ever here.

Jerad Eickhoff – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. 2 ER and 6 Ks in 6.2 IP? I’ll take it Eickhoff, nice going fella. Streamer Record 59-42-14. 

Sean Newcomb – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Newcomb faced a poor team in the Phils, and Newcomb did well. It’s easy, ya’ll.

Rick Porcello – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. In case you were hoping this was Porcello turning it around, this followed two starts of 4 and 5 ER. Even if there were positive trends, this is way too early to consider a turnaround.

Antonio Senzatela – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Blegh. This doesn’t do a whole lot for me with a 3.80 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Not on the Senz-a train.

Masahiro Tanaka – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. Tanaka really just didn’t have it last night. I’m not too concerned though, I’m willing to chalk this up to a bad evening and move on.

Alex Wood – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Velocity is back up! So that’s good. It’s not 93mph, but 92.2mph after starts at 91.5mph is a step in the right direction. Still having him outside the Top 15, but good to see.

Brandon Woodruff – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Sure? I led with Woodruff last time showing how his mechanics don’t make me believe he can cruise through a start without showing some bruises. This…is really boring. He’s not a Spice Girl in my mind and more of a Cup of Schmo. 

Trevor Cahill – 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 1 Ks. Okay this is terrible. Cahill has been atrocious as a Royal and there is legit talk that he’s going to be in the bullpen now. He’s safe to drop and I can bring back his old nick name: Trevor O’Cahill. So I guess I have that going for me, which is nice.

Yovani Gallardo – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. I wonder how many YoGa jokes I’ve made. Hey, who knows more types of Yoga that I can riff off of? Gravity Yoga? As tempted as I am to quote Eminem, I’m not doing it. Whatever, YoGa is bad and you should feel bad.

Zack Greinke – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. This isn’t horrendous, you got 8 Ks and that WHIP is sitting at 1.20, it’s just the one extra ER that we hate. Welp, clearly deGrom deserves that #6 spot…I kid I kid.

Asher Wojciechowski – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. With every decent start from Asher, I think I’m going to correctly spell a little more of his name. Right now we’re at Wojchkolasoji. One step at a time.

Kevin Gausman – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Noooo, Gausman I thought you were golden moving forward? This start would have been better without a 2-Run HR in the sixth (so close Gaus…) and he did earn the second most whiffs of the night with 16…but a sub 10% whiff rate on 32 Splitters have me a little skeptical. Just a little. Still roll with him against the Mariners + Angels (again) next.

Mike Leake – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. To add on to the massive Lance Lynn discussions lately, I think many of you forgot that Leake was boasting a 3.64 ERA in his first 11 starts of the year…because of a .234 BABIP. Since then it’s been a 4.45 ERA with a .365 BABIP. We can’t just say “he has a great BABIP because he’s skilled and it’s going to stick.” That happens so rarely.

Rafael Montero – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. There’s no one who has faith in Montero, right?

Adam Conley – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. This was the Nationals and it’s safe to just throw this start out the window. Obviously isn’t making things better for his outlook, but it really shouldn’t change too much. He’s still just a streamer to consider.

Nick Tepesch – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Yep, that’s Tepesch alright.

Travis Wood – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. It’s the wrong Wood! 

Jharel Cotton – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Maybe one day Cotton will figure it out. Until then, he’s more of a Young Gun and a PEAS than someone who should be rostered.

Ivan Nova – 6.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Oh Nova, you really aren’t anything more than a streamer these days.

Collin McHugh – 5.1 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Nooooooo. Here I am praising McHugh and calling him a guy to own in 12-teamers and he struggles mightily against the ChiSox. He was actually cruising through the first four frames before hitting trouble in the fifth and sixth – which may mean that his secondary pitches just weren’t working for him, though he did earn last night’s Gallows Pole with 18 whiffs…he heads to Arizona next, which is totally not a fun place to pitch, though my gut says throw McHugh there. I know that’s crazy. I’m sure most of you just want to bench once and start after when his schedule frees up. I’m leaning that this was a one night blip.

Today’s Streamer

Luis Castillo vs. San Diego Padres – Like last time, if he’s not available go with Dinelson Lamet, who will be in the other dugout in this game. That Reds offense that has been “surprisingly good” this year? Yeah, it’s 24th in wOBA over the last 14 days.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Nick Pivetta vs. New York Mets – I can see some going with Seth Lugo over Pivetta, but I like Pivetta’s strikeout upside more.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Jeff Hoffman vs. Miami Marlins – He’s coming off a great start in Coors against the Phils and it’s possible it could carry over in Miami as the Fish are 21st in wOBA in the last two weeks.

Game of the Day

Brad Peacock vs. Carlos Rodon – Two intriguing arms are set to face each other today. Over/Under set to 15.5 Ks between them. I’m leaning over.