Walking, Not Running

Thanks for being patient today, I had a bunch of traveling to do and didn’t get a chance to write. UNTIL NOW. And who better to lead off with than a depressing start from Aaron Sanchez who went 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. Blegh. It’s not easy going against the Red Sox, but Sanchez is farther behind than I’d like him to be at this time – 0 Whiffs is outright terrible. I still think he can get there as he hasn’t had the smoothest of seasons thus far, and I wonder how long we’ll have to wait. I really thought his last performance against the Tigers was an indication of him getting back into this groove, but this is clearly a setback. I’d still like to make this bet, but I understand taking a different flier as the odds are clearly lower than I previously thought.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Zach Davies – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s a Birthday Party for Davies and I wouldn’t like to take any chances with him despite this.

Alex Meyer – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Meyer returned from the minors and had himself an outing against the Nationals. Is this something that can stick past this outing? Well, his Sinker was the best I’ve seen all year with the pitch, which could be something that sticks but his track record says differently. Meanwhile, he’s still throwing just two pitches and I can’t believe his 5.00+ BB/9 is going to fall dramatically. Not the worst flier and I can see him being owned in 12-teamers, just understand that he’s a risk/reward Cherry Bomb that could hurt more than help if you don’t need the strikeouts.

Drew Pomeranz – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. The Dirty Cheerleader got away with five walks against the Jays. Can we call this an EJax? I’m not worried about future outings and you should keep starting him.

Jose Berrios – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. This is…fine? I think a lot of people have been expecting Berrios to suddenly fall off in the second half and I don’t see it. Yes, the Ks are not as explosive as someone like Luis Severino but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good #2/#3 on your team. I don’t consider this a sell high.

Gerrit Cole – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks. Hmmmm, this is six of his last seven starts with 2 ER or fewer…though three of his last nine have been 7 ER exactly. I’m not ready to cal lhim Top 25 as we all know the terrible floor he carries, but one more start may sway me.

Jacob deGrom – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Aces gonna ace. I want to see more Ks but I’ll take this.

Kevin Gausman – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Well well well! Gausman has shown some life since the start of June and was tied for the second most whiffs yesterday. It’s an odd flier to take – one I’d do in deeper leagues – and I’ll be watching his start against the Rays closely.

Jason Hammel – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Ugggggh it’s just so boring.

Kenta Maeda – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. What do you know, another short but productive start for Maeda. You have to start wondering how much these outings actually help you and recognize the smaller margin for error as he’s not going to get the innings to make up for runs surrendered early in the game.

Mike Montgomery – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Solid Mike, I can’t say I wanted to trust you nor will I next time out either, but solid.

James Paxton – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Please stay heathly…please stay healthy…

Carlos Carrasco – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Just keep avoiding those blowup games, k thx.

Sonny Gray – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Ehhh sure. That speaks to a #4/5, just what Gray should be.

Justin Verlander – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Well hot damn Verlander! I cant’ say too much about this, but the weekly bit I do for Keri’s The Ten will be covering Verlander this week with a major focus on his First Pitch Strike rates, which is comfortably under 60% after sitting at a great 64% last season. This start? 70%. That’s great and I hope we see more if it as he faces teams not named the Royals.

Tim Adleman – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. That’s six straight starts of at least 3 ER as his IPS sits at 5.3. No thanks.

Matt Cain – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Go away Cain. Okay…

Zack Greinke – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. This is super blegh from Greinke and I’m upset. It’s actually his lowest K total of the year, so brush it off and strut.

Nick Pivetta – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. If you had to run with Pivetta, I think you’re okay with this. The ERA stings but the WHIP is helpful and the Ks are…there. It wasn’t supposed to be a good play anyway.

R.A. Dickey – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. And this, ladies and gentleman, is why even after five quality starts of 1 ER or fewer…Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer.

Jacob Faria – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Nooooooo! The first official Pitcher of Pitcher List had a dreadful day as he faced the A’s. The dude can’t be awesome all the time after all. Now this is 10 walks in his last three starts after just 5 in his first five games, so I’m slightly concerned that the initial worry of questionable control may be perking back up again. Or just a small blip as he returns to the stud we saw before the break. Let’s hope for the latter.

Gio Gonzalez – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Ohhhhhh snap! The entire fantasy baseball world has been calling Gio the prime second half regression pitcher – it’s pretty obvious with his super low BABIP and FIP/xFIP both well above 4.00 – and here we are as he couldn’t handle the Angels. There’s plenty more of this to come.

Jon Gray – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. I’ll take it. I wanted to see the strikeouts back and while it was the Padres, Gray gave you something to salvage inside Coors. It’s a good step forward.

Mike Leake – 2.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. Getting Singled Out sure isn’t fun, especially when it doesn’t come with a single strikeout. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEED MY FAMILY WITH THIS?!

Charlie Morton – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Solid K/BB, but the Mariners had timely hits to get 4 ER on the board. Stick with him.

Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Yep, that’s Perez alright.

Dan Straily – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. The Ks have returned, but dang that 2.20 WHIP stings.

Carlos Rodon – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Yep, Rodon is still a PEAS. I think he’s going to be a headache all year.

Clayton Richard – 3.2 IP, 10 ER, 14 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s the wrong Clayton!

Jordan Montgomery – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s really odd to see The Bear with an 11.6% whiff rate over his last four starts, but average just 3.5 Ks per outing. He had a horrid second inning that concluded with a three-run bomb, but it was good to see him stick it out through the sixth to make it a little better for you. I know I’ve been sounding like George R. R. Martin with Monty, but I really do believe his skill set dictates a better pitcher than we’ve seen lately. I understand if you need to drop him now, I think I’d hold if I could.

Today’s Streamer

Jhoulys Chacin vs. San Francisco Giants – Okay I hate this but I don’t want to go two days in a row without a streamer. The only other choice is Seth Lugo against the Cards and he has been pretty poor lately so I have to go Chacin. This is dumb. Don’t do it.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Ian Kennedy vs. Chicago White Sox – Okay so I’m bumping up the minimum to 30% today because there are no options. Understand this, I am bending the rules for Ian freakin’ Kennedy. I feel so dirty.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Luis Perdomo vs. San Francisco Giants – Not an exciting pick at all, but the best floor of your options as he faces a meh offense.

Game of the Day

Luis Severino vs. Felix Hernandez – In all honesty, it would have been Nelson vs. Taillon, but that game already ended…Won’t happen again, I promise!