You know who I really like for 2016? Steven Matz and his 94.4 MPH Fastball. Like Top 40 easily, no joke. He went 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks last night as he got Singled Out by the Reds (0.32 FIP!) and it’s hard not to love the K/BB upside. Next season he’ll go deeper into games, refine his repertoire, show more confidence and BAM he’ll hint at being next year’s Jacob deGrom. Well, that’s Noah Syndergaard, so I guess Matz will be next year’s Thor minus the late start. That’s incredibly promising, and you’ll most likely be able to snag him past the #100 pick mark, making him your #3/#4 starter or even #5 if he falls deep enough. Even though it’s way too early to talk about this, the 2015 strategy of waiting until round 7 or so could still apply next year as I can see people snagging a rotation featuring some mix of Thor/Carrasco/Matz/Pineda/Cmart/EDU/Kaz/Iwakuma and being set for the season. Just a thought.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
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Alec Asher – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Who’s the guy who no one possibly owned for his one good start of the year? Asher!
Erasmo Ramirez – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Erasmo just keeps defying the odds and rolls along like a ball that is rolling.
Chris Sale – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. His night was disrupted when Carlos Beltran smacked a 3-run shot in the third and…that was it. It’s tough to endure as a Sale owner, especially with his 2.70 FIP and 2.61 xFIP, but we may need to start accepting a near 3.00 ERA from Sale and not an elite 2.70 or so.
Madison Bumgarner – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. Just like a Sale, a 3 run shot from Derek Norris was the only damage, as Bummy continued striking out guys and walking some but you’re okay with it. He’s having a better season than expected, and I still don’t know how his elbow is still intact. The innings he’s already logged at 26 are absurd. This is his fifth straight 200 IP season, not including the playoff runs of 2012 and 2014. I expected some sort of injury from Bumgarner this season, which he’s aggressively spat on, and now that the Giants aren’t going to be playing baseball in the middle of October, it may be safe to say he’ll be okay in 2016. I’ll probably have him near #6 entering next year.
Cole Hamels – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Sure, okay Hamels. You really make it difficult to be a big fan again though if you suddenly have a 0.66 K/BB.
Michael Pineda – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I’ll take it from Pineda. I don’t expect the unreal double digit K games anymore, but as he continues to prevent walks, his WHIP will be manageable, he’ll go deeper into games, and feature fewer ER. All good things.
Tyler Wilson – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Eh, he’s very mediocre.
Cody Anderson – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. So you got your 1 ER and Win. BUT AT WHAT COST? Only 4 Ks and a 1.67 WHIP make it very tough for me to endorse Cody.
Johnny Cueto – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Something happened when Cueto switched leagues. Not entirely sure what, but he’s not a Top 20, let alone 25 guy at the moment. Not really sure where to place him for next year, but I would be shocked if I drafted him in 2016.
Chad Bettis – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Bettis has limited upside, pitches his home games at Coors Field, and doesn’t deserve a spot on your team. This should be the blurb for every Colorado starter.
Jarred Cosart – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. No thanks.
Clayton Kershaw – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. Only five innings and 3 ER from Kersh? Dude, don’t you know so many people are counting on you right now?
Josh Smith – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Smith is an average Joe and not worth your attention.
Tanner Roark – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Not good enough to be a Toby. Still, you could do worse in his next start against the Reds. Can’t say I like him all too much as he’ll most likely have under 3 Ks and you’re depending on a low ERA/WHIP, but the Nats can get hot and a Win maaaay be in order. You do you.
Wade Miley – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Yep, still dislike you Miley.
Michael Wacha – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks. It’s no secret I’m not much of a fan of Wacha, and while he’s a solid floor guy, he’s not all much more.
Jeff Locke – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Stop Jeroming Locke!
Chris Bassitt – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Remember when he was the talk of the town in July? Fun times kinda not really but it’s cool to look back at things positively and grossly out of proportion for the sake of happiness. Anyway, this was his first start after missing a month on the DL, and I wouldn’t trust him through the end.
James Paxton – 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. He left the start with a torn fingernail. There’s no way I’m making any excuses for Paxton and I will not rank him highly next year. Too injury prone, but I recognize the upside more than most. He just hurts my heart every time like watching the end of Titanic. Just kidding, I never watched that. Yeah…never…
Patrick Corbin – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Blegh, come on Corbs, you’re supposed to be the rock in my life. The boulder to stablizie. The mountain to look up at and go Daaaaaamn. I will never climb that thing.
Taylor Jungmann – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. To Jungmann’s defense, this was again the Cards, but he also had rocky outings against both the Marlins and Reds. I shouldn’t be a defense attorney.
Ian Kennedy – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. His magic has left the building. The Building of Love. Wait, no. The Kennedy Building. Don’t know I confused those two.
Kyle Gibson – 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Gibson was voted most deserving of the MFRTSPA when I ran a poll back in August. Hard to imagine he would still earn it now.
Today’s Streamer
Rich Hill vs. Baltimore Orioles – It’s a high upside play. He could easily fall on his face, but if you’re trying to make a big splash with a guy today, Hill is the pitcher I’d look to stream.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Baltimore Orioles – I’m riding the EDU train through the end of the year, and while there is risk here, he can put up some great numbers that could be the difference in your week.
Game of the Day
Gerrit Cole vs. Jon Lester – Nothing like a good old marquis matchup.