Sorry to mislead you with the headline, but don’t get the impressions that Carlos Rodon can be trusted despite his start last night of 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. Yes, it’s super tasty and beautiful in every way, but this is the guy that had 13 walks combined across his last three starts and even with this outing holds a 5.19 BB/9. That’s a walk rate higher than John Danks‘ ERA. Look, I’m one of the first to ignore everything and worship K upside like I just hit baseball puberty, but you have to keep your head straight and let Rodon be someone else’s problem.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jacob deGrom – 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Gerrit Cole – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. What deGrom said.
Jeremy Hellickson – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Ugh, I really, really don’t want to add Hellickson to The List tomorrow because he just isn’t someone you want to depend on. But he does have a FIP/xFIP under 4.00 now and he’s striking out batters better than a 7.50 K/9 clip. I may do it near the end, but you’ve been warned. He’s a dangerous fella.
Yordano Ventura – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Would you look at that. Ventura didn’t get that one troubled inning and made it through seven innings with zero walks and only 1 ER. Maybe that “stint” to the minors did some good.
Eduardo Rodriguez – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Speaking of avoiding the one big inning, Erod was super dominant for his entire start this time round. I’m telling y’all, he’s something special and will most likely be on all of my teams in 2016. Him and J. Ross will be part of my 12th/13th round pitcher steals.
Odrisamer Despaigne – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Who’s that guy that did alright today but should not be picked up in any league? Despaigne.
Nathan Eovaldi – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Eovaldi went eight innings for the first time all season, and the fifth time in his career. Sure it was against the Twins, and I don’t suggest you putting faith in the flamethrower, but it’s nice to see.
Zack Greinke – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s really hard not to crack a smile when you hear that opposing pitcher deGrom was the one to end Greinke’s scoreless streak. Baseball is so freakin’ romantic.
Danny Salazar – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Salazar had a ton of strikeouts but was mediocre in ERA and WHIP? Do rabbits like carrots?
Aaron Nola – 7.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. It looks good outside of the 4 ER with a 0.92 WHIP and a handful of strikeouts. I think this kid is pretty dang serviceable in the second half and you should jump on board.
Joe Ross – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Just a single ER too much for my tastes, but everything else is oh-so-nice. He should get one more outing before being sent back to AAA. I’m secretly hoping Strasburg gets a setback and Ross takes his place the rest of the season. A man can dream, can’t he?
Andrew Heaney – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. You’ll take this from Heaney as he keeps dealing.
Matt Wisler – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. A wise man once told me: “Blegh.”
Mat Latos – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Here are some stats for you. Entering this start, Latos had a 2.72 ERA backed by a 3.21 FIP and 3.13 xFIP in six starts since coming off the DL on June 13th. Now I’m not saying that you should get on the Latos hype train, but he’s clearly fixed a few things here and there.
Michael Wacha – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. I dunno, I’m just not thrilled about Wacha. Everything about him is slightly above average, and he hasn’t had a dominant start (ES in both VPR and VPRs) all season. I know your trade deadlines are coming soon, so I’d sell Wacha still while you can.
Wei-Yin Chen – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Our Call Boy was…fine. No, not handsome, jeez you’re acting like my sister watching the Mets. Ohhhh David Wright is a cutie. Leave it to my sis to find a reason to watch the Mets. ZING.
Taijuan Walker – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I wasn’t sold when he was killing it, and now he’s had four straight starts of unstartable blegh. I haven’t experienced so much disappointment since my last phone call with my grandmother.
Matt Garza – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Garza is back to his old ways and making owners feel like this.
Tim Hudson – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. I think Hudson is satisfied with this outing so I’m happy for him. Just don’t roster him.
Nick Martinez – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Come on Nick, stop giving us a bad name. Are you talking to yourself? Well, no Mr. Italics, but yes, since I technically typed you. Whaaaaaaaa. Oh, FYI, don’t forget your pasta is boiling. OH DAMN BRB.
Dallas Keuchel – 6.2 IP, 5 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Some may think I’m happy to see Keuchel fall finally after I’ve been preaching his inflated value for ages. Well, they’re wrong. While I didn’t expect a CGSHO, him getting Singled Out despite his elite Soft Contact rate is a bit shocking. You never like seeing a guy that should do better put up a poor outing.
Mark Buehrle – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. The Burly Buehrle doing his thang. For those unaware, that means somewhat low ER/K totals, poor WHIP.
Kyle Gibson – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Yup, that’s what Mr. Gibson does.
Matt Moore – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Matty, I think you took us screaming “we want more” the wrong way.
Kyle Kendrick – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Kendrick 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.
Kendall Graveman – 1.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. The Regression Angels were putting on party hats waiting for their chance to pick up Graveman, and it’s here with a cake in the face. At least it’s an ice cream cake! It hurts more than a regular cake. But it tastes soooo good!
Jason Hammel – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s been rocky travels for most of July for Hammel owners, through his hamstring injury, 3 walks last time out then this clunker. Yes it was against the Phillies, who manhandled the Cubs for the sweep despite facing Lester, Arrieta, and Hammel. If you’re perplexed, join the club. Roll Hammel with confidence against the Brew Crew.
Shane Greene – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. I feel like we need to walk him naked out of the streets as punishment for the sins he’s given us owners. SHANE! SHANE! Sidenote: Okay, that sounds really bad if you don’t get the GoT reference. The sacrifices I make for you guys.
Michael Lorenzen – 2.1 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Lorenzen, I reminiscence about the days when you were an intriguing prospect. Your future was so full of hope and wonder back then.
Today’s Streamer
Kyle Hendricks vs. Coloroado Rockies – That might look weird since it’s against Colorado, but it’ll be played in Wrigley and the Rockies are a poor team on the road. Throw in the possibility that Nolan Arenado will be resting his hand, and you have a solid stream.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Jaime Garcia vs. Cincinnati Reds – Because he’s coming off the DL, I’m a little conflicted. Sure, he’s only owned now in 50% of leagues due to his injury, allowing him to be called a streamer in my eye, but I also am hesitant to start guys are extended DL trips. Thing is, Felix Doubront hosting the Phils or Brett Anderson against the A’s don’t really excite me, making Garcia our Call Boy.
Game of the Day
Lance Lynn vs. Raisel Iglesias – Gotta say, it’s a pretty lame Monday. Not many exciting pitchers and few solid matchups. The best duels will be between Anibal Sanchez vs. Nate Karns or Alex Wood vs. Kevin Gausman. But whatever, I’d rather see Lynn as he’s easily the pitcher of the bunch, and Rasiel can be a bit fun in his own right.