I know it was a rained shortened start and not truly enough to make harsh judgements one way or another, but I feel the need to discuss Matt Harvey’s brief outing tonight against the Nationals that ended in a 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks line as the rain poured like emptying a pail filled with heavy water. Yes, heavy water. I was watching for Giolito’s debut, but I found myself taking more note of Harvey as he struggled in a few areas. First, he couldn’t hit spots like he used to. Like at all. His first run came off an RBI triple from Anthony Rendon on a Fastball down the heart of the plate. Then his Slider wasn’t looking good at all, and he kept walking batters to the point that he looked a bit shaky even in Giolito’s only at-bat. I was buying into the idea that Harvey would be returning to Top 15 value shortly, but I’m not sure I believe that anymore. It’s possible the rain affected him, but this is a bad outing in everything but the ERA. Don’t be shocked if you find him in the mid 20s or so on Monday.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Corey Kluber – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Which is an odd thing these days with aces dropping likes flies. Kershaw is getting his back checked in L.A., Greinke’s back is acting up, and no one can catch a break. This year is the weirdest SP year in a long time.
Zack Greinke – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Yeah, you read that right. Greinke left with a tight oblique and is probably heading to the DL. Come on man, I was so buying into his horizontal release point shift and that we’d be seeing classic Greinkster rest of the way. Why you do this baseball gods?
Kyle Gibson – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Don’t think I don’t see you Kyle, trying to sneak in with the aces like you belong. NEWS FLASH: You don’t. Is this really newsworthy stuff? I have an integrity to maintain over here. WHAT AND I DON’T? No need to yell, be calm. I’M CALMER THAN YOU ARE. Is this because the aces are dealing…with injuries and you’re sad that a guy like Gibson can look like gold out of nowhere? …yes. It hurts, man. I really does. I know…I know…
Jon Lester – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Sure, I want more Ks, but Lester has been as steady as a longtime girlfriend.
Cole Hamels – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. I’ve been pretty low on Hamels this year, but he keeps beating his xFIP and FIP by a ton, lowering his ERA to 2.60 despite a whopping 4.39 FIP. At least his walk rate is falling to 3.30 BB/9 after this. I don’t love it, but with the way pitchers are throwing this year, you best hope that luck continues.
Rick Porcello – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. This is Porcello rolling against a mediocre offense. Keep it coming against Texas and Tampa Bay again to close out the first half.
Julio Urias – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 6 BBs, 6 Ks. Six walks Urias? SIX?! This is horrific in a K/BB league, but actually quite serviceable in standard leagues. Just get your act together kiddo.
Scott Feldman – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. It’s no Arrieta line (Heyyoooo!) and super boring but productive for the sub 1% that ran with him tonight. Well done you rich bastards.
Matt Wisler – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Wisler struck out nine batters?! And that’s not breaking the law?! Talk about a One Night Bland.
Lucas Giolito – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. I’ll be writing a GIF Breakdown of the good Gio tomorrow morning, and I’ll give you guys the schticky now: Fastball needs work but good downward plane, Curveball is pretty and will help in all situations, but not a debilitator like JoFer or Kershaw (kinda like a righty-Zito with a little less horizontal bend), and I want to see more of his Changeup but he pitched under 50 pitches in his four innings of work. Getting ahead with his heater will be crucial, and I think it’ll take some time before he presents Top 40 value. I’d roll with Taillon instead, though he probably gets the nod above Snell simply due to calling the NL Easy home.
John Lamb – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Look at Lamb expressing his upside. Now look at the disappointment of owners next time out. You have a time machine mirror thing? So what if I do?
Ubaldo Jimenez – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. “Hey guys! Ubaldo is saving his season!” – said no one.
Jose Quintana – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Ehhhh, one ER fewer and we’re golden here. I want to believe this is a step in the right direction, but it was against the Twins…
Hisashi Iwakuma – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s nice to see Iwakuma doing well. Good for him, bad for the owner who picks him up now and rolls with him next time.
Jerad Eickhoff – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Meh, that 2.00 WHIP hurts, but this matchup wasn’t great in Arizona, and you could do worse than a 3.60 ERA and 6 strikeouts. Stick with him y’all.
Chris Archer – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks. Seriously do yourself a favor and rid yourself of Archer in whatever way you can, unless you really need those strikeouts. Archer was ace caliber for three months – if even that. He’s been his normal self otherwise.
Michael Wacha – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Blegh. Wacha is back to his Tobey Maguire days and that’s not a good thing.
Albert Suarez – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. King Albert? More like #@%king Albert.
Adam Conley – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. Conley vs. Detroit does not spell a happy ending. Sure, it all came apart in one stupid fifth inning that featured a pair of HRs, but you can’t be too upset things like that happen against the Tigers. Crazy that he had six Ks through the first two innings, though.
Erik Johnson – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Lines like these are making the Padres happy with their James Shields trade. Burrrrrn.
CC Sabathia – 7.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Welp, so much for CC’s magical run. Pack it up boys, The Balls Have Dropped. Yeah, I know that’s typically reserved for younger pitchers, but it still applies.
Kendall Graveman – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. I’d rather have the real KG pitch instead of Graveman. Yes, I’m talking about Ken Giles. Oh, I thought you were talking about Kevin Garnett. A basketball player?…Why? I DON’T KNOW YOU SAID IT. Calmer than you are.
J.A. Happ – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Happ is a streamer, nothing more these days, and you really didn’t want to be running him out there in Coors.
Tim Lincecum – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Timmy is really not worth your time. I don’t care about the Ks, like at all – and you know how tough it is for me to say that.
Eddie Butler – 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Butler 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 not named Gray and maybe even Gray.
Mike Pelfrey – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 12 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Pelfrey is taking over where Alfredo Simon left off as the worst starter in the game. Ouch.
Jonathon Niese – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I prefer the Nephew.
Yordano Ventura – 5.1 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. I found myself digging deeper into Ventura after his last two starts of dominance and I was hoping that he would continue his hot streak tonight. Welp, all of that data about his improved location and harder Curveball go out the window.
Chase Anderson – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. This is what makes Chase a decent streamer guy, not a great one. That floor is still real low even when he faces a generally average offense like the Dodgers.
Today’s Streamers
Archie Bradley vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Easily the best choice of the day, with deeper picks being Yovani Gallardo vs. the Padres, Jake Peavy vs. Oakland and Zach Davies vs. Los Angeles.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Michael Pineda vs. Texas Rangers – I’m feeling like this is the day to trust Pineda after looking solid over the past few weeks. Deeper streams include his opponent AJ Griffin who I can conceive skirting past a poor Yankee offense. There’s also Tom Koehler vs. the Braves for those in dire need.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Bud Norris vs. Miami Marlins – I can’t believe I’m even suggesting this but here we are. Nud Borris has been rolling lately and he gets the best matchup of the day among mostly unowned starters. Of course now that I’m endorsing him the clock will strike midnight at 7:00pm, which totally makes sense.
Game of the Day
Jameson Taillon vs. Kyle Hendricks Seattle Mariners – Sure, it’s a bench in standard roto leagues for Taillon, but I love the kid and will be watching with hopes that he steamrolls the Mariners.