All That Matters About Bieber

We had another fun pitching prospect make his debut tonight as Shane Bieber went 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks against the Twins. What should you think? First of all, you gotta think for yourselves, I’m only here to help. Second, I felt bad for Bieber as he allowed back-to-back solo shots on two straight pitches with one out left in the sixth, followed up with a single, leading to his hook. This was a Quality Start in the bag until the last moment. He unraveled a bit in the fifth inning as well, though I will cough it up a little to nerves being an MLB debut n all as it was the only real stressful frame. As far as his stuff goes…meh. Good command of his heater – plenty down in the zone – and he had some nice sliders and curveballs, but nothing that really grabbed me. A few good sequences playing with fastball/slider movement and tunneling, but again, I didn’t get that “whoa” feeling like I had with Buehler, Soroka, Kingham, Flaherty, etc. He’s still a Spice Girl, just a lower tier one, and that’s okay. The Indians don’t need a fifth starter until the middle of June, though, so I think you’re better off looking elsewhere for the time being. Never Say Never, but I’m not Confident and that’s All That Matters. Streaming Record: 32-20.

Let’s see how every other SP did Thursday:

Seth Lugo – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Yes I googled to find those song names. Oh, about Lugo, ummm, you know he’s not worth a 12-team add so let’s move on past this.

Ryan Carpenter – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. And this one too. There’s a reason he’s named RC as he’s the off-brand that you say you’re cool with, but legit you know you want Koch Pepsi. No one ever wants Koch. Nick, it’s pronounced like “cook,” not “coke.” Random person, it’s pronounced like “Nike,” not “Nick.” Wait are you– Of course not.

Jose Quintana – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I’ve lost faith in Quintana and so have you. And that’s fine. It’s good to see him do well here, I’m not sure I’m ready to jump back on board yet and if there is a nice Spice Girl out there, I’ll be chasing that instead, despite Michael Augustine’s great article today about Quintana’s biggest strength.

Clayton Kershaw – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Kershaw came back in a non-DLH situation – it’s Kershaw – and allowed just 1 ER, which had the runner never actually touching home plate. I won’t say he looked that great though and he elected to max out his heater at 90mph as reports rolled in that he’s getting an MRI on his back. Welp, guess it’s back out of the Top 10 for you. We miss you, Kershaw.

Wade LeBlanc – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. This getting stupid now as LeBlanc has allowed just 6 ER in six starts. Dude. Come on. Maybe it’s a Vargas Rule, maybe it’s small sample being dumb, either way, I’m willing to wager no one wants anything to do with LeBlanc when we enter July.

Aaron Nola – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. I’m a little disappointed in just 9 whiffs, but, well, just look at that start. All is well. Happy Nola Day.

Jordan Lyles – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Look at that, not only the curveball returned, but his slider did some work as well. Yes, I am 100% going to resort to Blame it on the Marlins here and put little stock in Lyles actually being a legit add in 12-teamers.

Lance McCullers – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. See, no need to worry about last week’s blowup. Sure, you wanted more strikeouts here, but we’ll all take this QS with a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

Sean Newcomb – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Despite earning just two strikeouts in this one, Newcomb earned himself a Co-Gallows Pole with 13 whiffs here, going five of 22 with his changeup. I still don’t buy that pitch – and really Newcomb’s whole shtick – which is why I’m lower than I assume most, and I wonder if there is something Newcomb can really do for me to take that leap with him. It just seems so…mediocre. Maybe that 4.03 SIERA and 12.0% BB rate are dictating that, though I’m amazed at his 23.1% soft contact thus far…nah, I just don’t buy it. I understand if you do, I can’t do it.

Ryne Stanek – 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. This isn’t the real you. *Ryan Yarbrough’s line of 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. reveals itself* Perfection. Ryan is turning some solid numbers with a 3.21 ERA, 3.82 SIERA, 1.09 WHIP and 22% K rate. That works, just he won’t go very long, with six frames being a rarity, and this is weird. A “non-starter” is earning a Co-Gallows Pole as Yarbrough’s 13 whiffs was the highest tonight. Yep. THAT’S BASEBALL SUZYN. I wouldn’t pick him up in 12-teamers because the whole situation is kinda messed up + I don’t think Yarbrough is this good, but I get it in super deep leagues.

Jack Flaherty – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Ehhhh I guess I’ll take this? He barely touched his curveball and changeup here, while tallying 102 pitches in just five frames. Definitely not the sharpest we’ve seen him – 24 CSW – and let’s hope he cruises in his next outing against the Marlins.

Daniel Mengden – 8.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Mengden had himself eight shutout innings before the first three batters all reached and we have ourselves a standard Careful Icarus. So let’s say he got pulled after eight beautiful, so fresh fresh so clean clean innings. Would ya’ll be yelling at me to raise him in the rankings? Should Jason Vargas have been Top 50 during his run last year? Just look at The List right now, save for a few names that you may disagree with, do you really feel Mengden belongs in the Top 50? With his poor K rate and clearly fortunate batted ball given that he’s not particularly skilled at inducing soft contact? It just doesn’t add up, but hey, go ahead and Vargas Rule this all you want.

Wei-Yin Chen – 1.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Nothing like some good ole Chen music to set the mood. What mood is that? Think Reservoir Dogs.

Mike Minor – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Blegh, I wanted to believe that Minor figured it out. I really did. Now he’ll be a leper on the wire for a good while and it’s too bad. Here’s to hoping something changes that we can latch onto.

Drew Pomeranz – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Calling Pomeranz The Dirty Cheerleader is just so wrong these days. I wonder if Beeks get the call soon because of how horrendously bad Pomeranz is these days.

Tanner Roark – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s just Roark’s third start of the year above 3 ER and I’m not ready to jump off yet. Yeah, five walks are terrible, but he only had 3 total in his previous three starts. I think it was just one of those bad nights and he’ll be better next time against the Rays.

Andrew Heaney – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. I felt terrible for Heaney watching this one as he just couldn’t get himself out of the first inning, leading to a crooked 5 spot before getting his third out. To his credit, he eventually found a rhythm and was pulled after earning 13 outs across the previous 15 batters, but this wasn’t the sharp Heaney we saw in previous starts. It isn’t the foundation crumbling, just a bad day that we shouldn’t read too much into. Start him next time against the Royals without fear.

Trevor Williams – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Yep, that’s the expected regression of a TEEs, alright.

Jake Odorizzi – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. What did Odorizzi do tonight? He stalled our excitement for Bieber, throwing 92 pitches in under four innings. IT TOOK FOREVER. Too bad he had to get the Indians, Odorizzi, wasn’t pitching all too badly leading up to this matchup. So it goes.

Today’s Streamer

Tyler Mahle vs. San Diego Padres – The Pads are known to be bad at heaters and even with his recent struggles, I think Mahle can do this.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Matt Harvey vs. San Diego Padres – I sound like a mad man, but the Padres are bad and Harvey increased his fastball velocity. Maybe this works out.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Nick Kingham vs. St. Louis Cardinals – He was dropped in leagues are his last start and it’s time to take advantage.

Game of the Day

Gerrit Cole vs. Chris Sale – Another stud matchup that should be all kinds of dope.