I really can’t decide where I stand with Indian’s pitcher Josh Tomlin. He’s been very productive since entering the Indian’s rotation and I had my doubts entering last night’s outing against the Tigers – a top 5 MLB offense – and he shut me up with a line of 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. He now has a 32/3 K per BB across his five starts with a 3.40 xFIP to match. There is some worry – a 98.7% LOB rate and 4.17 FIP, and he’s generating only 14.7% soft contact while allowing a monstrous 31.6% hard contact – numbers that make his super low .170 BABIP even luckier. My gut tells me that if I endorse him, he’ll blow up next time out against the ChiSox, but then he could easily skate through his final six starts of the season riding the same luck that got him where he is now. If you’re in the playoffs and need big upside play, Tomlin can be that guy, but for those looking for some sturdy padding I wouldn’t put all my chips on Tomlin.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
John Danks – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Are we sure this wasn’t Jose Quintana accidentally wearing Danks’ jersey?
Collin McHugh – 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. McHugh holds a 1.54 ERA (2.32/3.35 FIP/xFIP) with a solid 17.4% K-BB % in his last six starts since August 2nd. If you haven’t accepted him back into your life, now is the time. So you’re saying he is Christ. No, I’m not saying he’s Christ, don’t bring religion into this. Jesus.
Jorge De La Rosa – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. De La Rosa 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.
J.A. Happ – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Ummmm, so I normally go with a “That Happened” since Happ has a pretty low floor. Like Basement level 3 floor. However, his last five starts have been pretty dang good. Only 2 ER across 30.0 IP with a 2.35/3.32 FIP/xFIP, mixed with a 26/5 K per BB. Thing is, he needed a ridiculous 97.6% LOB rate and .244 BABIP. He’s earned a spot on The List for sure, but if you guys blindly trust him here on out, you’ll be met with a crash worthy of a test dummy.
Julio Teheran – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Even when Teheran gives you a low ERA, he can only produce 4 Ks and a 1.50 WHIP. Thanks for nothing.
Luis Severino – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. So he needs to lower the walks a little, but Severino looked pretty solid as he entered the seventh inning for the first time. I think he gets stretched a little more as the season and we’ll all have a party.
Joe Kelly – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Ehhhh okay. Like I said last time out, I still don’t trust him through September.
Mike Bolsinger – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. He got the start instead of Latos and allowed only 2 Hits…a pair of dingers. Bolsinger can be a decent stream here on out if he sticks around so watch carefully.
Jake Odorizzi – 6.2 IP, 5 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. A trio of HRs ruined everything for Odorizzi, but he still gave you eight strikeouts and a solid WHIP. I’m a fan. What do you be a collection of revolving blades have to do with this? EVERYTHING.
Ubaldo Jimenez – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 6 BBs, 4 Ks. You start to read Jimenez’s line with an air of hope…One run, nice!…only four hits!…SIX WALKS? He walked over a batter per inning, but I guess that’s the only way to beat the Jays these days. They can’t hit the ball out of the park if they never get a pitch to hit.
Tom Koehler – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Yeah, Koehler is never good.
Garrett Richards – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 1 Ks. Surprise! Richards is a giant headache! I think I’m going to be much lower on Richards than everyone across the board next year. Just like Tyson and Gio, the walks are just too much to handle.
Jon Lester – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Ugh, come on Lester stop being so wishy-washy. You’re lucky the 20s are so mangled with enigmas that you get to keep your Top 20 spot, but I’M WATCHING YOU. Aren’t you watching every pitcher every day? Great, a smart aleck for a son.
Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. That would be some prime, prime blegh from Perez. And no one was shocked.
Chris Heston – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. This is okay from Heston. Not great at all, but it showcases his decent floor.
Tanner Roark – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks. Roark is back in the rotation again with Stephen Strasburg getting another skip in the rotation. The Burg will back next week probably, and Roark most likely will stick around since Joe Ross is probably getting shutdown.
James Shields – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 6 BBs, 4 Ks. I saw some current rankings that were similar to The List that still ranked Shields ROS in the Top 25. Anyone understand why? I mean, I know it’s not perfect on my end, but I don’t think I know a single owner that has been pleased throwing Shields out there for the past two (three??) months.
Jacob deGrom – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. The Hair had a bad fourth inning where he kept brushing the same spot over and over again but he still had a giant tuft that wouldn’t budge. For realsies though he got Singled Out and the damage was done. So it goes.
Carlos Martinez – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. In his last seven starts since July 30th, CMart has held a 5.13 ERA and you may be freaking out. Don’t get too worried, it comes with a FIP/xFIP of 2.77/3.18, and he’s featured a small 2.01 BB/9 in that span while maintaining nearly a strikeout per inning. Now if you want to be concerned about the Cardinals limiting Martinez’s innings, you may have something there. However, he was skipped last time with a back issue and the club may see that as enough. Who knows, so monitor the situation y’all.
Adam Morgan – 6.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I wish Morgan’s buddy Freeman would narrate these pitching lines for me. Adam Morgan, a man who is loved by many tossed 6.1 innings yesterday, where he met a ferocious Boston offense that pummeled the kind Philadelphia pitcher for six runs. They made off with six hits and two walks, but Morgan fought long. He fought hard. And he took six Red Sox batters with him. I want it now.
Drew Hutchison – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. So we all know Hutchison is bad on the road, but now he’s also bad at home. You know what this means? Hutchison is bad.
Zack Godley – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 4 Hits, 6 BBs, 3 Ks. Welcome back to the rotation Godley. His command was out of wack and I’d be surprised if he gets a continued look out of the rotation. Welcome back to getting demoted Godley.
Kyle Lobstein – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. The Blobstein returned the rotation after a very long DL stint and picked up right where he left off. I wouldn’t be looking at Lobstein in any league.
Edgar Olmos – 1.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. He Olmos had a strikeout. Olmos.
Mike Pelfrey – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Yep, that’s Pelfrey.
Kris Medlen – 5.2 IP, 7 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Dang Medlen, you’re supposed to have a good floor! A 3 run shot in the fourth did little to help his evening as he was getting Singled Out before hand. I see a recovery for Medlen, but it’s tough to have confidence in him after this outing against an average ChiSox team.
Aaron Brooks – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Man this is awkward. Sometimes the Call Boy just isn’t what you expected and you get burned for it. Welp, that’s baseball.
Today’s Streamers
John Lamb vs. Milwaukee Brewers – He figured out his Changeup last time out and it could be more of the same for a high K performance.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Philadelphia Phillies – I would go with Steven Matz returning from the DL, but he’s actually owned in more than 55% of ESPN leagues, soooo yeah. EDU has the upside to have a fantastic game against the Phils, though there is some risk. If you need that extra push on a Sunday, .EDU is your best option.
Game of the Day
Matt Moore vs. New York Yankees – Moore returns from the DL after holding a 43/8 K per BB in rehab. It’ll be interesting to see how he looks on the hill in NYC.