There are times during the season where I simply can’t believe a pitcher is performing at the top of his game. But suddenly CC Sabathia has allowed just 3 ER in his last six starts, and tossed a line of 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks against the Tigers last night, marking his fourth straight great outing against a tough opponent. I went into the numbers to find the catalyst and it seems to be a Cutter that his generating whiffs at around 11% of the time. It’s crazy, but you best be adding CC to your teams as he faces the Twins next. I don’t even care about the Rockies visiting the Bronx after that, then he gets the Rangers/Padres/Indians to close out the first half. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Sign. Me. Up.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Corey Kluber – 9.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Yes Kluber. YES.
Clayton Kershaw – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 13 Ks. Aces gonna ace. 2 ER though? Dude, step it up.
Johnny Cueto – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace. It was a solid duel between the two pitchers and Cueto certainly continued proving his worth.
Bud Norris – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Nud Borris is getting his chance in the rotation with Folty out for a bit and he’s doing well. Doesn’t matter, he isn’t this good guys. Seriously.
Matt Harvey – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. If you’re not on the Harvey train yet, you best start running because it’s picking up steam. CHOO CHOO.
Jon Gray – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Gray pitched against the Padres…again. It’s hard to formulate a real opinion on him when he keeps getting the same math problem. I still only like him against average opponents outside of Coors or really weak teams in Colorado.
Steven Wright – 7.1 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I just have to shut up and take it. If Wright is still somehow out there, you best add him.
Michael Wacha – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s a Toby line alright.
Sonny Gray – 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Sonny is looking better each time out and he’ll get a sizeable jump again this week, though keep in mind – this was against the Reds.
Stephen Strasburg – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. He had a rough second inning and allowed a two-run bomb in the 3rd. Not his best, but you’ll take that as he’s now…10-0?! I very rarely talk about W/L given their volatility, but hot damn is that sexy.
Junior Guerra – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Our Call Boy was…fine. That ERA is solid and the WHIP is meh, but dem Ks are lacking and it’s tough to be a Guerra fan outside of the matchup. But whatever, he was fine.
Marco Estrada – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. Ehhh, I want to like this more – and it was a QS to the extreme of that dumb stat – but a 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP aren’t great. But 8 Ks!
Gerrit Cole – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Cole left with “triceps tightness”. Ohhhhh no. I really hope you sold when you had the chance.
Andrew Cashner – 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. And he left with shoulder stiffness. For once, he Cashed Out before us. Other injury news is that Velasquez should be back when he’s eligible to return from the DL as the tests came back as “pretty clean”. I’m still worried, and given his general inconsistency + inevitable shutdown, he’s still a major sell.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Ehhhh pretty boring but not terrible. I think that’s okay from Iwakuma given how rocky his season has been.
Anthony DeSclafani – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Welcome back to the bigs, kid! Walks are generally higher in debuts/returns from the DL, so don’t worry too much about them. But that 2.17 WHIP and only 2 Ks is why you don’t start guys returning from extended DL trips. I’d be interested to add Tony Disco to 12 teamers if you needed another starter.
Patrick Corbin – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Corbin got a bit screwed over by getting pulled with the bases loaded against a lefty, with the next batter hitting a Papa Johns SlamTM. He has looked a little better lately and I may introduce him back to The List on Monday, but I wouldn’t go crazy just yet. I need to see him really take over a game first.
Kevin Gausman – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. A lot of people have asked me why I’ve been high on Gausman and it really doesn’t have to do so much with him, but more that the options below him are just so boring. I’m a fan of chasing upside in those situations, and Gausman does generally provide it, though it can be tough to excel when you face the Blue Jays, Sawx, and Tigers. He heads to Beantown next time out and I understand if you don’t want to run him out there. After that, though it’s smooth sailing with guys like the Rays, Padres, and Angels in his sights like Soldier 76.
Mike Pelfrey – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. Nobody wants to be like Mike.
Jason Hammel – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I’ve been calling Hammel a prime sell candidate and that window is starting to close.
Lance McCullers – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. I’m getting sick and tired of McCullers hype. For realsies. I gotta demote him in a big way on Monday because those walk issues aren’t going to disappear and it’s absolutely killing him. Then again…I already lowered him to 27 and the guys after him all have their issues…this is such a weird pitching year. Last year around this time there were a plethora of arms that were dominating like whoa in the 20s and 30s. Now it’s like Whoaaa dude, chill.
Matt Andriese – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. I’ve been telling y’all for weeks not to invest in Andriese. This is why.
Derek Holland – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. The Dutch Invasion has returned. Blegh.
Chris Sale – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Uh oh. I have to demote Sale on Monday. This is weird. He’s now allowed at least 4 ER in three of his last four games and there is something up with the guy…which he’ll probably snap out of in the next week or two, but considering how baller Thor, JoFer, Stras, Madison have been, I feel like I may need to knock him down a peg. The Plague of the 18 strikes again…
Justin Nicolino – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 12 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. If I had a Nico every time I needed a pitcher, I would be so broke.
Tyler Duffey – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. This just makes me sadder and sadder. So much potential just going down the drain.
Jeremy Hellickson – 6.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. I hate you Hellickson. I HATE YOU. He’s the freakin’ Devil and it’s killing me.
Ian Kennedy – 5.2 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. And the fortress has pretty much crumbled. That’s a 6.27 ERA now across his last six starts. Ouch.
Hector Santiago – 1.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Stop trusting in Santiago. Seriously.
Today’s Streamers
James Paxton vs. Texas Rangers – An interesting array of options to choose from, and I can see up to five guys going today. If you need heavy K upside, there’s Trevor Bauer against the Angels, if you need a Win at a super discount, Logan Verrett may be the guy against the Brewers. Then there’s Mike Fiers vs. the Rays, and even Matt Shoemaker vs. the Indians if he was dropped after his last start. Ultimately, I like Paxton after his absurdly impressive outing last time out, regardless of the decent Rangers offense.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Rick Porcello vs. Minnesota Twins – I’m not the biggest fan of Porcello these days, but he gets some much needed respite in his schedule to face a hobbling Twins offense. Other options include Sean Manaea against the Reds, Zach Davies facing the Mets, and a super deep roll of the dice with John Lamb vs the A’s.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Martin Perez vs. Oakland Athletics – Perez is a BABIP lover who has managed a 3.22 ERA this year, and in a blegh day for streamers, this is your best option. I can see someone trusting Juan Nicasio vs. the Mets given his previous solid outing against them, or even Tom Koehler vs. the Padres.
Game of the Day
James Paxton vs. Texas Rangers – I want to see if Paxton is for real. PLEASE TELL ME IT IS REAL.