I really don’t want to but I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t talk a little about Andrew Cashner after his third excellent performance in four starts with a line of 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Sure, two starts ago was an 8 ER clunker, but the other three add up to 17.2 innings of 3 ER, 14 Hits, 23 Ks and just 2 walks. Beautiful stuff. Now I took a peek to see what has changed with the fella, and it looks to be a heavier reliance on his Slider while he’s kicked his Changeup out of his repertoire for not feeding the cat. His Slider has added horizontal movement as well as velocity, holding very close to its highest career marks in both during this four game span. Does it mean that his renaissance is justified and you should go nuts for the kid? Ehhhh it’s not such a huge change that I think it’ll last through the year, but as someone who has Cashed Out for so long, it certainly is something that would make me reconsider him for a 12 teamer and see where it goes. Just keep checking in on those numbers and if it tails off, get the hell outta Padge.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Steven Wright – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. And here is this knuckleballer killing it once again. I have Wright at #38 on The List. Eno Sarris has him at #75. We just don’t know what to do with the guy. Just realized y’all can’t see me shrugging through the screen but I am. You best believe it’s a top notch shrug – third grade shrugging champ over here.
Chris Tillman – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Jesus Tillman. I don’t like talking about Wins since they are such a random stat outside of the super good/super bad and is based more on your team than your ability, but I used to have a saying that went you can’t spell Win with Tillman. Well, I think Tilly here heard me and has gone 14-2 so far this year. Not because he’s incredible – he’s holding a 4.08 FIP and 4.44 xFIP with a 3.39 BB/9 – but because the Orioles like to get 2 ER in three games before turning on the jets for Tilly Mcgill over here. It’s annoying because I really liked saying that dumb little phrase (it just rolls off the tongue like my cellar whore) (second parenthesis because that joke will most likely not be appreciated but my peak delirium self wants it to get the spotlight it deserves so here we are) and I guess I need to retire if for the time being. Stupid Tillman getting more than he deserves.
Tom Koehler – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Like anyone is going to throw Koehler out there believing this is going to happen. Don’t care that it was against the Phils, even Tommy knows you can’t trust that.
Francisco Liriano – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 13 Ks. 13 Ks and 0 walks from Liriano? This is the equivalent of Liriano sucking in his stomach for a beautiful lady passing by. Unfortunately that means you’ll have to live with that revolting gut if you pick him up.
Chad Bettis – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Bettis 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.
Matt Moore – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Our Call Boy was good – a QS despite how silly that stat it, a handful of Ks and an excellent sub 1.00 WHIP. Nice work Moore for being inside of O.Co. Sadly that’s all we can rely on you for. LET EM LOOSE BOYS!
Adam Wainwright – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Waino just keeps on proving he’s got a lot left in the tank. Like I said last time, I wouldn’t be gunning to buy Waino, but you best be starting him with confidence here on out unless he gets a super tough matchup.
James Shields – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Solid stuff against the Tigers, and I do believe you can trust Shields in a super deep league, and even 12 teamers given that he faces an average or below offense. Do I want to own him in a 12 teamer? Definitely not, but there are certainly worse options like trusting in the Twits (essentially any Twins pitcher) or The Tweedle Bros of San Fran (Cain and Peavy) that are oh so prevalent in 12 teamers for some reason.
Julio Urias – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I’m still kinda weirded out by the fact that Urias is back pitching in the majors (he’s now at 82.1 innings for the year) but here we are and clearly he’s past the problems he had in his first couple of outings. It’s just an odd situation all around. He’s not going to go deep in any game, so there really isn’t too much upside to chase, but at the same time he’s pitching well in the innings he does give you. So it’s not like he’s hurting you, but he’s not giving you a whole lot either. Just give us Brock Stewart or Jose De Leon for the love of God. Things would be a lot more interesting that way.
Mike Foltynewicz – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. I like Folty, but not Folty in Coors. Coors is clearly the rice of baseball stadiums. I was reminded today while watching this outing that Folty is a little bit of a head case. If he feels like he’s getting squeezed or super unlucky, he’s not a calm guy who bears down and presses forward to put the team on his back. Nay, he falls apart and bad gets worse, something that reminds me of the PEAS but hopefully not as prevalent. Anywho, Folty is the leader of the Young Guns as I think he’ll return good value at some point in 2017 and beyond. I wouldn’t put too much stock into continued benefits this year. Roll with him if you need it, but don’t depend on it, ya hear?
Mike Pelfrey – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Pelfrey is the kid in your science class that you’re praying the teacher doesn’t mair you up with for your lab reports. Please don’t be Pelfrey…please don’t be Pelfrey…Heyya Nick! Guess we’re lab partners again. NOOOOOOOOOO.
CC Sabathia – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Man, remember when CC was on that crazy streak in May? That was something.
Stephen Strasburg – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. This was a fantastic start from Strasburg if the red-haired wonder Justin Turner didn’t elect to go yard twice, including a 3-run shot on an 3-0 Fastball at his shoulders. Well okay, not fantastic, but Strasburg was dominant against 8/9 of the Dodgers’ lineup. So it goes.
Matt Garza – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. To no one’s surprise, Garza is making owners feel like this. Does anyone actually own him?
Sonny Gray – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Poor Gray. This wasn’t against a powerhouse either but against the Rays.
Tyler Duffey – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. Duffey got the Red Sawx today, so this was bound to happen. Whatareyagonnado.
Jerad Eickhoff – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. This is probably the most disappointing start of the night since I like Eickhoff as a cheap producer and I want him to do well against his NL Easy rivals. He didn’t pitch as poorly as the line indicated, and I’d certainly be sticking with him in 12 teamers.
Today’s Streamers
Zach Eflin vs. Pittsburhg Pirates – The Bucs are 27th in the majors in wOBA over the last 30 days and Eflin is a decent streamer that can be serviceable in these situations. Jon Gray is also a good start against the Braves, but he’s much more owned.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Robbie Ray vs Cincinnati Reds – There are a lot of lame streaming options today, so I’ll go with the highest upside guy in Ray, who could easily hit at least 7 Ks against the weak Reds. Also, it looks like Tyler Glasnow has gotten the nod to start on Saturday against the Phillies. Not a bad stream at all, though there is a little risk involved given his command. It’s a little safer than Ray’s outing, though I see limited upside given the two-pitch approach and command questions.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Blake Snell vs. Oakland Athletics – Didn’t think I could call him a streamer, but he’s seemed to have been dropped a ton as he gets the A’s in massive O.Co. Sign me up! I’d also consider Lucas Giolito as he gets the Padres, though Snell is a much safer matchup, and to round off the prospect pitchers there’s Jameson Taillon against the Phils, which is an obvious start and he’s not really a streamer but I love talking about PPs. Which sounds bad if you read it aloud but please trust that it stands for Prospect Pitchers. Please.
Game of the Day
Yu Darvish vs. Danny Duffy – A ton of good games today, and I’ll be focusing most on this one to see if Duffy’s velocity is back + pray to hope we can watch the super fun side of Darvish more than the super annoying one.