I’m really torn about Eduardo Rodriguez these days. I mean, not so torn to tell you not to drop Edu if you need the space – go ahead, it’s fine – but I really do believe his stuff should be better than it has been, but it hasn’t and has resulted in ugly lines like tonight’s 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Sure this was against the O’s and he’s faced tough opponents three-out-of-four starts, and it’s not hard to say that he’ll probably be better facing teams like the ChiSox, Rangers, Angels, and Rays ahead, but the the stuff really isn’t where I thought it would be by the middle of June. His Slider has been super average and his Changeup is being left in the zone too often. I can see it improving and maybe the upcoming weeks against weaker opponents can help him regain confidence, but I just don’t want to invest in Edu anymore. Not when everything is free online, am I right? Is that why you’re still without a job? Noted.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Colby Lewis – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Uggggghhhh. Fine guys. Fine. I’ll add him to the tail end of The List next week. Even though this was against Oakland. Even though he is the poster child for TEEs. He’s going to go up in flames and I feel like I need to stick to my guns but the dude is making it happen despite every metric dictating otherwise and it’s silly. Whatever, can we move on?
Aaron Nola – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Why did we have to move on to this? I love me some Easy A, and he hasn’t allowed 4 ER since the middle of April. This came against the Jays and you damn well should expect him to rebound next time out against the Twins.
Tyler Wilson – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Wilson, what are you doing here. What, I thought there was a free buffet? Nah man, that’s on Sunday. Oh damn, my bad. It’s cool, it’s cool.
J.A. Happ – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Our Call Boy was super awesome and now you have to push him out of the nest like a high school senior heading to college. I WANT THAT EMPTY NEST. But seriously, go ahead and drop Happ now. He’s done his job.
Daniel Mengden – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. I imagine a good amount of you are considering grabbing him after this outing. I don’t think his stuff is good enough to produce lines close to this consistently, but I don’t blame you for chasing it if you’re desperate.
Bartolo Colon – 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. The Big Apple rolled through the Pirates lineup as his Sinker was as pretty as ever. It’s too bad he can’t pitch like this all the time.
CC Sabathia – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. You can’t stop CC when he’s on fire. Don’t question it, just start him.
Matt Wisler – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s a pretty boring start and Wisler isn’t someone with enough upside to take a risk on.
Justin Verlander – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. This really isn’t that bad outside of a crooked ER total. I still think Verlander turned a corner in May and this does little to dissuade me.
Kyle Gibson – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Gibson is more like Kyle one than Kyle two. Yeah, I said it.
Danny Duffy – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Three of the “sea of upside” guys went today (Duffy/Paxton/Snell), and all three underperformed. So it goes. Duffy has one of the better excuses as he faced Detroit (not best because Snell got the Mariners), and I’d keep riding him as he faces the Mets/Cards/Phils next.
James Paxton – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Paxton didn’t have the command that he did in his previous two starts, but his stuff is too good to let that turn into a meltdown. Keep rolling with Paxton y’all. It’s pretty legit.
Blake Snell – 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Snell had to throw a ton of extra pitchers after errors in the field and it did him no favors as he faced a Top 5 offense in the Mariners. I expect him to rebound for his next start against Cleveland, though he’s slated to face the Sawx and Tigers after that, which is far from ideal :-/
Scott Kazmir – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Whoa, eight Ks in 12 outs?! Kaz is being a weird animal these days and I can’t say I like trusting weird animals. My uncle Justin is a weird animal and I sure as hell don’t trust him. I don’t see your point. Just be careful with Kaz okay? Yeesh. I wouldn’t start him next time against the Nats, for example.
Tanner Roark – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Blegh, Roark you have such a nice schedule and you’re just throwing it away like my half eaten loaf of bread that is already well past the expiration date. This was the Padres here. THE PADRES. Whatever, keep sticking with him for now.
Junior Guerra – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s the first real bump in the road for Guerra after his first two dismal starts. Is this the time to stop consider Guerra as a streamer candidate? Nah, I’d roll with him against Oakland. I mean, it’s Oakland, I’m struggling to name five hitters on their team. Valencia…Davis…Semien…Vogt…Crisp…Burns… Okay fine, you got six. Don’t care, I like my point. It’s a nice point.
Erik Johnson – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Yeah…you really don’t want anything to do with Erik. I mean, who fawns after a girl who doesn’t even talk? …what am I getting myself into.
Juan Nicasio – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Dude, the Nicasio train crashed like a month ago. It was all over the news, didn’t you see it?
Dan Straily – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. I know it was the probably the worst headline I’ve had all year with “The Last Straiw”, but note that it wasn’t called “The Second-To-Last Straiw” or even cooler “The Penultimate Straiw”. Whatever, point is that he’s a TEEs and despite facing a horrid Atlanta team, this doesn’t shock me too much.
Today’s Streamers
Julio Urias vs. Milwaukee Brewers – I’m willing to bet Urias got dropped in a bunch of leagues after his first two starts and a matchup against the Brew Crew is pretty dang solid. Also, if Matt Shoemaker is somehow still out there, you best grab him for his game against Oakland, 10 teamers be damned.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Robbie Ray vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Oh boy do I hate the streaming options for this day, which forces me to go with a super volatile upside guy in Ray as he faces one of the worst offensive ball clubs in the bigs.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Mike Fiers vs. Cincinnati Reds – Fiers could have a much needed field day against one of the weaker lineups around.
Game of the Day
Lance McCullers vs. Cincinnati Reds – If McCullers can’t be elite against the Reds, I may have to seriously reconsider his ranking for Monday.