Eduardo, A Dear

During the spring, I was a bit back-and-forth on Eduardo Rodriguez before settling on him as a mid-40s SP through most of the season, but that could change after last night’s 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks performance against the Rays. That’s a 1.76 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP across his last five starts. Why didn’t you mention his strikeout and walk rates. Because they are…not great, Bob. Okay fine, his 24% K rate is strong but an 11%+ walk rate is a little scary. He’s pulled back a little on his cutter in favor of fastballs to pair with his changeup (just 10/133 cutters here), which isn’t a bad idea, but it also reduces the pitch that helps him get strikes early in counts. I’m a little torn about it. I think of this as a nice run, but not the run for Eduardo. It worked out well yesterday and you should keep running with him, but I don’t see a Top 30 SP the rest of the way. I want to see him cooking with all three offerings a bit more.

Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:

Gerrit Cole – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Should he just be #1? Maybe. Maybe.

Sonny Gray – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Not even the Brew Crew can slow down Gray, though it wasn’t as overwhelming as we’ve seen. What?! That line is fantastic! Definitely! But 8/105 whiffs with 29% CSW. A ton of breakers – 62 curveballs + sliders here – and there’s little reason to stop this party. Keep starting Gray and hope it lasts through September.

Ivan Nova – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Looks like today was the day. Hope you brought you goggles to enjoy this Super Nova. You didn’t? That’s a pity.

Daniel Poncedeleon – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Blegh. 86 pitches for just three frames. Go ahead and drop him for the fun names above him on The List, like Wojciechowski, ReyLo, and Urquidy. But he had 16 whiffs! That’s pretty cool, super four-seamer focused, though, and I need more. MORE.

Trevor Williams – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Hey, he finally returned! With 22/90 CSW! Ugh, you’re still hating on Williams? How can I not? He’s ultra dependent on BABIP and you know that’s not a smart bet to make. He’s been known to break the trends for extended periods of time, so I understand chasing this and hoping it works. I won’t, though. It’s just not for me.

Chase Anderson – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Chase served you a Philly, failing to go into the sixth once again, and collected 25/94 CSW. It’s just not the play you want to make. 

Ryan Borucki – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Yeaaaaah, RyBor isn’t the man you’re looking for. In fact, with a name like RyBor, he’s not even a man but actually a cyborg boar (a Cyboarg?) returning from the future to destroy your opponent’s fantasy teams. It’s just one of those mornings, isn’t it Nick. Yes. Yes it is.

Marco Gonzales – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Still sub 90mph on his heater and his stuff is still pretty blegh. 25/111 CSW here isn’t anything to write home about and I’m looking elsewhere for the one who shouts Polo.

Alec Mills – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Ehhhhh, I imagine there were a good amount of us going with Mills here and there isn’t a whole lot here to be happy about. In general, Mills isn’t going to serve the well-balanced breakfast you want. Not enough substance.

Shaun Anderson – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. You know the drill, Shaun-A = Dereck Rodriguez 2.0. Does that mean I don’t want him? That’s exactly what it means.

Mike Clevinger – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Clev was dope in this one, save for a pair of HRs making up all his ER. You want Clev dog. You want him badly.

Robbie Ray – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. A VPQS with 10 strikeouts? Yep, that’s Ray alright. So are the 25 whiffs on 100 pitches, helping earn a Gallows Pole and 39% CSW. Yeesh. Just don’t allow 2 HRs next time, okay?

Aaron Brooks – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Don’t go chasing Brooks. Stick to the rivers and streams that you’re used to.

Martin Perez – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Perez’s changeup has improved over the season, but his cutter has degraded plenty, going just 3/16 CSW here. Fastball is fine at 94mph and I get that you didn’t start him against the Yankees anyway. I just wanted to see more to encourage taking a chance moving forward, you know?

CC Sabathia – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. CC’s four-game 6+ IP streak came to an end, though we didn’t really expect him to excel against the Twins, did we? Well, we expected his floor to be better, at least. Womp womp. The Sawx are next and that’s a no from me, dawg.

Adrian Sampson – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. You can’t put the hair back on the biblical figures. I’m pretty sure that’s not a phrase. YOU’RE NOT A PHRASE.

Trevor Richards – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. At least you got some strikeouts…? Yeah, I’m pretty upset I didn’t go Nova from the opposite dugout, but I was chasing the K ceiling, got it, and left the ratios behind. Blegh. Streaming Record: 63-42. Richards hasn’t been able to hold back the ER brigade for a while now and I wouldn’t anticipate good ratios for a bit. Only as a desperate stream moving forward.

Jalen Beeks – 3.2 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. But Beeks has such good deception! Take note of that narrative, it’s more often smoke and mirrors than anything.

Homer Bailey – 2.0 IP, 9 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Homer Bale was acquired by the A’s, but secretly by the Indians and Rays to prevent the A’s from winning more games. How would that even work. Baseball is a weird sport, just roll with it. Just because Homer is ruining the A’s playoff chances doesn’t mean he has to ruin yours too.

 

Today’s Streamer

 

For those unaware, I’m forced to make my Streamer picks under the condition of sub 20% owned in Fantasy Pros’ consolidated ownership rates.

 

Cal Quantrill vs. New York Mets – This is the only logical choice. Here’s to Quantrill taking advantage of a sputtering Mets lineup. Quantrill pitched on Sunday in relief, soooo I guess I have to go Jason Vargas vs. San Diego Padres. Hoooo boy. Can’t say I’m looking forward to this.

 

Tomorrow’s Streamer

 

Jordan Lyles vs. St. Louis Cardinals – His curveball showed up last time out and this could work again. Reynaldo Lopez vs. Miami Marlins – I didn’t realize this was the day he went. I 100% want ReyLo and his new velocity.

 

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

 

Adam Plutko vs. Kansas City Royals – Not a whole lot to choose from here. Aim to stream elsewhere first.

 

Game of the Day 

 

Aaron Nola vs. Matt Boyd – Both are trending in the wrong direction. Let’s correct that.

 

(Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire)