Oh Robert Gsellman. I liked you quite a bit entering the year as a solid #5/#6 for squads given the NL Easy and a solid skill set of pitches but boy has it gone south in a hurry. His first start was lackluster and he followed it up with an atrocious 4.2 IP, 8 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks against the Marlins. I’m sure many of you have dropped him and I don’t blame you. I own him in a good amount of leagues and I’m holding. Yep, his Fastball still has solid sink at 95+, Slider is there and Changeup as well, it just isn’t going his way right now. Maybe playing against the Fish for the second straight week hurt. Maybe he just needs to rev his engine a little. Maybe he hasn’t spent time praying to the old Gods and instead been focusing on the new. What I see is a pitcher who still has the talent that I’m not tossing to the wolves after two starts, especially when he gets the Phillies next. You gotta believe.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
Jason Vargas – 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Arguably the best start of the day goes to Vargas against the A’s. I was tempted to name him the Call Boy and I kinda hate myself for not doing it, but Vargas is a somewhat decent pick when against super weak offenses. Would I roster him? Heavens no.
Yu Darvish – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Just stay healthy and keep that walk total to 2 per start. That’s all I ask.
Luis Severino – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 11 Ks. His first start against the Orioles didn’t go so well – 4 ER in six innings – but boy did Severino kill it against the Rays last night. Yes I’d pick him up for his next start against the ChiSox. No I don’t think he’s suddenly turned a corner that has made him the stud I though he could be in 2016, but that doesn’t mean he’s not worth the flier.
Jimmy Nelson – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. After having a stud start against the Cubs, he rewarded owners who added him with this performance against the Reds. Is this the Nelson we’ve been dreaming of since, what, 2014? Velocity is up considerably (about two ticks to 94.8mph from 92.9mph) and he’s pounding the zone at a near 60% rate so far…but it’s two starts including one against the Reds and his .235 BABIP plus 3.45 xFIP make it seem like he’s performing at the peak of his normal skill set. I am certainly intrigued by that velocity spike though and there are worse fliers out there.
Chad Kuhl – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Kuhl story bro. But seriously, I’m not investing in Kuhl. He’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Francisco Liriano – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Russell Martin assumed catching duties this time around and Liriano did well. Obviously there’s more to this start than that, but I don’t think it’s a complete coincidence. Am I a major Liriano fan now? Ehhhh I think I’ll have him in the 70s come Monday…? I wouldn’t necessarily roster him, but I think you can be smart about who he pitches against and take advantage as some owners will just avoid completely. Great upside play for weekend starts, for example.
Matt Andriese – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Ha ha! There it is. There is Andriese actually being a good pitcher like he sneakily can be. Now go do it against…Detroit. OH COME ON.
Kevin Gausman – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. About time he got himself a good outing to his name, though there is obviously room to grow. Don’t give up on Kevin y’all, there’s plenty of Gaus in the tank. Really? Yeah. Sorry.
Jon Gray – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Good news here is that Gray was looking decent. Bad news is that he re-injured his toe jumping for a ball. Because it’s baseball and we get injured doing all kinds of things. He’s getting X-Rays and will be reevaluated today, but his next start is up in the air. I have to assume he’s missing at least one if not two starts but it’s not drop city yet. Well, that depends on your waiver wire, though I’d imagine most leagues it’s not worth it to pull the trigger until we know more.
Brett Anderson – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. Children? Yes Nick? Why do we start Anderson? To get a cheap Win! That’s right children, that’s right.
Madison Bumgarner – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna kinda ace. Just one fewer ER Bumgarner PLEASE.
Eduardo Rodriguez – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. The Call Boy was…good and bad…? Are we doing ties for this streamer record thing? I think we are. Streaming Record: 4-4-1. About Rodriguez though, I’m not buying into this until that control improves. Eight Ks are great and exciting, but without a low walk rate it’s not worth the risk. This WHIP hurts and I need a little more balance in life, you know? Like that random piece of fruit, orange juice, toast, and super sugary cereal.
Jesse Hahn – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. I wouldn’t be shocked if Hahn puts together a couple good starts here and there. That definitely isn’t an endorsement to run with him, but deeper leagues might find some value here.
Phil Hughes – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. DUDE, THAT K/BB IS TERRIBLE.
Bronson Arroyo – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. How are you still pitching in the majors? Why?
Hyun-Jin Ryu – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. At least he’s still healthy…I think you can still use Ryu as a streamer, just don’t throw him out there blindly like this start against the Cubs. Pretty easy choice for a warm evening on the bench.
Ricky Nolasco – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. That K/BB is so much better than I’d expect from NOLO, which I realize should be the term for those believing in reincarnation. Don’t trust the strikeouts to keep up, but you sure can bet in clunkers like this one.
Miguel Gonzalez – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Miguel…No.
Jordan Zimmermann – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. The only thing JZ’s dropping is from your team. Yeah, I’m totally hip and stuff. But seriously, I hope he wasn’t on your team in the first place.
Wei-Yin Chen – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Oh Chen, I miss the days where you were the model of consistency. Good floors and overlooked production. Now your Fastball command is whack and you can’t handle the Mets. At least you got that $$$.
Josh Tomlin – 1.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. This line from Tomlin just reminded that I jokingly created the Anti-List last season to rank the worst of the worst starters. Tomlin is making a case to be in that exclusive group of five pitchers…Off the top of my head, who should be on this? Keep in mind, they A) Need to have a consistent starting job (i.e. not a fifth starter filling in for a DL guy) and B) Can’t be in their rookie season. I’m going with…Jered Weaver, Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Gibson, Bronson Arroyo, and Ubaldo Jimenez?
Today’s Streamer
Edinson Volquez vs. New York Mets – Conley pitched in last night’s 16th inning stupidity so he needs at least one day off before getting the ball for the start. That pushes Volquez to now as there really isn’t anyone else to pick. Do I like this? Not a chance. Half point.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
CC Sabathia vs. St. Louis Cardinals – Am I really picking CC? Shudders. Yeah, this is a half point as well.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Charlie Morton vs. Oakland Athletics – I’m digging Morton’s upped velocity and the A’s will be an easier time than the Mariners for Morton.
Game of the Day
Aaron Nola vs. Stephen Strasburg – Y’all know my love for Easy A and I want to see if he can continue the foundation he set last time against the Nats. Getting to watch Strasburg as well is just a bonus. A really good bonus.
I watched most of Gsellman’s start and he only got roughed up in the first inning and the 5th inning, but in between he retired 10 in a row. Also in the 1st inning, they ruled a Yelich groundball a single, when it clearly could have been an error and all 4 first inning runs would have been unearned.
The biggest thing Gsellman needs to do is improve his command, when he got in trouble it was because he walked some guys and the marlins made him pay
Good points, I meant to mention that stretch, I agree with you on the command. I trust he has that command (it’s not like other guys who are completely spotty) and it’s not something that will consistently an issue.
Hey, Nick. Follow you everywhere. On reddit, I’m ionescorhino. On Twitter, I’m larry mititei. Anyways… Was about to rage drop Gsellman. But tempers my anger, and wanted to get your take first. I still need to activate Osuna off DL. But would ok to see Gsell’s next start. Going into last night, the plan as to drop Severino, but obviously that has changed. Can’t think of who to drop– Pom, Gsell, Daniel Norris, Bedrosian (Britton’s my other closer), even Margot. All have their potential upside. Good thing to worry about, but I will have to make a move. Wait until Wednesday’s outing? Also, do you know how long you can keep a healthy player on DL without activating them on Yahoo? Thanks for your input.
PS Nice to see Sporer giv you a shout out. But scared my league mates might catch onto my secret weapon.
Hey Larry!
I’d drop Norris. I don’t expect him to show up in a big way against the Indians and I imagine you’ll be able to snatch him back up for his following start against the Rays.
Sporer gave me another shoutout? Sweet! Twitter or SatB?
I think the Reds really sold themselves short with the whole Arroyo deal… I get that he’s a good veteran presence but give him some sort of coaching job or something; it’s as if they’re just throwing in the towel every 5th day. The team has started hot and, though they probably would’ve lost yesterday regardless, they’re shooting their momentum in the foot. It’s looking like they might call up Sal Romano on Sunday who I think could do well right away, and if that’s the case, they need to move Arroyo out of the rotation once Rookie Davis comes back.
Arroyo has no redeeming qualities on the mound. He’s what I personally to refer to as a “third rail” pitcher. You touch him and you die! Let him go, Reds.
Ha! Towel boy sounds like a fun nickname as well.
If you had to drop one pitcher who would you drop out of this group? Brandon Finnegan, Robert Gsellman, Jharel Cotton, Ervin Santana, Luis Severino, Drew Pomeranz.
Finn. Looks like he’s going to be the same old guy from last year while I want to chase Sev a little longer.
Cotton > Pomeranz > Gsellman > Santana > Severino > Finn sounds about right.
Think Norris is worth a stream against CLE in a 10 teamer?
Hey Matt!
I don’t think so, I like Norris’ 2017 outlook but he needs a little more time to settle in and the Indians are fearsome. Like his following start against the Rays, though.
Thanks Nick!
Hey Nick, are you still holding on Richards? The fact that he hasn’t yet been cleared to throw at all is concerning and I already have Price and Desmond in my DL spots. Only reason I’ve still got him is because there isn’t much out there but I’m slightly intrigued by Jimmy Nelson. Thoughts?
It depends mostly on the wire options and if the best one is Nelson, I’d just wait it out.
Not to mention, Nelson wouldn’t start for another four days or so, meaning you have more time to wait for more information on Richards.
Not to mention again, Nelson gets the Cubs and that’s a terrible idea.
Haha very true, thanks.
Hey Nick,
I’m currently winning ERA 1.93 to 6.98, and WHIP 1.16 to 1.50. With that being said, would you start Easy A today @ WAS?
Yes considering you still needs Wins and Ks.
pick two to start on sunday:
Taillon against the Cubs
Cotton at home against Houston
Bundy against Toronto
Cotton + Taillon.