It’s no secret that I’m a bit higher on Kyle Hendricks than most given his current #50 ranking despite being owned in only 30.9% of ESPN leagues. I don’t really understand the distaste for the Cubs pitcher as he went 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks last night against the Brew crew. He’s now holding a 3.33 FIP and 3.35 xFIP, with a solid K-BB% of 15.6% as his walk rate is super low at 1.83 per 9. Because of this walk rate, Hendricks will hold a higher floor than most, giving him a better chance at a low WHIP, go deeper into games, and reduce the baserunners to damage his ERA. Mix that with an above-average 20% soft contact rate, and he should be taken in every 12 team league. Seriously.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Clayton Kershaw – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna freakin’ ace. That’s 37 innings of scoreless baseball from Kersh. Sure, his 2.37 ERA is 60 points higher than his 1.77 from last season, but K rate, xFIP, and Groundball rate are significantly better. Crazy.
Aaron Brooks – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. He’ll get a few more shots in the rotation, but don’t pick him up. Super risky stuff here.
Kevin Gausman – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Ehhhhh, I’m still a wary on Gausman. He throws his Fastball 70% of the time, and it’s the only pitch that registers positively. Unless he can consistently command his Splitter and Slider, which is more unlikely than not, hitters will be sitting Fastball through each start, making Gausman very prone to a bust on a given night. Not the kind of guy I want to invest in, especially when 6 Ks is a good night.
Dallas Keuchel – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. It’s not a CGSHO? DISAPPOINTED! Weird seeing 3 walks, though.
Mike Montgomery – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Monty is becoming a decent backend guy for those who need help in a 12 teamer + a streamer for the rest of us.
John Danks – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. Danks struck out 8 Yankee batters, and allowed only 1 run to the second highest run generators in the majors. What.
Joe Ross – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Our Call Boy did a solid job despite allowing a pair of solo shots. Too bad his Thursday start against the Dbacks will be his last for a while.
Raisel Iglesias – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Much better Raisel, but like a solo donut in a coffee shop at 11pm, I don’t trust that you’ll be good.
Kyle Gibson – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Sure, he has a 3.44 ERA, but it comes with a 4.03 FIP and 3.83 xFIP. Don’t forget, he just blew up for two horrific starts before this.
Jacob deGrom – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Not his best, but you’ll take a 3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 7 Ks.
Mark Buehrle – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. The Burly Buehrle doing his thing. Seriously, he’s the king of low Ks middling WHIP and about a 3.75 ERA. No wonder he’s almost a grandpa.
Jorge De La Rosa – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. De La Rosa 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.
Odrisamer Despaigne – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Somehow he still has a job in San Diego, that doesn’t mean he needs one on your team. Sorry to break it to you, Despaigne.
Matt Garza – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Once again, Garza is making owners feel like this.
Andrew Heaney – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. One of the more boring starts of Heaney, but that’s kinda his MO right now. He owns Missouri? No, Mission Operative…Anyway I would be selling high if your deadline hasn’t passed yet, as his sparking 1.97 ERA is ignoring a 3.73 xFIP that comes with a low 6.70 K/9.
Aaron Nola – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. I expected a bit better from Nola against the Braves, but I guess we’ll take it. Keep rolling with him in the NL Easy.
Cody Anderson – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. When your K/9 (3.57) can be confused with your ERA (3.38), we have a problem. Especially with a 4.54 FIP and 4.25 xFIP.
Gerrit Cole – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. He got a little Singled Out but looked super filthy. Yup, he deserves last week’s bump over MadBum.
Cole Hamels – 7.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. So I guess it is true. Everything is bigger in Texas.
Yordano Ventura – 7.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. You really should not be starting Ventura in Toronto.
Lance Lynn – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. This is the second straight start of a 5/3 K per BB from Lynn, but only the second time since May 27th that he allowed more than 2 ER. Keep riding the Lynn train, we’re okay.
Chris Heston – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. This wasn’t Heston’s best, but even at his worst it wasn’t a total blowup. He should be fine against the Cubs next.
Anibal Sanchez – 6.2 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Now we’re entering the stage that I see Anibal with a bunch of extra pounds as I imagine him eating a full tub of Ben & Jerry’s while watching The Notebook.
Bryan Mitchell – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. The Yankees are calling up Luis Severino – who you should grab – which means Mitchell is just a Cup of Schmo.
Jose Urena – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. This experiment hasn’t worked once this year. The funding hasn’t been cut yet because there are no other projects left.
Joe Kelly – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Yup, that’s Kelly.
Matt Wisler – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Once again, our teams are none the Wisler.
Jeremy Hellickson – 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Y’all know how little I like Hellickson, and I hope you guys feel me now. FEEL ME BRO.
Matt Moore – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. The same could be the same for Moore. A lot were expecting him to come back and build on his first two seasons, even though his walk rate was atrocious. Sure, it’s not out of the question he tinkers some more and puts together a solid string of starts to end the year, but there is no way I’m investing in that.
Today’s Streamer
Mat Latos vs. Los Angeles Angels – Not the greatest of matchups, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ride out of the Latos wave.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Mike Foltynewicz vs. San Francisco Giants – Okay, I laughed when I realized I was making this choice. But I have a good reason! I’m not trusting Colby Lewis/Matt Cain/Doug Fister ever, Tillman is missing his Monday start, and Folty can bring in some serious K potential. If you don’t need strikeouts, feel free to look elsewhere, but Folty has the biggest upside of the lot.
Game of the Day
Daniel Norris vs. Baltimore Orioles – He’s back in the MLB, now pitching for the Tigers, but still gets the AL Beast matchup. I’m not rostering him, but I’m curious to see if he’s changed from the unrefined youngin’ we saw in April.