Hitting The Plesac

Yesterday was amazing. So many pitchers that I had to watch – it’s why this roundup is a bit late today – and I can’t tell you how many exclamations and impressed moments I had. It was a lot. I will say this, though, I didn’t find myself doing a whole lot of it for Zach Plesac despite his impressive 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks line against the Red Sox. His whole schtick is a ~93 mph heater paired with a changeup that doesn’t have a ton of movement, but excellent deception around 7 mph slower, and a surprise hook to mix in as well. It all stems from that fastball that can be hard to pick up with his cross-body motion…that I don’t love. It generally speaks to worse command overall and while I’m sure he was able to throw worse strikes and get away with it in the minors, I question if he can dominate with it in the bigs. I just didn’t see enough here for me to label him a must add, though he makes the cut about Tobys for 12-teamers. I’m imagining a worse Brandon Woodruff. 

Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:

Matt Boyd – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. If you’re not a BeeGee or Boyd Boy, I feel bad for you son. I’ve got some problems and Matty is cool. That’s not how it goes. DC;OB. Is that what I think it is? Yep. Dont Care; Own Boyd.

Jesse Chavez – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. That’s a fantastic inning Chavez. So proud. Adrian Sampson followed to 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks and sure, whatever. If you’re relying on Sampson, I am so sorry.

Zach Davies – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Davies earned 8/87 whiffs here – all across 35 changeups – and I just can’t buy this. I can’t. I know his changeup usage is through the roof (nearly 40% here!) but there’s nothing else in that repertoire as his fastball is down to sub 88 mph levels. Do what you must, this won’t last through the year.

David Price – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Price, that’s what’s up. We’ve been a little neglected as Price owners for the month of May – he went to the IL after his May 2nd start, returned for just five frames, left his next start in the first with flu-like symptoms, and then showed up three days later for this gem, lowering his ERA to 2.83, WHIP to 1.03, and holding a 29% strikeout rate. Mmmmmm, one more start and you get that AGA label.

Devin Smeltzer – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Smeltzer was another of these young guns making their MLB debuts and I was pleasantly surprised here. I didn’t expect to get this much joy from a guy throwing 89-91, but he has himself a luscious changeup to go with it and I emitted a sound when I saw a beautiful mid-70s hook in the second. He’s going to get hit around a bit, though. A few pitches were feet away from leaving the park – it’s harder to elevate four-seamers at 90 mph than at 93+ – and I think we see a slightly better Toby here. Slightly. I can see a little under a strikeout per inning and he’s certainly going to have games where batters jump all over his heater. But he’ll also have starts cruising along like today. One problem here is that the Twins don’t need a fifth starter during their next pass of the rotation and Pineda may be back on the other side of it. Let’s wait to hear more about Smeltzer’s future before making the add, unless you have a free roster slot.

Ryne Stanek – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. We have some openers to deal with today and Stanek gave way to the Fratty Pirate Ryan Yarbrough who returned a dub to go with 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 K. I don’t even want to give it the usual 1 strikeout routine given how little he pitched. Is that Win worth it?

Cam Bedrosian – 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Cam, step aside, Nick Tropeano returned! And he was okay! 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. That’s really middling and while I think Trop can become a streaming option, for now, we’re just gonna wait until he gives us something to cheer about. I guess not the worst deep AL-Only add.

Eric Lauer – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Sure, whatever Lauer. Maybe you’re a decent streaming option for deep leagues, but there isn’t enough reward for your Risk. Why is Risk capitalized? Because enduring your friends for six hours over that board game brings NO REWARDS. Okay okay, didn’t realize this was such a sensitive subject. IF I WANT TO CAMP IN AUSTRALIA THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING TO DO.

Ivan Nova – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. So this game actually happened Monday but we’re talking about it today. Nova was limited to five frames because of the rain suspending the game and he went Super Nova in a way. Kinda. No QS, 2 Ks, a 1.80 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. It just was.

Homer Bailey – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Bailey was on the other side of this Monday game and he actually was cruising along just nicely. Not a good play in standard leagues, but you’re dying for streams in AL-Only leagues, consider Bailey against weak teams.

Trevor Richards – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Hey Richards took advantage of a great matchup against the Giants! Streaming Record: 37-22. He’s still a Cherry Bomb that I’m generally avoiding in 12-teamers, but I’m happy this one worked out.

Rich Hill – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Hill keeps on rolling, now allowing just 4 ER in his last three starts. Here’s to hoping he stays on the field through the sum– okay, I just can’t say that with a straight face.

Steven Matz – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Solid stuff from Matz as he had a tough battle against the Dodgers in LA. Maybe I was a little harsh on him yesterday as I see him as a Toby for now, though his strikeout upside is shining through. Keep on rolling with him.

Clayton Richard – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s the wrong Clayton! The man with the worst mechanics in the bigs pitched like he had the worst mechanics in the bigs.

Antonio Senzatela – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Senz-A, I know you want in on the action, but even having a “half off!” sale isn’t going to get us interested in your dojo.

Stephen Strasburg – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Among all the youngster hoopla, it’s nice to see Stras continue his dominance.

Dylan Bundy – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Sooooo Bundy had 19/89 whiffs yesterday, 14/35 on his slider along. Yeah. Can I keep ignoring him? Without his changeup worried, I’m still hesitant to trust him, but it is a 13%+ overall swinging-strike rate this year, with a 3.24 ERA in his last seven starts. Hmmm. I’m not adding but….hmmmm. He’s closer than we thought he would be.

Lucas Giolito – 8.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Sure, he allowed a three-run shot in the first, but I loved Giolito more in this game than the one against the Astros. Yes, an easier lineup, but he dominated them with high fastballs, 26 whiffs – Gallows Pole, duh – and 42/107 CSW. His slider was thrown for 75% strikes, changeup worked plenty and it’s exactly the kind of guy that I wanted to see after last week’s game. I had to have some skepticism after his previous outing and it’s fading fast y’all. Giolito looked like an absolute STUD.

Jordan Lyles – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. It was pretty blegh and then Lyles left the game with hamstring tightness. No news yet about his next start, but I have to wonder if this opens the door for Mitch Keller to make his next start after getting surprisingly demoted yesterday. We’ll see.

Nick Pivetta – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I was hoping for something to really change my mind, but honestly, it’s the same ole Pivetta. He allowed two longballs in the first, one a result of a stupid long at-bat against Goldschmidt, the other slapped over the fence by Ozuna, and then settled down save for a wild fourth. That’s always going to be the case, not just start-to-start, but inning-by-inning. He’s a Cherry Bomb til the end and those hoping for that leap are going to be disappointed. Here’s to hoping the few times you start him are the sweet cherries.

Corbin Martin – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Speaking of Cherry Bombs, here’s Martin who may not even see a lot of time in the future given his erratic nature and Mchugh/James maybe earning a rotation spot back or Whitley possibly coming down the road. I think we can move on here.

Max Fried – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. This was one of the more disappointing starts of the night as nothing really worked well for Fried. 21/88 CSW is bleeeegh and I think a lot of people are getting the feeling that this is the Fried we’ve been waiting for. I get that and there’s a part of me that agrees with it. There’s another part that saw how off his curveball was and knows that Fried is plenty better than this start. Keep riding him out there, don’t sell at a discounted price, and things will be fine.

Brad Keller – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. BK, it’s not what you crave.

Merrill Kelly – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Ehhhhh this isn’t so bad from Kelly – solid WHIP and 5 Ks – but those 2 ER in the 7th hurt as you almost survived Coors. He was off The List today – #101, I’m not kidding – and I wouldn’t touch him in 12-teamers.

Frankie Montas – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. Noooooooo. It was a really dumb second inning that included a trio of singles, a double, three walks (one intentional) that tallied four runs and the rest of the game was the standard Montas. I’m still all for Monty.

Lucas Sims – 7.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. This was something. I sat in marvel as Sims pounded the zone with excellent fastballs and curveballs, going upstairs at 95mph, inducing horrible swings at curveballs in the dirt, and even surprise changeups for whiffs. It was awesome. So after seven shutout frames, Sims is brought out for the 8th around 80+ pitches. Then some bad luck and two guys are on. Okay, you pull him. Nope. He gets an out, HITS A BATTER WHILE THROWING JUST 91 MPH, but nah, let’s keep him in for another guy, it’s 10-0 after all. What do you know, it’s a 3-1 fastball launched for a grand slam, turning this seven shutout frames into a 7.1 4 ER Careful Icarus and I hate everything. Well fine, this was a spot start and it doesn’t really matter, but I can’t help but hurt watching that frame. I really like Sims with his fastball/curveball approach of high and low, but the Reds just don’t have room for him. He’s clearly the next one up and a definite add when he sticks in the rotation, but it’s not worth waiting til then.

Masahiro Tanaka – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. He’s labeled as a Cherry Bomb on The List and rightly so as his splitter goes in and out. Guess what it was here? Yeah, 1/15 CSW as he had to throw 40 fastballs out of nowhere to get through this start in one piece. Slider is still dope though – 20/42 CSW – and you best keep starting him.

Adam Wainwright – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks. Waino, this is great n all, but can you not? I want Reyes in this rotation by mid June and possibly force the Cardinals to shove CarMart back in the rotation before too long. This doesn’t help. Yeah, but should we roster Wainwright? No. Oh. Yeah.

Jeff Samardzija – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Loose Lips, you were served the Marlins in a wonderful park and you do this. I wonder why people don’t like you.

Marco Gonzales – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Once labeled the Spider-Man, now just a Toby hoping to beat off the possible Panda label. Get your velocity back Marco, please.

Jon Lester – 5.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. That’s three straight clunkers for Lester as the regression is hitting him square on the head. The Astros are no joke, though, and I’m still holding unless you have some fantastic options out there. He’ll get that cutter back, I’m sure.

 

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.

 

Anthony DeSclafani vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – Tony Disco has faced some tougher opponents and the Pirates are an exploitable offense.

 

Tomorrow’s Streamer

 

Chase Anderson vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – Pomeranz and Alcantara are facing off and that just seems so risky on both sides. But so is this. True, not as poor of a floor, though.

 

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

 

Tyler Mahle vs. Washington Nationals – It’s an easier matchup for Mahle who still has the upside to kill it on a given day.

 

Game of the Day

 

James Paxton vs. Chris Paddack – There’s also Thor vs. Buehler, Nola vs. the debut of Genisis Cabrera, and even Snell likely overwhelming the Jays. Today is a good day.

 

(Photo by Icon Sportswire)