Hungry For Loaisiga

(Photo by /Icon Sportswire)

There was excitement in the Bronx yesterday as Jonathan Loaisiga made his MLB debut after never pitching in Triple-A and tossing just six games in Double-A. The results were solid, 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks as those walks were very much a product of nerves and less so of wild command. Co-share of the Gallows Pole as well at 17 whiffs. Should you invest? The answer is easy. Yes. Get him. I understand that he was on waiver wires and that already ended, but if you followed me on Twitter and saw his unreal changeup, you’d understand. I wonder if that change piece can be strong against right-handers as well like Castillo features it, and I question if his curveball can be good enough inside the zone – he hung a few yesterday and bounced too many – but I like the kid’s raw stuff and he’ll get his chances to impress for a few weeks. It’s a bit of a gamble against the Mariners next, and while it’s Philly after, the Sawx are two weeks away. Don’t drop a Top 50 guy here, but chase this Spice Girl if you can.

Let’s see how every other SP did Friday:

Tyler Skaggs – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. That’s 16 Ks in two starts and just 1 ER in three. Huh. Y’all know my thoughts on Skaggs, but man I have to hand it to the guy for his 2.81 ERA with a 26% K rate. We’ve talked about his 36.5% hard contact and 12.3% soft, but it also comes with a super low 3.6% VH rate and good 23.2% PH rate. The biggest smoking gun I can see right now is a 10%+ whiff rate on his four-seamer, which, you already have guessed, is being elevated in the zone. Is that enough? Maybe? It’s all a bit baffling still to me and my gut is still screaming that his second half is going to be closer to a 3.80 ERA pitcher, but hey, that can still help, right? Just keep holding, I’ll raise him to the mid-40s on Monday and we’ll all be happy.

Jose Urena – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. You’re setting yourself up for a Grave Mistake if you chase this. Blame it on the Orioles, even with Urena sporting a 3.81 SIERA and 1.15 WHIP. I’m sorry, he just doesn’t bring enough to the table for me to chase proper. Yes I see the 53% GB rate supported by a beautiful looking two-seamer that sits around 94-97. And that slider finds the zone 50% of the time too. That’s great. He doesn’t have a putaway offering, which means you’re playing the BABIP game and I HATE THAT GAME. It’s worse than Superman 64. QS leagues, I can get chasing it with a near 6 IPS (he also hasn’t walked more than 2 batters all year save for opening day), but standard leagues take a hit with his 2-8 record on the Marlins and the ratios aren’t good enough to spin the wheel for.

Kyle Gibson – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Gibson is now 2-for-2 producing against the Indians and that’s cool. That K/BB gives me flashbacks of every other season he’s pitched, but we can get past that.

Chad Kuhl – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Kuhl was our Call Boy and showcased his lovely upside against the Reds. Streaming Record 39-24. Don’t let this blind you though, Kuhl more often than not doesn’t do this, which is why he’s a PEAS. I really do hope he gets traded somehow. That would be amazing.

Brent Suter – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Suter pulled this one off, going at least six frames for the first time this season. Yep. The first. I think that should tell you enough.

Chris Bassitt – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. I read Chris’ name like it’s an extension of Bop-it. Twist it! Spin it! Bassitt! Yes, I want to talk about that instead of his 3 ER allowed in 11 frames as a starter this year. I don’t see his repertoire speaking to success, okay?

Kevin Gausman – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. Gausman got the Marlins, allowed a single and triple with a HBP with two outs in the sixth and made us collectively yell at our TV. Still excited about his splitter usage – 32 in 107 here – and a 31 CSW works. Keep starting him outside of terrible matchups.

Zack Godley – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. This was incredibly frustrating to watch as Godley struggled and weaved his way out of trouble early before finding a way to squeak out 6.2 frames and saving your ratios and granting eight Ks. It was the Mets and I wanted to see dominance throughout, but no one should be upset at this. Pittsburgh and Miami are next and I’m game.

Derek Holland – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Yes it is just 4 ER allowed in his last three starts. Yes that has lowered his ERA to 4.48 as he holds a 21% K rate and 9.5% BB rate. No thanks.

Jon Lester – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s kinda crazy how much Lester continues to overperform this year, now with a 2+ point difference between his 2.28 ERA and 4.33 SIERA. It’s not like he isn’t allowing hard contact – 7.5% VH rate! – that he deserves a stupid low 6.72 H/9, which is how he’s had his worst walk rate since 2011 but still holds a 1.08 WHIP. Then there’s the 20.6% K rate (blegh) and 86.4% LOB rate, which is laughable, to say the least. He’s the ultimate sell-high and I’d get on it now.

Brandon McCarthy – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. This is kinda blegh and I wonder if McCarthy is the one that gets the ax instead of Anibal. Probably not, but maybe. Just maybe.

Clayton Richard – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. It’s the wrong Clayton! Who is surprisingly a Cherry Bomb and it’s super weird. Also super weird that he was this effective against the Braves. Huh. I get owning him in deep leagues, but there just isn’t enough upside and too much risk in a 12-teamer.

Ross Stripling – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Stripling is still killing it and you should feel great about it. He does, after all.

Mike Fiers – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. If you play with Fiers, your gonna get burned. I want to thank you Mike for being so mediocre that I could finally use it. I am a little surprised at how you’re not getting absolutely wrecked these days, FWIW.

Matt Harvey – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Velocity still up around 94.5mph here, but his stuff is just so meh. I don’t want anything to do with him.

Reynaldo Lopez – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Ehhhhh it’s a VPQS and only three strikeouts against the Tigers. He trusted his slider here and it was okay, but the changeup was missing. One of these days we’ll see all three pitches work in tandem. One of these days…

Charlie Morton – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks. A PQS with 9 Ks? After last week’s super weird start, Morton still walked four, but I think we’re cool with this. One more step forward and everything is fine. Just fine. Enjoy the Co-Gallows Pole with 17 whiffs to your name.

Aaron Sanchez – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. If you’re a Sanchez owner, I think you’ll take this, especially against the Nationals. 34 CSW with 16 whiffs is glorious as his feral command was too much for the Nats. Can’t say that I’m ready to really jump on the Sanchez bandwagon in 12-teamers yet, though. Only 17 secondary pitches here, tallying for just 2 CSW. That’s not good.

Jake Arrieta – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Arrieta had zero feel for his sinker and he was flat out bad. This is going to happen and hopefully Arrieta figures it out in a bullpen before the next one because a 19% CSW is as bad as you’ll ever see.

Corey Kluber – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Aces gonna finally walk a batter as we realize that he’s not just a robot after all. He’s human.

Rick Porcello – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. 9 strikeouts fueled by a 35 CSW as Porcello pounded the zone with heaters. Sure, it’s one ER too much for your satisfaction but hopefully the Ks make the wound better. Keep rolling with Porcello.

Chad Bettis – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Yeah, Bettis is removed from the Rocky Mountain Way. You don’t deserve Joe Walsh.

Nathan Eovaldi – 7.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Eovaldi had the tough challenge of facing the Yanks and after cruising for a bit, it came apart in the eighth. Yes, the 8th. Careful Icarus. Poor Eovaldi, I see a Toby in here eventually, just don’t own him until he gets solid matchups.

Gio Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. After a torrid start to the year, Gio has allowed 12 ER in his last three games, with just 3 Ks in three of his last four. Yikes. It’s not like he’s had bad matchups either (@BAL and @TOR included) and the problem in the last three has been his changeup, which was such an effective weapon all year and was yesterday as well save for a hanger that Devin Travis launched a far way. Last time? The Giants were able to drive the ball for singles left and right. I’m not too worried here – it’s not like you were going to get a great price for Gio anyway – and keep holding through this rough patch.

Seth Lugo – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Seven Ks are wonderful and Lugo made some excellent pitches here. Unfortunately he also made some poor ones and it didn’t work out for Lugo against the dBacks. I have to say, there are times when I watch him throw a tight slider down paired with a heater that can touch 95 and a big curveball and think “wait, maybe Lugo is actually legit.” Then of course he leaves the ball in the middle of the zone and it gets smacked and I’m brought back to reality. OHH THERE COMES DEPRAVITY! That’s not the line Yeah, but it’s the Mets. Anyway, I get chasing Lugo – I even have the thought that if he were traded somehow that would be better for him which doesn’t really make sense but shhhhh – though I’m staying away save for weak lineups. Too much risk for me.

James Paxton – 2.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. It was the worst start of the season for Pax and it came against the Sawx, who jumped on him in a tough 3rd inning, capped by a Xander Bogaerts 3-run shot. Let’s forget about this and move on. I wouldn’t worry.

Jake Junis – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Junis got the Astros. Womp womp.

Yohander Mendez – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Hey Nick, do you see that guy Mendez warming up? Yeah, what’s up? I can’t tell, is he a lefty or a righty? He’s a Yohander. I hate you.

Michael Wacha – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. I thought about leading with Wacha, but it’s pretty simple. He was really really really really bad. His strikezone plot screams “I don’t know where the ball is going to go”, with his mistakes not flying off the plate, but landing square in the middle. He’s been on this wonderful run on the back of excellent changeup and fastball command and POOF that was gone in a hurry. It wasn’t a full-on Vargas Rule so I wouldn’t drop him right away outside of 10-teamers, but if there is something enticing on the wire, I’d make the swap.

Today’s Streamer

Mike Minor vs. Colorado Rockies – I’m going Minor as the Rockies are really bad on the road and this start got bumped a day for Mendez tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Blaine Hardy vs. Chicago White Sox – This is dumb and I know it’s dumb, but I have few options and he gets the White Sox. It’s not out of the question he twirls his sub 88mph magic for another start.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Andrew Suarez vs. Miami Marlins – It’s the Fish and Suarez could pull this off.

Game of the Day

Madison Bumgarner vs. Alex Wood – I want to see both southpaws dominate in this fun matchup.