I Can Be Your Hiro Baby

2017 is the year of disappointments and Masahiro Tanaka has been at the forefront of it all. He was given an extra day of rest leading up to last night’s game and it paid off with a stellar 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks line. Now, we saw Tanaka “rebound” against the Athletics a few weeks ago, then revert back to his damaged self quickly thereafter. This was against the Angels, so I feel like we need to still be cautious here. Out of the gate, it looked bad with a solo shot and a four-pitch walk in the first three batters, but after that he settled down super well, especially with command of his Slider. That’s an important note as his Slider command had been eluding him during this poor stretch. Again, I don’t think you can bank on that being everything here, but it’s something to note and monitor for his next start against Oakland.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Jameson Taillon – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. I am so happy to have you back, Jameson. Seriously, for so many reasons. Congrats dude.

Jacob deGrom – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks. Nine innings and 1 ER from deGrom?! Daaaang. Alright, I watched some of this and it might shock you that I don’t think deGrom is totally fixed now, but this is obviously a start that makes me happy to see. There’s more to be done and doesn’t really change a whole lot, which sounds weird, I know. Give me a dominant start of 7 IP and 8 Ks with 1 ER and 1 BB and we’re talking.

Yu Darvish – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Aces gonna ace. At least someone is being consistent. Suit man whispers in my ear. Wait, Darvish had three straight 3 ER starts before this? And it was just his second start of the last seven games under six 6 Ks? THAT DOESN’T SOUND CONSISTENT AT ALL.

Yovani Gallardo – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. You must be so proud of this PQS. So proud.

Luis Perdomo – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. I think we’re going to be seeing a decent amount of these outings from Perdomo, then one day – BAM! – he’s going to be a 2 ER and 1.15 WHIP arm. Might be a little while, though. Meanwhile, I think this qualifies for a Win here. Barely. Streamer Record 33-21-10.

Jerad Eickhoff – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. It’s been such a bad year for Eickhoff that I’m happy he earned a VPQS. Good for you.

Joe Musgrove – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. On the downside, this was under five full frames. On the plus side, he’s allowed just 2 ER across his last two starts. Yeah…I need to see more before believing this.

Alex Meyer – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. What do ya know, five walks in under five innings leading to a WHIP over 2.00. Oh Oscar, I don’t wish I were one of you.

Mike Pelfrey – 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. Nick! That’s a 2.16 ERA in his last five starts! Ummm, with a 3.96 BB/9, 5 IPS and a 4.32 xFIP/4.53 SIERA. Noooo thank you.

John Lackey – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Lackey is the kind of pitcher that I expect to recover in the second half and be a arm you want on your roster but you may be better off letting go to the waiver wire now. It’s a weird situation of “do I help my team now or later?”

Stephen Strasburg – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Come on Strasburg! These were the Freeman-less Braves and you really can’t be doing things like this. Don’t you know how few premium pitchers their are this year?

Rick Porcello – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Uggggh. I took a bunch of flack for my ranking of Porcello inside the Top 40 yesterday and it came down to two reasons: 1) No one past #35 or so really deserves to be there but that’s how the SP Landscape looks these days 2) Porcello’s one wart is his hard contact while everything else checks out. I can easily see him fixing that to his 33% or so levels, which would make him a Top 40 arm. But this was against the Phillies and I’ll have to demote him to the late 40s or whatever next week. Blegh.

Kyle Freeland – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. I’ve labeled Freeland as a TEEs and it’s catching up to him now. Still, I think this wasn’t the worst stream given this was in Pittsburgh and it’s too bad it didn’t go your way.

Wade Miley – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. It’s like Miley was pitching above his head or something.

Adalberto Mejia – 3.2 IP, 8 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Mejia is your prototypical “don’t start this Twins pitcher you don’t know” pitcher.

Mike Foltynewicz – 3.1 IP, 8 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. And this is why we don’t roster Folty full time. Maybe flip the coin every so often when we need it, but don’t roster him.

Bronson Arroyo – 4.2 IP, 9 ER, 13 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Man this GSQB 2.0 just isn’t doing anything…

Today’s Streamer

Tyler Chatwood vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – I love Chatwood against the right opponents and this is just what we’re looking for.

Scott Feldman vs. San Diego Padres – I know, I know, Feldman Schmeldman, but it’s the Padres and the odds are in your favor.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Mike Montgomery vs. New York Mets – Montgomery might not go very long, but he could eek out five innings and get the Win against a meh Mets offense.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Joe Biagini vs. Chicago White Sox – Biagini is still so underowned and should be rostered, really.

Junior Guerra vs. San Diego Padres – He’s owned under 25% of leagues after his last start and you should be on board.

Game of the Day

Jacob Faria vs. Marco Estrada – Plenty of fun games today, but I want to see Faria one more time, while hoping Estrada keeps up with the peripherals against the Rays.