Is There Moore?

There have been a ton of call ups this year – it’s the nature of a SPOIL’D season – and last night gave us Andrew Moore for the Mariners who dazzled with a 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks against the Tigers. Is he a Spice Girl? Should I be running to the wire to get him? Here’s the low-down: He’s a finesse arm that can be sneaky with command to elevate with his heater well and miss some bats with his Slider. His minor league numbers dictate a low walk total and about a 6.50 – 7.00 K/9. That’s not something I want to bank on as I only like to make Three-Fists Compromises with pitchers who have a good track record of keeping their ERA/WHIP low in the majors. If I’m chasing a new arm, I want it to be a proper lottery ticket that can make a huge impact for my team and not with a ceiling of a Top 50 arm.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Jose Quintana – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. Why didn’t I see this before. Over Quintana’s last four starts following a 7 ER blowup, he’s now holding a 2.25 ERA, 9.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9, and 54.0% groundball rate (37.8% prior!). Guess what, Quintana made a significant change. No, he’s still not getting the amount of drop we want to see on his Curveball. Instead, he’s throwing his Two-Seamer over 30% of the time after not using the pitch all this season. Yep, I’m buying Quintana again, go go go go. Sorry I didn’t pick up on this sooner.

Aaron Nola – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. I obviously watched this start – I watch every Nola start – and you may be surprised to hear that I didn’t love this outing from Nola. Velocity was around 92mph for the game (I want to see closer to 93/94) and his Curveball wasn’t as consistent as we’ve seen in the past. I also think he should have been pulled after seven as he allowed a solo HR, earned a K, then walked a batter before getting pulled at 107 pitches. At the end of the day, his Fastball command was legit – just look at this strikezone plot and see how much he nibbled around the edges with rare wild misses – and his next two starts against Pittsburgh and San Diego are tantalizing.

Chase Anderson – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Velocity was still up at 93.6mph and he did well. That’s pretty much all you need to know as we’re still in the honeymoon phase.

Zack Godley – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. For those who risked Godley inside of Coors, you were rewarded with a sub 1.00 WHIP, eight Ks and a Quality Start. If you’re not feeling confident in Godley now, I’m not sure what else you need to see.

Jake Arrieta – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. That’s a 3.21 ERA over his last five starts as he’s begun throwing his Slider under 10% of the time. Great to see him not walk a batter for just the second time all year as well, and I think we can say this is a new Arrieta now. Phew.

Steven Matz – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 8 Ks. Blegh. Yes Blegh to a Quality Start and 8 Ks. Five walks are atrocious and far from the man Matz used to be. I know, this was the Dodgers and we should be happy with this overall, it’s just I want to see Matz look more like his former self if I’m rolling with him moving forward. Too bad he gets the Nats two starts in the future, but I’m happy to start him against Miami next Wednesday.

Carlos Martinez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. I was hoping for a little better from the Phillies – at least a Win here – but even when it’s not great, it’s still good.

Hyun-Jin Ryu – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Ehhhh I ran with Ryu in the staff league as he faced the Mets and I was hoping for a little bit more. I blame Hatcher for allowing a run in the sixth that turned this into a ND. I wish you were cooler like your cousin Billy.

Mike Clevinger – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Those first two innings were a huge struggle from Clev, but he settled down and pitched three more concrete frames to make this just a blegh start instead of a blowup. I still think he has the tools to be a Top 50 arm – probably not Top 30 for a good while – though I understand if you prefer more seasoned arms. Streamer Record 40-25-11.

David Paulino – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. This might be the end for Paulino as Keuchel and McCullers could be returning within the next week. I didn’t like his command a whole lot here, but at least you had six Ks to salvage the blegh ratios. Feel free to let him loose on the wire.

Daniel Norris – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. At least he’s not 2nd in hard contact anymore? That 41.1% mark is good enough for third place now. Nice going!

Ivan Nova – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Are five Ks enough of a return to continue risking boring starts from Nova? Look internally and ask yourself that question. Then look outward before walking into that pole.

Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Note to self: next time you need to fall asleep, read a Perez stat line.

Luis Severino – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Is this the Aces Gonna Ace curse? I gave it to McCullers the start before he got injured, CarMart wasn’t as good last night against the Phils, and now Sev has allowed 9 ER since I gave him the title as he faced the A’s and Angels. Am I worried? His whiff rates have been down a little these last two starts (8.1% and 7.3% compared to 11.4% overall), but his velocity is up and I consider this a slow stretch instead of a trend. I’m still buying here.

Wade Miley – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Remember when Miley had a sub 3.30 ERA? HA Ha ha…

Jesse Chavez – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. And everything is back to normal. Phew.

Jeff Locke – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Thank you Locke, for making the choices of naive fantasy owners everywhere that much easier.

Jaime Garcia – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Garcia is a risky play that can work out in your favor more times than you would expect. That doesn’t mean the majority of the time, noooo way.

Marcus Stroman – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. This is the risk of Stroman. Pair that with seven straight starts of six Ks or fewer and you’ll understand why I had to lower him a few weeks ago. I expect him to return to form, but think of him like a more dependable Ivan Nova and not someone that can be like Zack Greinke.

Nik Turley – 0.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. Yeeeeaaaaah. No.

Matt Cain – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Is anyone rostering Cain? Checks ESPN. Why?

Antonio Senzatela – 5.0 IP, 9 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Senz-a had to deal with the Dbacks in Coors and this wasn’t going to end well as he’s been pitching over his head.

Jesse Hahn – 2.0 IP, 9 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. Hahn against the Astros wasn’t a recipe for success. There may times you can pick and choose his starts for some success, but man oh man don’t make this same mistake again if you did.

Today’s Streamer

Mike Pelfrey vs Oakland Athletics – I feel like I’m taking crazy pills recommending Pelfrey, but he gets Oakland and there are few options to choose from + he’s allowed a total over 7 ER in his six starts. Obviously not one I want to roll with and I’d go Seth Lugo instead, but he’s over my 25% threshold now. Womp womp.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Daniel Gossett vs. Chicago White Sox – This is crazy but there’s no one else. No, I’m not starting Anibal against the Padres. 12-Teamers, don’t do this.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Jordan Zimmermann vs. San Diego Padres – It has come to this. If you need a Win on Sunday, also consider the following: Hector Velazquez vs. LAA, Francisco Liriano vs. KCR and Josh Tomlin vs. MIN

Game of the Day

Stephen Strasburg vs. Luis Castillo – It’s a MLB debut plus Strasburg. Sounds amazing.