The 2016 season has been pretty dang rough for Adam Wainwright, who held a horrific 5.04 ERA entering today’s start against the Reds. However, after exiting with a line of 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks, Waino now holds a near 3.00 ERA across his last five outings, including a ~8.00 K/9 and a minute 1.65 BB/9. Those are some pretty dang good numbers for a guy that everyone gave up on. But let’s be clear, this start was against the Reds and it’s a small sample size following a long string of pure suckage. Is it enough to throw Wainwright out there for the foreseeable future? The schedule looks questionable he gets the Astros/Cubs/Brewers up next. It’s a gamble, but if I needed help in a 12 teamer, I’d go ahead and take the chance.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Brandon Finnegan – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Whoa, Finnegan can have a start with at least three walks?! Crazy!…which is also what you’d be if you believed he’ll do it multiple times in a row.
Gio Gonzalez – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. I’ll take this rebound from Gio, as he had one fewer ER than expected after going 7,6,5 in his previous three starts.
Miguel Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Miguel…No.
Tom Koehler – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. This is what we – and when I say we, I mean I – call a One Night Bland.
Bartolo Colon – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Our Call Boy did his job against the Brewers in a way only The Big Apple can.
Nate Karns – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. Those walks hurt and have always been the main thing holding back Karns. Also the fact that he couldn’t escape the fifth inning…
Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. Is there a more boring pitcher out there?
Ivan Nova – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Not bad Nova, but you’ll have to do this against teams not based in Anaheim.
Josh Tomlin – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Tomlin is one of those sneaky productive starters this year, but he’s far from flashy. Keep streaming him as long as he faces teams outside the upper echelons.
Jimmy Nelson – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. News flash, Jimmy doesn’t deserve the major praise he gets, and I don’t see why people consider him a Top 60 guy. I think they are just wishing for a star. That joke is so close to working, and I feel lucky to have no audio to hear the crickets. Was that a joke within a joke? Yes. Yes it was.
Ervin Santana – 6.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Aren’t you supposed to have strikeout upside? I know it’s not absurd upside, but better than 3 strikeouts in 6.1 IP upside.
Marcus Stroman – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Uggghhhhh, don’t talk to me Stroman. We’re so not cool right now. You’ll be well into the 40s on Monday if not farther. THIS HURTS ME MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU.
Collin McHugh – 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. It looked like McHugh was turning a corner a few starts back, but this outing mixed with his previous poor performance has him back to square one. If you thought he was returning to solid form, you can go ahead and drop him.
Tyler Wilson – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. You really should never be starting Wilson.
Jhoulys Chacin – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Or Chacin for that matter. I don’t care what people tell you, he’s not a sleeper pick you want to dance with.
Chad Bettis – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Bettis 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 not named Gray and maybe even Gray.
Jeff Locke – 4.2 IP, 11 ER, 11 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Whaaaaaaaat. I hope this means that Locke is moving out of the rotation for Taillon to slide into next week. Works in multiple ways, so thanks for being a doll, Jeff.
Today’s Streamers
Junior Guerra vs. New York Mets – I really wanted to go with Anthony DeSclafani against the A’s, but A) I have a theory about not starting pitchers following long DL stints (I really need a term for this) and B) I don’t trust that he’ll be in the game long enough to earn a win given he’ll most likely be on a pitch count. So that leaves Guerra as the only decent option outside of much owned Jon Gray and Ian Kennedy.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
James Paxton vs. Texas Rangers – An interesting array of options to choose from, and I can see up to five guys going today. If you need heavy K upside, there’s Trevor Bauer against the Angels, if you need a Win at a super discount, Logan Verrett may be the guy against the Brewers. Then there’s Mike Fiers vs. the Rays, and even Matt Shoemaker vs. the Indians if he was dropped after his last start. Ultimately, I like Paxton after his absurdly impressive outing last time out, regardless of the decent Rangers offense.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Rick Porcello vs. Minnesota Twins – I’m not the biggest fan of Porcello these days, but he gets some much needed respite in his schedule to face a hobbling Twins offense. Other options include Sean Manaea against the Reds, Zach Davies facing the Mets, and a super deep roll of the dice with John Lamb vs the A’s.
Game of the Day
Clayton Kershaw vs. Johnny Cueto – Yeah, I know Anthony DeSclafani aka Tony Disco returns from the DL, which is kinda exciting, but this is a chance to watch Cueto get put in his place by the best pitcher in the land.