I like to have fun with the SP Roundup and I’ve often called Clayton Richard “the wrong Clayton” because let’s be honest, when you hear the name Clayton, you don’t think Richard. Now, you might be a little more aware of the southpaw after producing a stat line of 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks against the Dodgers Tuesday night and you have to wonder if this is someone you want on your team. In short: no. He’s a finesse pitcher who was awfully good at spotting his pitchers down-and-away from right-handers consistently and this evening was his ceiling, but more like a Birthday Party – It’s a fun day that happens once a year. Don’t buy into this, his stuff doesn’t detail consistency and upside, and the early April weeks can make us do foolish things since we have such little data.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
Jake Arrieta – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Aces gonna ace. He didn’t look his best, but Arrieta has the movement to still be ballertastic when he’s not his best. There will be some four walk starts ahead, though.
Lance McCullers – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. McCullers’ deuce was looking so good it hurt watching the Mariners struggle time after time against the pitch. Speaking of hurt, how long you reckon before McCullers misses time? How about when he walks at least three batters and doesn’t survive through the sixth?
Justin Verlander – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Aces gonna ace. It’s going to be a fun year.
CC Sabathia – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I have to hand it to CC. He’s transformed from a power pitcher to a finesse arm before our eyes and with his heater + Slider + Changeup + Cutter, he nibbled the corners well against the Rays. The question here is consistency and it’s tough to bet on his upside when small mistakes become big blotches on his stat lines. Still, don’t rules out Sabathia for a good stream here and there.
Carlos Carrasco – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Injury concerns n all, it’s good to see Carrasco take command against a solid team like the Rangers. Sure, there are some IPS concerns and a sub full six innings is a bit underwhelming, but I’ll take it.
Adam Wainwright – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I’ve been getting some flack for not putting Waino in the Top 100 and it’s totally justified. He’ll be there on Monday, though he has a short leash that’s shorter than the size of my former history teacher’s temper. One word about the Scots and the red mist came down in a hurry.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. A three walk performance with just two punchouts doesn’t inspire confidence – especially when he’s facing the K happy Astros – and his super high ownage rate of 60%+ is just crazy to me. I’m not saying I hate Iwakuma, he’s just going to be pretty mediocre over the year is all.
Matt Shoemaker – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Ehhhh I was hoping to be more impressed with Shoe going up against the A’s and three walks across just five innings just isn’t doing it for me. Thing is, Shoe is going to have plenty of these outings. Then he’ll go on a five game stretch of being Ker-freakin’-Shaw, then back to this old lame worker who polishes your shoes. Gotta deal with the lows to get the highs.
Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Yeah, this is Perez in a nutshell. But among that 1.50 WHIP and 4.50 is a Quality Start. Yeah, quality like the Baha Men’s sophomore album.
Sean Manaea – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Blegh, not what I was hoping for from Manea against the Angels and he left the ball up a little more than ideal, but at the end of the day I liked what I saw and I believe in Manaea as a solid #3 for the year. After all, he’s the reason my team is named Appel of Manaea.
Kenta Maeda – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Five innings from Maeda isn’t a surprise after last year’s low sub 5.5 IPS and for those expecting him to continue forward, I hope you’re starting to have the same skepticism I have.
Jake Odorizzi – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Odorizzi is a guy who won’t be a Top 25 arm, but won’t drop out of the Top 75 either. It’s like what Nathan Eovaldi was but better.
Johnny Cueto – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Cueto is a floor guy and it’s no fun when a floor guy hits the floor and pushes the whole thing lower into the ground. It’s just one start, this doesn’t change anything, but blegh.
Tyler Anderson – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. So our call boy got shelled…Well wait a second. Yeah that ERA is worse than Stephen Piscotty’s luck last night – nah who I’m kidding, nothing was worse than that – but Anderson’s WHIP is still good (1.06) and his eight strikeouts were the second highest of all starters tonight. Looks like this wasn’t such a bad pick after all, maybe? Just let me have this one.
Patrick Corbin – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Corbin found a way to have a WHIP over 2.00 and only one strikeout through four innings but allow just 2 ER. That is a 4.50 ERA though, which means there is absolutely nothing gained from this start. Thanks for nothing Corbin.
Jose Quintana – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. It wasn’t Quintana’s day as the Tigers swatted a trio of longballs, including one from Jacoby Jones on a pretty stellar hook from Quintana. I give y’all a bunch of credit so I don’t think I need to tell y’all to hold tight and weather the storm.
Zach Davies – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 4 BBs, 1 Ks. Four walks from Davies is all kinds of bad, especially if he’s supposed to be the second coming of Kyle Hendricks. It doesn’t add up I tell ya, IT DOESN’T ADD UP!
Today’s Streamer
Lance Lynn vs. Chicago Cubs – I feel like this one is cheating since he should be owned in over 20% of ESPN leagues (and Hisashi Iwakuma is owned well over 50%…people man. PEOPLE.), and there is some risk given it’s the Cubs, but I like Lynn a lot this year and he should be owned in 12 teamers.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Andrew Triggs vs. Los Angeles Angels – I don’t think Triggs gets enough love and totally believe this is a streamable outing for those in H2H 12 teamers. Jason Hammel against the Twins is another considerable option, though I like Triggs a bit more.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Francisco Liriano vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Liriano had a great second half with the Jays and it may have been a product of reuniting with Russell Martin. If you need an upside play for the weekend, Liriano could whip out a great deal of strikeouts without demolishing your rate stats.
Game of the Day
Chris Sale vs. Jameson Taillon – It’s going to be an incredible night of games, but I’m looking forward to watching Sale be Sale and Taillon unleash his new Changeup.