There are a bunch of pitchers that get favored over others simply because they are well known by baseball fans, and no one is getting the bias more this year than James Shields, who entered today’s game with a 4.50 xFIP, 6.80 K/9 and a horrendous 4.00 BB/9. Why am I mentioning this? Because he just went 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks…against the Brewers. Even Padres pitchers can get in on the streaming action here and there. I could have led with multiple guys today, but I feel it’s imperative to make sure y’all don’t see that line next to the name and get blinded by how poor he has been this year and last. Just stay away like he’s a raccoon eating the trash. Let him do his thing and all you’re going to get is pain if you get involved.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Clayton Kershaw – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 13 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Has there been a time in the past few years where Kershaw was so definitively the #1 fantasy pitcher in the land?
David Price – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 12 Ks. I want to say AGA, but I know better given how Price has been so freakin’ annoying lately.
Jimmy Nelson – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Good job Nelson, still don’t trust you enough to do this against a team not named the Padres.
Johnny Cueto – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Am I raising Cueto into the Top 20 next week? Do I really have a choice?
Mike Pelfrey – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. This is a Top 5 start from Pelfrey this year. Burrrrrn.
Vincent Velasquez – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. I’ve been on the sell VV train since his monstrous outing against the Pads, and it’s hard not to feel that way when he’s not rolling over the NL Easy teams.
Zack Greinke – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Jeez Greinke, get it together. I mean, his BABIP is .359, which is .130 points higher than 2015, xFIP at 3.52 and LOG rate at 68.2%…stick with him for the long haul.
Nathan Eovaldi – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Bleeeeegh. Here’s why Eovaldi’s peripherals aren’t telling the whole story. Weird, I know.
Ian Kennedy – 6.1 IP, 7 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Kennedy is playing with my heart, but maybe we should have seen this coming? 4.63 xFIP and a 3.25 BB/9 now don’t make me too thrilled and he gets the Red Sox next. Yikes.
Bartolo Colon – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. What I would have given for Bartolo to go yard against Kershaw. Anyway, The Big Apple allowed a four run first climaxed by a three-run shot from Grandal, and it totally ruined his night like showing up at the bar and finding your friend already trashed and hitting on every girl he sees. Gee, thanks Brock. That guy is always named Brock. My sincerest apologies if your name is Brock, but you really need to be more of a solid guy. Maybe like that first gym leader and his buds.
Aaron Blair – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Talk about a disappointing Call Boy. I’d take a rest running with Blair for a while now.
Ubaldo Jimenez – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. I feel like the cool prank to do these days is sticking Jimenez into your friend’s starting lineup. Yeah! We got him real good!
Dallas Keuchel – 6.0 IP, 8 ER, 10 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. This had disaster written all over it given how prolific the Red Sox offense has been and Keuchel’s inconsistency issues. There was hope that he’ll use his previous start as a launching point, but those thoughts evaporated quickly in the first. I’m selling wherever I can get a decent price for him.
Adam Wainwright – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Can this season get any worse for Wainwright? Well, I guess Wain-o could be Weaver…
Jered Weaver – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. …Seriously, why is Weaver still pitching? Isn’t this incredible depressing for him? Even the Mets broadcast tonight was calling this Weaver v. Wainwright matchup “sad”, which makes this even sadder. For you youngins out there, the Mets have seen some bad pitching in their day before these studly kids came along.
Today’s Streamers
Nate Karns vs. Los Angeles Angels – There are a decent amount of options including Nick Tropeano, Timothy Adleman, Ross Stripling, and Josh Tomlin. I’m going with the hot hand in Karns against a very weak opponent.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Mike Foltynewicz vs. Kansas City Royals – Unfortunately, the pickings are ultra slim for Sunday’s projected matchups. If I had to pick one to save your week, I’d go with Foltynewicz against the Royals and only as a major desperation move. Don’t take this as me loving Folty again. Key word there was desperation.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Tyler Duffey vs. Cleveland Indians – Yes he is a two-pitch pitcher and that is a little scary, but when you have a deuce this good you can get away with it against teams like the Indians.
Game of the Day
Chris Sale vs. Luis Severino – On one hand you have a guy who can easily collect 10+ Ks against a struggling lineup and in the other you have a guy that could be picking up steam like an enraged Yosemite Sam.