JorMont By Your Side

I don’t think anyone who has been listening to our Podcasts or following these roundups was unaware of Jordan Montgomery before last night, but I’m sure many are going to start join me on the hype train after his impressive 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks line against the LHP-feasting Chicago White Sox. The Bear (JorMont) has been on a tear in his last seven outings, boasting an 8.93 K/9, 1.91 BB/9, and 2.34 ERA with a solid 6+ IPS. Walks are down, his whiff rates are at an elite 14.8% mark across those starts, and while he has faced some weak teams in that stretch, seeing swinging strikes rise and walks fall are always great signs to see a pitcher getting comfortable in the big leagues. The largest concern has been an overall HR/FB rate under 10%, but during this stretch he’s found success even with a 14.3% clip. I’m not telling you he’s Top 25, but man I want him everywhere and he can be a sturdy #4 for your fantasy squad through the year as he plays for a winning (well not the last two weeks) ballclub. What if The Bear and the Maiden Fair were the same person…?

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Chris Sale – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Aces gonna ace. He left the game after a single and a walk in the seventh and I completely believed he’d get bamboozled and carry 3 ER with his name once again. Fortunately the baseball gods were kind today.

Gio Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 8 Ks. Five walks make this so easy to label as a sell high. The strikeouts are here for now, but I question if they wil be high enough when his FIP/xFIP that are well over 4.00 rear their ugly heads.

Ricky Nolasco – 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Sure, whatever Nolasco.

Rich Hill – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Are we back to believing in Hill again? Not really? He has a great two-start week against bad teams, which started with the Angels last night and continues with the Padres followed by the Royals next week and I believe in that but not starting Hill in the second half when he faces better teams.

Michael Wacha – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Good on ya Wacha, that’s your third 2 ER or fewer start in four outings. Sure, with just a 5 IPS in those games…and under 4 Ks per start…

Eddie Butler – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. The Cubs pulled with after 64 pitches because why not. I guess. He’s had just one game of six full frames in nine starts. Starting him is a terrible idea.

Zack Greinke – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. This wasn’t due to injury, Greinke simply racked up the pitch count too early. Which is stupid because we want six to seven innings from Greinke.

Jeff Samardzija – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s a legit 9.00 K/BB now for Braces. Not K/9, K per BB. Holy Wade Bogg’s Mustache that’s incredible.

Jose Berrios – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Berrios’ pitch count was in the mid 90s and the Twins let him go into the 7th where he allowed two more baserunners that came around to score. Hey! I can use it today! Careful, Icarus. This was such a fun game to watch and I was incredibly impressed with Berrios tackling the Red Sox offense. His breaking ball is just absurd.

David Holmberg – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. Four walks and two strikeouts. I don’t think I really to say anything here. FINALLY! All you do is talk and talk… That’s kinda the point. YOU’RE KINDA THE POINT.

Brandon Finnegan – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. This was DLH and it looks like we’ll have to deal with it again from Finnegan as he left with tricep soreness. It’s possible he won’t hit the DL again, but I wouldn’t be investing here.

German Marquez – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Awwww, I was hoping Marquez could at least be decent as he pitched against the Giants outside of Coors. I was wrong. Streamer Record 41-28-11.

Carlos Carrasco – 3.1 IP, 8 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. Well this is dumb. This start single-handedly raised Carrasco’s ERA from 2.99 to 3.67 and could make him a great buy low if people just look at the overall ERA. 3 HRs are just not going to happen again.

Nick Pivetta – 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. I know you may have been excited about his previous two starts where he tallied 19 Ks, but this was the Diamondbacks and you knew better, right?

Cole Hamels – 4.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 1 Ks. Do not disobey the DLH Gods. I think Hamels can be a good add for your team – not a #3 anchor for your squad, but 4/5 – though it might take a moment for him to get calibrated. You can wait another week or so, right?

Today’s Streamer

Sean Newcomb vs. San Diego Padres – Yes please.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Los Angeles Angels – No reason not to roll with him while h’es on the field and against bad offenses.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Luis Perdomo vs. Atlanta Braves – Perdomo has been pretty consistent lately, and should have a good floor against a poor offense.

Game of the Day

James Paxton vs. Aaron Nola – I CAN’T DECIDE BETWEEN MY CHILDREN.