Man of the Lauer

(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

I think it’s time for me to give a proper look into Eric Lauer after he went 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks against the Dodgers Tuesday evening. He’s not sporting a 2.33 ERA in his last eight games, though it’s paired with a 1.36 WHIP and 84.2% LOB rate, pointing to a 4.58 SIERA. Those 8 strikeouts? A career high with 9/15 starts coming with 4 or fewer strikeouts. Yes, it was a fantastic 36/115 CSW last night with 17 whiffs – 15 off a 92.5mph heater – but I just don’t see sustainability here. He has to be perfect for it to go well on a given evening and that’s not the kind of arm I want to chase.

Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:

Trevor Bauer – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 12 Ks. Aces gonna ace. His 21 whiffs missed the GP by just one, but who cares, he’s dope and you should feel dope owning him.

Jeremy Hellickson – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. I made a deal with El Diablo for one day and it paid off. I’m now sitting here anxious to find out how I’ll be cleverly punished as a result. I don’t deserve this. Streaming Record: 55-30. I’m not the biggest fan of rolling with Hellickson, though you can do worse in deep leagues.

Jose Quintana – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Over the last eight starts, Quintana has a very acceptable 3.00 ERA. He also has failed to exceed four Ks in his last six and is boasting a 4.60 SIERA with a .256 BABIP and 86.4% LOB rate. Nope, not buying this.

Ryne Stanek – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. The streak continues for Stanek, and so does my annoyance of also reporting that no other legit “starter” pitched in this one.

Justin Verlander – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Come on Verlander, we want more razzle n dazzle. More spirit fingers. More EXPLOSIONS.

Tyler Anderson – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. It was a Coors start against the Diamondbacks and Anderson still earned at least 8 Ks for the fourth straight game, allowing his first ER in three games. It’s a wonderful trend, but sadly I just can’t endorse it as he hosts the Mariners on Sunday. Still too risky.

Derek Holland – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Holland was handed a spot start and took full advantage of it, tossing a ton of sliders once again to earn eight strikeouts. I’m starting to believe in his high usage of the pitch, but it does seem that he has the feel for it some nights and not others. As the #6 man, his spot in the rotation is far from secure, making it hard for me to think he’ll develop that consistency that I need. For now, a decent streaming option when given the chance.

Marcus Stroman – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Nice rebound from Stroman against the Braves, using his cutter more than his slide piece to get work done. Still a bit concerned about his approach and lack of strikeout upside (just 9 whiffs here), but obviously these starts have value and Stroman is capable of these every few nights.

Julio Teheran – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Crazy enough, Teheran earned himself a Gallows Pole here with 22 whiffs to his name. Even crazier, he did this at home, hosting the Jays. Teheran is a Cherry Bomb to his core, alternating his last six starts between great and putrid and if I knew that were the case, I’d be fine owning him. I don’t, unfortunately, and feel we’re going to see more Bombs than Cherries moving forward.

Hector Velazquez – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. This was a bullpen game, forcing Velazquez an early exit given a limited pitch count. Let’s move on, shall we?

Patrick Corbin – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks. A laborious start here for Corbin who had to endure a start in Coors. 25 Foul balls tell a large story as he threw 108 pitches in under five frames. 16 whiffs though – slide is still fantastic – and I wouldn’t be worried for next time.

Ian Kennedy – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Kennedy aggravated his oblique in this one and left early. Poor guy.

Miles Mikolas – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Mikolas had five strikeouts through the first two innings, then remembered who he was and earned just one in the final four frames. Never forget who you are kids. Never. He had the ChiSox here, so I would have been super disappointed if this was anything but productive.

Joe Musgrove – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. He had his previous start skipped as he hit the DL with a finger injury and surprised all of us with 9 Ks in his return. 28 CSW with 30 Fouls is a bit surprising, though it seems the foul balls came early in counts as opposed to late. Good even mix between his slider/cutter/changeup and Musgrove feeling comfortable with entire arsenal is a good thing.

Enyel De Los Santos – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. He made his MLB debut yesterday for the Phils and I’m pretty meh on his stuff. Good velocity with solid two-seamer ride, but his secondary stuff is far from impressing me. I think this is a Cup of Schmo and nothing more.

Sean Manaea – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Manaea had a date with the Astros and it went as blegh as you’d expect. He’s not the Top 25 upside arm I once thought he was, but you should still feel safe starting him against all but the best offenses.

Garrett Richards – 2.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. One start removed from his return from the DL and Richards already has more injury questions after leaving this one with “right forearm irritation.” Everything is the worst.

Sal Romano – 7.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. You know what they say about cheese. It stinks? Oh come on, that’s just mean. No, that it rolls. Oh. I want to warn you not to roll with this Romano.

Masahiro Tanaka – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. This is why the DLH exists as Tanaka faced the Orioles. I think he actually pitched pretty decently here, even earning 14 whiffs in 80 pitches, and I’d feel fine starting him next time out…if he’s not facing the Indians.

Dylan Covey – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Say it with me kids. Do Not Covey Thy Dylan. Hey, we put that on a shirt!

Rich Hill – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. A pair of HRs in the 5th made up all of Hill’s ER for the game as he cruised through all other six frames. It’s too bad as this was shaping up to be a fantastic outing. If you own Hill, this shouldn’t be a reason to hesitate rolling with him still.

Matt Boyd – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Hard not to be a little impressed by the strikeouts, but it’s a little weird to see when he got only three whiffs on 34 secondary pitches. I’m not buying it as I’m still Boyd Watching.

Andrew Cashner – 6.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. I feel bad for Cashner because he was actually pitching pretty well in this one. But the Yankees are no joke and eventually got to him, with a tough of Careful Icarus here as well. So it goes.

Jhoulys Chacin – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Remember, Cachin will do well when Jhoulyst expect it.

Mike Leake – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Blegh. Leake faced the Angels and you were hoping for a good amount better.

Pablo Lopez – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Yeah, I don’t see a ton of upside in Lopez save for a few starts here and there where it all works out. Not worth the chase, just like a dog after a car. There’s no point to it.

Aaron Slegers – 1.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. Slegers met the hammer, which is standard procedure for a Cup of Schmo. It’s just so brutal what they do to some rookies, you know?

Drew Gagnon – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Wait, wasn’t Gagnon a character on Arrested Development? That would explain why he felt so out of place in his MLB debut.

Yovani Gallardo – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I want nothing to do with YoGa. I don’t understand why so many people are into it, but give me that good ole Tae Bo instead.

Today’s Streamer

Jordan Zimmermann vs. Tampa Bay Rays – I did write a piece on Zim that is being saved until tomorrow and I’m kinda buying the recent changes to his arsenal to make it work against the Rays.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Felix Pena vs. Seattle Mariners – I have maybe three choices here and Pena is my favorite arm of the lot (Wilkerson and EJax).

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Nick Kingham vs. Milwaukee Brewers – He’s still owned in under 10% of leagues, so obviously I’m rolling with him. I’d also consider Dereck Rodriguez against the A’s.

Game of the Day

Johnny Cueto vs. Chicago Cubs – I want to see where Cueto is at after last week’s blegh DLH.