Once news broke out that Aaron Sanchez won a starting job in Toronto, he became a major upside stash across deep and mixed leagues alike. I’ve had my reservations, but I have to hand it to the kid for putting up a line of 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks last night against the Rays. By far the most impressive part of this outing is the goose egg in the walks column, though it is still a concern of mine moving forward. Yes, he had a great spring. Yes, he did it on a bigger stage. Yes his upside is amazing given the movement on his Fastball. I’m still skeptical that he’s suddenly fixed and the talks of him being a Top 25/30 starter here on out seem pretty crazy to me. Can he be Top 50? Sure, and I’m not suggesting that you get rid of Sanchez. Ride this baby out and hopefully it really is a blossoming for for the young Blue Jay. I simply have memories of many starters who have performed well out of the gate just to fizzle out once May hits, and with Sanchez lacking a true third pitch, he could be struggling sooner than he we would like. Be careful and don’t do anything silly.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Scott Kazmir – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. The Padres aren’t all that fearsome, which makes me question if Kaz has an excellent road ahead of him. Especially in the second half, good lord Kaz does not do well in the second half.
Noah Syndergaard – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. Guys. GUYS. What?! This fella Syndergaard is really good. He threw a 95 MPH Slider yesterday and it’s hard for me not to get incredibly excited every time he heads to the mound. MA! WHERE’S THE REMOTE!? I’m kinda sad I didn’t put him at #5 in the pre-season…okay fine, I won’t be that crazy, but hot damn is he a freaking beast. Don’t forget, the Royals had the fewest strikeouts in the majors by a large margin last season.
Jon Lester – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I’ll take it. Sure, I wanted more Ks, but just make that up next time bud. I know you’re good for it.
Johnny Cueto – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Yeah that’s fine Cueto. I’ll take the fewer Ks if it means a low ERA/WHIP from you. That’s where the real worry lies. But let’s be honest, the Brewers aren’t the best offense to judge Cueto against. Let me rephrase that. The Brewers are not a good offense. At all.
Dallas Keuchel – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Keuchel didn’t look far from his usual self against the Yankees, though the cold weather may have affected him here and there as he simply could not find the strikezone in a few at-bats. And let’s be honest, this is actually a solid stat line despite the four walks.
Jake Odorizzi – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Whoa, this may be the most impressive outing of the evening as Odorizzi faced the fearsome Toronto Blue Jays. Can’t say I expected this sort of strikeout performance, but dang this is great start for the #2 guy in Tampa.
David Price – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Aces gonna Ace.
Jimmy Nelson – 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Nelson doesn’t really have a solid third pitch (his hook), which limits his overall upside moving forward. It’s possible he could produce with a few more Ks a bit like this in future outings, though is floor is so low floor that you want to shout your name down it. NICK nick nick nick nick…
Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Perez isn’t very good for fantasy with a super low strikeout rate and I beg you not to pick him up moving forward if you’re considering him as a solid like ERA/WHIP guy. Maybe for the random spot start in hopes for the dub (like today! Kinda. He was our pseudo Call Boy), but don’t turn that relationship into helping him buy a new bed frame at 2pm on a Saturday. You don’t want that kind of commitment.
Justin Verlander – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Verlander had a no-no entering the 6th and held the Marlins to just 1 ER with two outs in said inning until good ole pitcher-killer Giancarlo Stanton launched a monster dong to left-center. Verlander’s velocity looked a little down, but he was pitching with better command than typical JV. I’ll take it and I still like him Top 30 moving forward.
Masahiro Tanaka – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. In the same vein, Tanaka didn’t have the hard stuff yesterday – the cold may have been the culprit – but he still looked solid against the Stros. The only reason he’s in the back end of the 30s is because of his health issues, but when he’s on the field, he’s hinting at Top 25. Keep it rolling as the Ks will come, Ray. They will come…
Chris Young – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. That rising four-seam Fastball somehow still gets in done for Young, though this really is as blegh as they come. What am I supposed to be excited about? I guess the 1.20 WHIP ain’t bad. Yay.
Jose Quintana – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. The king of Quality Starts was one out away from his jam. Whatever, still like you a lot as a consistent provider on any team. YOU CAN’T BREAK MY LOVE.
James Shields – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Look at that ERA. Notice how it makes you feel. Focus on the tension in your bones, in the pit of your stomach. Hold it, cherish it, assign it to Shields’ name. Now go and trade him for someone like Severino or Corbin.
Andrew Heaney – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Heaney with 7 Ks?! Dang didn’t know he had it in him after back-to-back seasons of sub 6.75 K/9 rates. Welp, that was fun. Back to the 5 strikeout starts moving forward.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Iwakuma had his share of troubles on the mound, but I still like him a lot moving forward. His Splitter was outrageous at times (I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say outrageous. OUTRAGEOUS!), and his control is much better than this. Start him with confidence against Texas in a rematch next week.
Jon Niese – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. You know how many games Niese had at least 7 Ks last season? Just one against the Diamondbacks on June 5th. One in twenty-nine starts. Soooooooooo yeah.
Chris Bassitt – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Blegh. Remember when he was all the rage for like two weeks last season? Don’t forget those moments when the next hottie comes round.
Corey Kluber – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Does Kluber simply need a longer Spring Training every year? I can hear an argument for benching him until he has one good outing, but you know I’m still throwing him out there against the Chi Sox.
Chad Bettis – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Raise your hand if you started Bettis in a mixed league. Okay then.
Shelby Miller – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Everyone was expecting a HR/FB regression from Miller now that he’s in the Chase Field, then WHAM! He gives up a trio to the Rockies. Cause you’re not dumb you know it won’t be this bad every outing, but it’s tough to have faith in Miller despite what George Michael tells me.
Wei-Yin Chen – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. I’ll let Chen off the hook a bit here since his primary value lies in pitching inside the NL Easy and he got a bad matchup against the Tigers. Chen is really more of a streamer than a consistent asset, and keep that in mind moving forward.
Michael Wacha – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Looks like Wacha got Singled Out and now a lot of you are wondering why you spent such a high draft pick on him. Good question, I don’t know why either.
Today’s Streamers
J.A. Happ vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Still a risky play to stream in general (as we just went over yesterday) and who knows which Happ will show up. Let’s cross our fingers it’s the one that Ray Searage fixed like his old Harley.
Aaron Nola vs. Cincinnatti Reds – Nola really should be owned everywhere, but where he isn’t you’re better off tossing him out there for a solid matchup against the Reds.
Brandon Finnegan vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Here’s your deep stream if you’re so inclined to do that sort of thing right now. I have no idea what kind of Finnegan will show up, but he has the upside to dominate, and the Phils are as good of a team as any for that beast to be unleashed.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Robert Stephenson vs. Philadelphia Phillies – This is a risky play as the rookie is coming up to make a spot start for the Reds. He’s been a high profile pitching prospect in the Cincinnati organization for a while and could be a solid play against a weak lineup.
Game of the Day
Jose Fernandez vs. I don’t really care who IT’S JOSE FREAKIN’ FERNANDEZ (Detroit Tigers) – It’s JoFer’s first start of the season and I’m getting pumped to see him throw 150+ innings for the first time in a long time.