I’ve been preaching my dislike for Johnny Cueto across the pre-season, and his floor came out to party with a line of 7.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks today against the Dodgers. Now, this was a really bad first inning and to Cueto’s credit he did settle in very nicely after getting out of the opening frame. Nevertheless, I don’t see Cueto holding the Top 20 upside that so many owners are depending on to carry them to the promise land. I trust guys like Carlos Martinez, Marcus Stroman, Jon Lester, and Cole Hamels boatloads more and I would hope to get one of them back if there’s an owner who thinks he’s getting a great buy low candidate in Cueto. Hint: He’s not.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Felix Hernandez – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. It’s good to be the King. Aces gonna ace.
Marco Estrada – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. So are we all expecting Estrada to keep outperforming his xFIP by a gross amount? Well obviously not because I don’t expect him too. Nor do I expect this strikeout rate to continue – damn Estrada, save some for future outings.
Chris Bassitt – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Let’s be real here. It’s tough to get any sort of confidence starting Bassitt when he has a 4:5 K/BB rate. Seriously, that’s horrendous and he isn’t that great in the first place.
Joe Ross – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Ross wasn’t looking good through the first four outs, but then he got Justin Bour to hit a lazy fly on a 3-1 count and everything locked into place. He gets the Phils next and I think you’ll see much rejoicing. Man, I love the NL Easy.
Ricky Nolasco – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Come on Nolasco, have some mercy on the young owners who don’t know better. For those unaware, you’re better off just having an empty spot on your roster than holding Nolasco. But hey, I guess now is a good of a time as any to bring back the MFRTSPA – the Most Fantasy Relevant Twins Starting Pitcher Award. Who will take the crown this season? Ervin Santana has an early lead, but maybe Jose Berrios will sneak in and snatch it once he arrives. PLACE BETS NOW!
Chad Bettis – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Bettis has limited upside, pitches his home games at Coors Field, and doesn’t deserve a spot on your team. This should be the blurb for every Colorado starter.
Jimmy Nelson – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks. Great to see the Ks show up, but they just had to bring their friend Bee-Bee who no one likes. I think Nelson will be a tough guy to gauge through the year, making him a roll-the-dice kind of pitcher instead of a gotta-go-get-him asset.
Jered Weaver – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Who wants to wager that Weaver doesn’t have more than five total starts with 1 ER or fewer this season? The 1 ER Challenge has begun.
Jeremy Hellickson – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Ehhhh the Mets offense isn’t looking so hot at the moment and Hellickson is a two-faced son-of-a-gun who can take you from believing you’re a genius to deeply questioning why you liked him in the first place. Just say no, kids.
Steven Wright – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. If this is Wright, I definitely want to be wrong. Don’t trust a knuckleballer.
Edinson Volquez – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 10 Ks. Holy smokes, 10 Ks?! Since the start of the 2013 season, Volquez has fanned ten batters just once. Blame it on the Twins.
Jake Arrieta – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. He was absolutely cruising until some trouble in the fourth. I mean, it’s freakin’ Arrieta. He’s golden.
Jeff Locke – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Just don’t. I don’t have time for this.
Tom Koehler – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks. Tommy is one those guys that just kind hangs around and doesn’t provide any value for your fantasy team or real life team. He’s just…there.
Tim Melville – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. I took a look at this kid’s MLB debut, and I don’t see much more than average across the board with a decent hook that will get the occasional strikeout or so. HNTPPYLF (He’s Not The Pitching Prospect You’re Looking For).
Matt Harvey – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Are you starting to worry a little bit? I’m starting to worry a little bit. He’s not going to be moving on The List tomorrow, but I want to see Harvey truly dominate before we leave the month of April. Sidenote: This mixed with Zack Wheeler having a small setback + Jacob DeGrom missing his next start at least + the Mets offense being super bad = the Nationals winning the NL East in October. Just throwing it out there that people gloss over the fact that the Mets had the perfect storm of healthy pitching and hot hitting to make that run last season.
James Shields – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Soooooo why are you still owning Shields instead of grabbing, say, Aaron Nola?
Dallas Keuchel – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 6 BBs, 8 Ks. Holy cow Keuchel is looking bad out of the gate. There’s a chance it has to do with a different approach of swinging at fewer pitches from the bearded wonder, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t return back to normal in his next start or two. It’s just two starts at the beginning of the season guys. Which I know sounds kinda hypocritical after that Harvey bit, but I think this is a little different given that it is so uncharacteristic of Keuchel and Harvey hasn’t been his 2013 self since…2013, really.
Williams Perez – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Get your popcorn ready, because Sir W. is back and ready to disappoint.
Vance Worley – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Vance – and pretty much the entire O’s staff – is not someone you want to spend your nights with. I prefer Bob Vance, personally.
Jake Odorizzi – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. And now we see the other side of the Odorizzi coin that disappoints. We really need to have a giant sticky that reminds owners that sample size of one during the first week of baseball isn’t a good indication of the full season.
Martin Perez – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 5 BBs, 0 Ks. Five walks from Perez? It’s not like he’s a great pitcher to begin with, but that’s really really bad.
Shelby Miller – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Miller is making up for all of the HRs he didn’t allow last season in a heartbeat. That’s what happens when you go from the NL Easy in Turner field to Chase Field.
Adam Wainwright – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. Hmmmm, Waino has yet to get into his groove despite everything looking ready to go. I’m not selling low here, and I think he needs maybe one or two more starts before hitting the gas pedal. I’d buy where I could if he’s going for a price outside the Top 100.
Scott Kazmir – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. At the end of the day, Kaz’s stuff just isn’t all that great. He’s talented at using what he has to get through games often without a scratch, but when it’s not all there, BOOM, this happens.
Today’s Streamer
Nick Tropeano vs. Oakland Athletics – Nola’s ownership has soared since his last outing unsurprisingly and Finnegan gets the Cubs making Tropeano the best option available. He’ll be up for a bit and has a pair of good starts this week, so if the audition goes well you may want to keep him rostered.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Derek Holland vs. Seattle Mariners – Yeah I really hate this stream. There isn’t a single good option, so I’ll with a mediocre pitcher against a mediocre offense. Yay.
Game of the Day
Jon Lester vs. Brandon Finnegan – Lester should have an easy time with the Reds so let’s move past that and focus on Finnegan coming off a fantastic outing to face one of the most potent lineups in the game.