Pass The Dutchie

Am I really doing this? I guess I have to do this. The Dutch Invasion has been lackluster thus far as Derek Holland went 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks last night against the Royals, lowering his ERA to 2.02 and holding a 1.04 WHIP. Let’s get this one over quick, I have more important things to do! Where to begin…this was the Royals, who are atrocious. His BB/9 is still above 3.00 while his middling 7.57 K/9 dictates plenty of bleghy outings ahead. Hard contact is almost 40% for the season yet just a .220 BABIP. SIERA is 4.38 with a 6.4% HR/FB in one of the best home parks for swatting dingers, leading to a 4.80 xFIP. What else do you want? Holland is going to be a 3.80 – 4.00 ERA pitcher with little K upside and a poor 1.25-1.30 WHIP to match. Don’t be silly.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Max Scherzer – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Someone was upset he’s not #2 anymore…

Matt Andriese – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Finally Andriese gives us a game of 6 or more strikeouts. Too bad he’s been so inconsistent that I can’t roll with it with confidence.

Kyle Freeland – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Freeland was my secondary Call Boy and I really should have accepted his Grave Mistake.

Jharel Cotton – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. Really good to see Cotton rack up 16 whiffs last night and even though it came with three walks and against the Twins, you have to be encouraged by this outing after middling strikeout numbers prior.

Luis Perdomo – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Trevor O’Cahill is back and stealing the MFRSDPSPA from Perdomo and I’m glad to see there is some fight going on in San Diego. We are so far away from making Perdomo rosterable, though.

Ariel Miranda – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Sorry to do this, but this is legit the only point you should take away from this outing: Blame it on the Trout-less Angels.

Tim Adleman – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. You might see Adleman’s 8.00+ K/9 and sub 2.00 BB/9 with three of four starts at 2 ER or fewer and think there might be something here. Then you sdee an 8.1% soft contact allowed and 40.3% hard contact and you’re ordering a cab as fast as you can.

A.J. Griffin – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. That’s 15 Ks over his last two starts against the A’s and Astros. I had to go back to 2013 to find that again – though he did miss all of 2014/2015. Still, don’t buy into this long term, though a date with the Padres could be…okay.

Tyler Wilson – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Just 1 K and 0 Walks through 18 outs? The BABIP Gods are a generous bunch.

Zach Eflin – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. YES THEY ARE.

John Lackey – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I still believe Lackey is better than this and it’s just leaning the wrong direction right now. If that’s 2 ER and 6/7 Hits, he survives past the fifth and everyone is happy.

Dan Straily – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 3 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. Don’t forget games like these through the year as we question if we can trust 14 Ks against the Padres.

Ivan Nova – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Wait, so he’s mortal?! Next you’re going to tell me Ervin Santana isn’t going to have an ERA under 3.00 this year…

Chase Anderson – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I jumped ship after his last misstep and it’s tough to think he has another run like his first few starts again.

Joe Musgrove – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Booooo, I wanted to believe in you Musgrove after last week’s great performance following a rough first. Of course you struggled in first once again because there’s more to story. Welp, I’m done chasing this for now. Streamer Record 13.5-11-4. 

Braden Shipley – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 6 BBs, 2 Ks. Shipley can be better this, obviously, but there is no way I’m chasing it and he’s vying to take Shelby Miller’s spot in the rotation.

Ian Kennedy – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Kennedy wasn’t looking good and then got The SPITS (Starting Pitcher Injuries of Twenty Seventeen) and was lifted due to a hamstring strain. He’s missing at least one start, but might not his the 10-day DL as he’d start again before the 10 days were up. I think you can drop in most leagues.

Adam Wainwright – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Waino keeps faulting and you can let this one go. You guys had some good times – great times! – but you’re just at different points in your lives. Never easy but it’s what’s right.

Kyle Gibson – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Finally the Twins figured it out and sent Gibson to the minors. With Gibson and Mejia out, you have to think Jose Berrios is coming up soon.

Alex Meyer – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. I don’t see a scenario where Meyer suddenly figures it out and becomes fantasy relevant. His command is just way too poor.

Kyle Kendrick – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Oh great, Kendrick is back and ruining lives.

Today’s Streamer

Mike Foltynewicz vs. St. Louis Cardinals – I’m not confident Folty can get 6+ strong, but his K upside alone makes him a worthy streamer.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

JC Ramirez vs Houston Astros – I wrote about Ramirez in yesterday’s GIF Breakdown and his strikeout upside is legit. The worry is Fastball consistency, but there are always going to be warts when streaming.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Alex Cobb vs. Toronto Blue Jays – I don’t like Zach Davies since he’s playing the Cardinals for the second straight time and I still don’t trust Daniel Norris, though roll with him if you need strikeout upside. I think Cobb could get a cheap win as the Jays would theoretically be throwing out Mat Latos or some poor replacement.

Game of the Day

Stephen Strasburg vs Nick Pivetta – I’m intrigued by Pivetta believe it or not and I wonder if we’ll be talking about him a ton if he does well against the Nationals.