Picking At Skaggs

(Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

There are times when I have to just throw my hands up in the air. I’ve done that through the year with Tyler Skaggs as I haven’t truly believed what he’s done yet had no choice but to slot him into the Top 20 on Monday’s list. Now my hands have risen to the sky once again as he returned a 3.1 IP, 10 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks masterpiece of disaster against the Rays Tuesday night. There really isn’t so much to be said – his fastball has been the rock in his arsenal and it was terrible in this one – but more than I wanted to say how I’m not just giving up here. Skaggs has been so good for a long time this year, this wasn’t a big smack of regression to the face that now he returns a 3.70 ERA the rest of the way. Expect a rebound, not a freefall.

Let’s see how every other SP did Tuesday:

Zack Godley – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Dude. What. It’s like Castillo and Godley had a meeting to say “I think it’s time we stopped ruining Nick’s life and actually live up to our preseason hype.” I absolutely love how Godley looked here. 39/104 CSW with 10 called strikes on Sinkers, pounding the zone with cutters and 12/37 whiffs on his curveball. IT’S EVERYTHING I’VE ALWAYS WANTED. Now it’s a 2.64 ERA, 30% K rate, 7% BB rate, 1.08 WHIP and ~6 IPS over his last five starts + 1 IP in relief. Obviously inflated a ton by this start and it comes after two starts tallying 7  ER, but boy is it intriguing to see Godley on his feet like this. Really three starts in his last five have been vintage Godley now and given the landscape of starters, this couldn’t have come at a better time. Oh and enjoy your 19 whiffs Gallows Pole you beautiful man.

Matt Boyd – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. That’s three starts of success from Boyd after plenty more terrible ones behind him. Was there a change? Yes and it’s not one that I like: He’s throwing more fastballs and they haven’t been bad. This isn’t the model of consistency that is going to last from Boyd and his ~90mph heater. I wish I had more to say about this but it seems like a small sample of wonder and not a second-half stretch of dominance.

Danny Duffy – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Good to see Duffy rebound after a bad start against the Tigers, now with his 3rd shutout performance in his last five starts. He’s acted like a Cherry Bomb in the strongest sense, with as he hasn’t had a start with 2 or 3 ER in any of his last 21 starts. Daaaaang. Now, there was a bit of Blame it on the ChiSox here, but he’s still favoring that deuce over his slider and it’s working. Don’t go wild with Duffy, but with a schedule of Twins, Cards, and Jays ahead, I’m on board.

Wade Miley – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Oh come off it Miley, Over/under 3.5 ER in his next start? I’m taking the over.

Ryne Stanek – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. It’s another False Start with Ryan Yarbrough stepping in and getting a Win despite 6 ER to his name. That’s baseball, Suzyn.

Masahiro Tanaka – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. The Orioles traded away Schoop before this game and after a little tension in the first that forced over 30 pitches from Tanaka, he cruised easily thereafter. I think someone reminded him how terrible that lineup is now. Seriously, it’s really really bad.

Jake Arrieta – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Arrieta got the Sawx and didn’t care. 12/22 SNIP (Strikes Not In Play, i.e. CSW + Fouls) on his changeup is a welcome surprise as he had been leaning heavily on sliders prior. There’s a reason he’s Spiderman and hopefully he’ll carry that title through to the end.

Walker Buehler – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Ahhhhh there he is. I’ve been waiting for Buehler to flex his muscles again and after killing it through May, we really haven’t seen that upside return. Until now. I think this is closer to who Buehler really is the 33/105 (they let him throw 105 pitches!) arm that we saw here than the 4 IP 5 ER type games.

Tanner Roark – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Roark took advantage of a sad, sad Mets squad. He’s back on The List n all, I’m not ready to call him Spiderman or label him a Toby just yet. That floor is too apparent still.

Dereck Rodriguez – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. I know it’s a 2.59 ERA and 1.09 WHIP since becoming a starter in June, but I have to say, it says a lot about how many blegh options are on the wire when we’re excited about Dereck freakin’ Rodriguez, a guy with a sub 20% K rate and is as Toby as they come. Come on Nick, 7 Ks tonight! Let me be thrilled! By all means, be excited! He’s commanding the ball great these days. He’s also boasting a 8.2% whiff rate that doesn’t hint at this being all too great in the long haul. There’s also Blame it on the Padres here as well and…yeah you get the idea.

Homer Bailey – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Bailey was the reluctant Call Boy and would you look at that, he pitched a complete game loss against the Tigers. It’s just two starts y’all, don’t do anything foolish moving forward, but you caaaaaan…puuuuttitontheboooooooard YES! Streaming Record: 63-36. Look at that, it’s palindromic!

Trevor Bauer – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Aces wanna ace. Okay maybe not as the ERA and WHIP are okay, just three Ks from Bauer is like getting a slider at a steakhouse. It’s not what you wanted.

Trevor Cahill – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. There he is. The wonderful model of a man that could win you your second half. Grab Cahill now and enjoy the ride until he gets injured.

Jon Gray – 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. It started terribly, but Gray picked it up for 33/92 CSW as his slider was as good as we’ve seen it. I’m feeling better about Gray these days, who has a stronger focus on hitting the lower half of the zone with his heater. Not that I’m a big fan of it, but at least it’s not middle-middle anymore. Small steps, y’all.

Charlie Morton – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace. One walk Morton is a wonderful thing.

Drew Pomeranz – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. This is the Pomeranz we know and hate. Four walks and 3 Ks? It’s just not necessary Pomeranz, I haven’t called you your nickname is a long time BECAUSE YOU DON’T DESERVE IT. You’re on a winning team with a great curveball, let’s figure this out and maybe you can escape the 80s.

Clayton Richard – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks. It’s the Wrong Clayton? Wait, what is holding? Is that a sign? No Clayton, NOOOOOO–HAISTFMFWT?!

Kyle Gibson – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Ehhhh I want a little better than a PQS and 1.33 WHIP from Gibson, but at least we got 6 Ks and not a large enough distaste for me to start starting him.

Mike Leake – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. A PQS with four Ks? Sure, why not from Leake.

Jameson Taillon – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Jameson got the Cubs and after holding back sliders against the Indians, he unleashed the beast with a 25%+ usage rate. The only blemish was a three-run shot on a terrible 0-2 curveball to Javier Baez. Noooooooo. I still love the man and so should you.

Kolby Allard – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. He was who we thought we has! HE WAS WHO– But seriously, this is 90mph of decent command and absolutely nothing to chase in a 12-teamer. Seriously. Just a Cup of Schmo who will spin off a few more HAISTFMFWT?! if he gets more starts…which he probably won’t given the acquisition of Kevin Gausman. Yes, that only improves Gaus’ value, not enough for me to call him a must-add, though.

Jack Flaherty – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Flaherty has allowed at least 3 ER in five of his last seven now, with just one game in that time finishing the sixth. Strikeouts are still alive n all, but his lack of third pitch is starting to rear its ugly head. I’m still a fan giving the lack of strong starting options overall this year, but it’s making me question where to rank him entering 2019.

Jon Lester – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. The regression continues as Lester’s ERA now rises to 3.22. Just 50 points to go.

James Shields – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Jimmy Bucklers earned eight strikeouts with 16 whiffs against the Royals, but he still can’t change the man that he is. Be true to yourself, y’all.

Bartolo Colon – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Yep, that’s the Groan Ranger alright. I think this might be the dusk of his career, I look forward to the attention come September.

Sam Gaviglio – 2.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Annnnd this is why Gaviglio still hasn’t made The List.

Dan Straily – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Straily, meet floor of lava. Floor of lava, Straily.

Yefry Ramírez – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Poor Yefry, I actually think he isn’t a terrible pitcher. He just plays on the Orioles and it makes everything worse. Definitely a lot of polish missing, but I’d consider him a Young Gun if it weren’t for the organization. It’s too bad, really.

Steven Matz – 0.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. When I said Matz wasn’t as good as he was pitching, I didn’t mean to go and Felix him like this. That’s just cruel.

Today’s Streamer

Nick Kingham vs. Chicago Cubs – Okay. I don’t expect this to go well after how poorly he looked last time out. I was tempted to do Jake Junis against the ChiSox instead and that might be the safer play ultimately (there’s really nothing else).

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Trevor Richards vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Very limited options here and I’ll go with the guy who has allowed 3 ER in his last four against a weak team. Don’t trust it, but not much of a choice as I don’t care for Mike Montgomery.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

German Marquez vs. Milwaukee Brewers – He’s been killing it and pitches out of Coors.

Game of the Day

Noah Syndergaard vs. Washington Nationals – Okay so we are actually getting Thor back now, right?