If you’re trying to make one more add for your second half crew, I would consider making a push for Mike Leake who went 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 11 Ks yesterday against the Padres. Yeah, I know it was the Padres. What I also know is he now holds a 3.16 ERA (3.32 FIP/3.28 xFIP) with just a 0.87 BB/9 across his last 13 starts. Sure that 7.08 K/9 is only looking somewhat respectable because of his bombastic display last night, but consider me a fan when some people may look at his 4.00 ERA and 6.69 K/9 and turn away. There is some good value hiding in there and you should be chasing it.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Chris Sale – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Nice work Sale.
Matt Boyd – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Boyd’s season is essentially four great outings, one decent one and three blowups. I don’t like taking the chance on him as he’s a proper Young Gun, but I understand that you might want to go after him in your deeper league. I’m not in love with his stuff, but his Changeup is looking solid these days, which is a decent place to start.
Corey Kluber – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Yes, he was removed after appearing for the 8th inning, but that was cramping and nothing you should worry about. Did you know Kluber now holds a 1.02 WHIP?
Aaron Nola – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Just as we finally see Nola looking like his beautiful self once again, he gets a line drive to his pitching shoulder during the sixth inning. He continued the rest of the inning, but walked his only batter and was obviously shaken up. The Phils pulled him for the seventh, leaving with just 68 pitches. HOW CRUEL IS THAT. Anyway he seems fine for Saturday against the Pirates and I’m excited.
Jose Fernandez – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 14 Ks. Aces gonna ace. He had 10 Ks after the first four innings. Nuts.
Jon Lester – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Aces gonna ace but now with fewer Ks!TM
Edinson Volquez – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I think Volquez has returned to being a slight Toby, which is as big of an endorsement I could ever give Volquez.
Ivan Nova – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. I don’t trust Nova and I’m still a little upset he did this since the Yankees are still waiting to have their fire sale. JUST DO IT ALREADY.
Ricky Nolasco – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. Come on Nolasco, you’re not fooling anyone. You’re also making it tougher for Berrios to make an appearance, which sure isn’t what we want.
Kevin Gausman – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. I know it hasn’t been the easiest time to be a Gausman owner, but his last four starts have been encouraging – at least 6 Ks per outing with only 2 walks total and a 3.20 ERA with matching FIP/xFIP as well. Keep the faith ya’ll.
Kendall Graveman – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. A 2.64 ERA over his last seven starts! I’ve found gold! No you haven’t. It comes with a 4.47 xFIP and a 4.87 K/9 over those games. This is as boring of a stretch as Michael Jordan’s arm extending at the end of Space Jam. You take that back! That was AWESOME! Fine, I do concede, that was awesome. But Graveman isn’t.
Wade LeBlanc – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Wade LeBlance is not the answer to your pitching staff.
Brandon Finnegan – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Whoa whoa whoa, Finnegan, you’re not supposed to cut that walk rate until August of 2017 at the earliest.
Tyler Anderson – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. It was a tough day to predict streamers, and I reluctantly chose Anderson despite my dislike for him and I got burned for it. So it goes. Anyway back to the norm. Anderson 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 not named Gray and maybe even Gray.
Steven Matz – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. You’re getting sick and tired of this mediocrity from Matz, am I right? Well, that’s totally understandable, though he last two outings were against the Nats and Cubs. Good news is that his next above average offense will be the Giants in the middle of August, and it’s pretty much smooth sailing after that. I’d keep trusting in him even with the injury woes over his head. If they were as serious as some people like to play it out, I imagine the Mets wouldn’t be throwing him out there.
Christian Friedrich – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 2 Ks. I know it’s silly and childish, but I can’t read Christian’s name without thinking of some guy named Rich who is getting fried right now because he started Christian.
A.J. Griffin – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Griffin had a date with the Angels and it blew up in face, which shouldn’t be too surprising since we knew he was pitching a bit above his head. Back luck for anyone who went with him, though.
Nick Tropeano – 2.0 IP, 4 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. He left the game with right elbow soreness. The belief is that Tyler Skaggs will make his appearance
Drew Smyly – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s hard to expect the start of a major comeback when you’re thrust into the mountain air of Coors field.
Mike Fiers – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Come on Fiers, you couldn’t handle O.Co? What are you good for?
Matt Wisler – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. There’s zero need to start Wisler these days. He’s kinda a Young Gun as I can see him breaking out a little in future years, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend your time with him now.
Today’s Streamers
Cody Reed vs. Atlanta Braves – Not too many choices today, with Reed against the Braves having the highest ceiling. It could be shaky, though I’d expect a decent amount of Ks to come with his time on the hill.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Wei-Yin Chen vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Yeah, I know we kinda gave up on Chen, but the Phils are the worst team in the majors against lefties and Chen has enough in him to make this a serviceable outing.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Matt Moore vs. Oakland Athletics – There’s like nothing out there and I wouldn’t recommend this stream but it’s the best we’ve got. Other poor considerations were Tom Koehler against the Phils and…nothing. It’s a really bad streaming day and I’m not claiming these guys as proper call boys.
Game of the Day
Reynaldo Lopez vs. Los Angeles Dodgers – We’re getting a first look at Lopez as he makes his MLB debut for the Nationals. Super curious how the kid will look. Speaking of which, Jameson Taillon comes back as well, making this a fun day of youngins.