Rico, Suarez

(Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire)

There’s a decent amount of buzz surrounding Andrew Suarez, especially after last night’s 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks against the Cubs, marking his fourth straight start of exactly 1 ER. He’s had three tough matchups in a row against the Dbacks, Coors, and Cubs, and you have to think he’s worth the pickup, right? Yeah, sure, I’m okay with that. I’m not incredibly enthused here for a couple reasons. First, he holds a 7.5% whiff rate for  the season with just one game above 10% all season. That makes it a little tough for me to believe his 22.5% K rate will last. I’m also not in love with his secondary pitches, though his slider’s 46% zone rate and 15% whiff rate paired with a 62% groundball rate does make me understand how he’s getting through lineups. It adds up to an ideal Toby, which is cool n all, but not someone I need to own. Keep playing the matchups – A’s on Sunday – don’t expect the world, and this should be fine.

Let’s see how every other SP did Monday:

Chase Anderson – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Another low ER start from Anderson, though I’m amazed he produced a goose egg after allowing 2+ baserunners per inning. I want to say that there’s a chance he’s on a run at the moment, but I’m just not seeing the chance in his approach to make me believe it, even if he’s returned to last year’s velocity.

Luis Cessa – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Cessa is a Cup of Schmo, but hats off to him for not showing his true colors against the Orioles. What colors are those? Gold and Grey. Yeah, it’s a weird combination.

Gerrit Cole – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace. 23 whiffs, 42/108 CSW and a Gallows Pole. Good to see this after Cole’s stretch of good, not elite.

Danny Duffy – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. On one hand, it’s 1 ER allowed in three of his last four starts. On the other, it’s 6 ER in two of his last five. On the other other hand, those 6 ER games came against the Indians and Astros, and this game came against the Twins. I’m not ready to say you should feel comfortable with Duffy, but I can imagine deeeeeep leagues playing him by team.

Kyle Hendricks – 8.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. After four straight questionable starts from Hendricks, he finally flexed his muscles here against the Giants. You’d think I’m going to tell you that his sinker was killing it, but it was his changeup that did all of the work. I’d feel better moving forward if I his fastball was more effective here, and I still have my worries.

Clayton Kershaw – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. I’m so glad TATIAGA is healthy again. It just doesn’t feel right without him, you know?

Frankie Montas – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Of course Montas throws six shutout frames against the Astros. Of course. The BABIP gods were on his side and I can’t tell you they will be next time, regardless of who he faces.

Aaron Nola – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Aces gonna ace as Nola produced a 41/105 CSW against the Mets. Daaaaaang.

Eduardo Rodriguez – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. What is it with Edu getting handed a Philly? That’s his fifth 5.2 frame start of the year but we ultimately can’t be upset because this is a lovely line.

Jose Berrios – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Curveball was back – phew! – and made easy work of the Royals. He even went 4/10 on whiffs with his changeup!

Anthony DeSclafani – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. This was Disco’s seventh start of the year and first one allowing under 2 ER. I’m not ready to trust this yet.

Mike Minor – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I’m pretty impressed by Minor here as he faced the Sawx. Fastball at 93.5mph is good, though 0/19 on whiffs with his slider is a little concerning. There’s an outside chance of a run in the second half.

Jose Urena – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. If you roster Jose, Urena boatload of trouble.

Chris Archer – 3.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. DLH is real, even if you’re facing the Tigers. Archer threw just 78 pitches here and may need one more start before getting back into his groove.

Zach Eflin – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. He’s been cruising – everyone loves him! – and he stumbles against the Mets. Womp womp. His slider wasn’t nearly as good as it’s been and while the velocity was there, he needs more to carve up a lineup.

Ivan Nova – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Nova was handed a Philly and there’s not much to like about this outing. That’s the life of a Nova owner.

Corey Oswalt – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. I’m a bit surprised we got a PQS with a 1.00 WHIP and 7 Ks from the false king. I don’t see anything here that should stick, so let’s marvel at it with a solid “Huh.”

Zach Wheeler – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Blegh. Sure it’s 8 Ks, but those ratios kill ya. just 1 whiff on 25 sliders isn’t going to cut it, even if his curveball stepped up for 4/12 whiffs. 96+ on his fastball is still pretty, though, so keep the faith. Streaming Record: 54-30.

Jimmy Yacabonis – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Unfortunately for Jimmy, baseball isn’t about who has the best last name. If it were, he’d be killing it.

Yefry Ramírez – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Did we expect any different against the Yanks? Why?

Mike Clevinger – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 11 Ks. It’s weird to see someone with 20 whiffs to their name falter so much with ratios, but there it is. I’d be more concerned if it were the other way around, honestly. At least you got a solid head start on strikeouts for your week.

CC Sabathia – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Blegh. We expected better against the Orioles and Sabathia labored after cruising through the first three frames. I don’t think this marks the end, so shrug it off.

Luis Perdomo – 7.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. I have no idea why Perdomo was allowed to throw 110 pitches in this one, earning just 4 whiffs on the night en route to a HAIGFMFWT?! I still wonder if some time down the road Perdomo figures it out. Maybe one day.

Jefry Rodriguez – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Not gonna lie, I totally thought at first that I had already done Jefry’s blurb for the day…It’s not every day you get two Cup of Schmos with nearly the same name.

Francisco Liriano – 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Liriano is bad and he should feel bad. Okay now I feel bad because he’s human and clearly doesn’t want to do this. Everything is bad.

Today’s Streamer

Jeremy Hellickson vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – I have about four choices that fit my threshold of 20% or under and Hellickson has the best matchup, so it looks like I’m putting my faith in The Devil. Shudders.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Jordan Zimmermann vs. Tampa Bay Rays – I did write a piece on Zim that is being saved until tomorrow and I’m kinda buying the recent changes to his arsenal to make it work against the Rays.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Felix Pena vs. Seattle Mariners – I have maybe three choices here and Pena is my favorite arm of the lot (Wilkerson and EJax).

Game of the Day

Garrett Richards vs. Seattle Mariners – I like watching Richards pitch and I want to see him on his game.