After Tyler Skaggs had himself a great debut last week against the Royals, he went out and did it again this afternoon with a line of 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Following Skaggs’ debut my review was cautious. His Fastball wasn’t lively enough to miss bats over the plate at around 92 and his third pitch made me worry – a Changeup that was pretty dang average. What looked great though was his deuce and command that was apparent in the first game, but it wasn’t enough of a sample to believe it will always be there. His stuff didn’t seem good enough for him to labor through innings and still not have a major clunker. Well, he got the Sawx instead of the Royals this time out and it was more of the same: His Fastball command was super good. Just look at this strikezone plot. You’ll notice most of his pitches down in the zone, and the heaters that were elevated were mostly purposeful – i.e. not mistakes. So the question is, are we believing that Skaggs is a command freak who will continue to limit mistakes, keep the ball low and on the corners errrr day? I’m not entirely sure just yet. I mean, this is just two starts people, it’s not nearly enough of a sample for me to trust in a youngin’s command. It’s different from other young pitchers as Skaggs doesn’t have that flashy stuff that would make me think he could get away with bad pitches and strikeout batters at will with an overpowering heater or an array of filthy secondary pitches. All of that being said, expect Skaggs around the 40s or so tomorrow. Might as well be gunning that high given the lack of sturdy options and hey, this was the Sawx after all. I want to be a believer, and it will take time for me to trust that he can be a stud for your squad.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Steven Wright – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. I almost led with Wright, but I felt like keeping this a little short. It’s time to move on from Wright and stick to the old slogan of Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer. He has a 6.18 ERA over his last seven starts now, and it’s hard to trust that he’ll suddenly return to the great numbers he had in the first two months. See? Short and sweet just like my new nephew. Adorable little thing he is.
Corey Kluber – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Check it out people, Kluber is killing it these days. 2.68 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 9.23 K/9, 1.99 BB/9 across 13 starts where he’s averaging just under a full seven innings per outing. He’s back baby.
Matt Cain – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s just the third time over the last two seasons Cain has pitched at least 5 innings with 0 ER. And the second time in four starts where he’s had at least 4 walks. Ouch.
Jerad Eickhoff – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. I’m loving some Eickhoff, but just one strikeout? How am I supposed to feed my family with that?
Mike Pelfrey – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. No. No I will not waste my time explaining why Pelfrey is not worth a roster spot. Fantasy is all about playing the percentages, and the chances of Pelfrey doing well on a given night are as bad as they come. Doesn’t mean it’s equal to zero of course.
Aaron Sanchez – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. He’s still not giving us the K production to call him an ace when he does pitch, but hot damn it will be a sad day when he moves to the pen.
Andrew Cashner – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Welcome to the NL Easy kiddo. Just look at those strikeouts soar…Aww shucks. Whatever, I’m okay rolling with Cash now that he’s in the best division there is.
Felix Hernandez – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 8 Ks. I want to be excited about this start for Felix, especially as it came against the Cubs…but five walks? Dude make it a little easier for me, will ya? He’ll be around #35 or so tomorrow.
Matt Garza – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. For once, Garza isn’t making owners feel like this. Don’t worry, he’s sure to return to his old ways shortly.
Chad Bettis – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 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 not named Gray and maybe even Gray.
Homer Bailey – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Our Call Boy did his job for the most part, with a decent ERA and over a K per inning. I’m taking this start with a grain of salt given it was against the Padres, but he’ll certainly be making an appearance on The List tomorrow. Most likely around the 60s or so.
Blake Snell – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. Snell keeps on taking advantage of an easier schedule. If you’re planning on holding him through your H2H playoffs you might be in for a bad time, but he gets the Twins next and that should be nice.
Ervin Santana – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Here’s the thing. I don’t like Santana’s schtick at all, but he now has a 1.96 ERA over his last eight starts and his next four opponents are Rays/Houston/Braves/Royals. Not so bad and you might as well run him out there for it. The Ks are pretty much gone and that .229 BABIP in this span can hurt him a ton, but for a very cheap investment he sure is bringing a good return.
Joel De La Cruz – 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. De La Cruz? More like De La Snooze, am I right?
Chris Tillman – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. YOU CAN’T SPELL WIN WITH TILLMAN. Sorry, this whole Tillman thing is becoming way too much of a joke in my inner circles that I feel the need to shout that on the rare occasions he doesn’t get a dub these days. I’m actually pretty impressed by this start given that it was in Rogers Centre. Not impressed enough to overlook the overperforming he’s still doing, but you know, it’s something.
Noah Syndergaard – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. At what point are we to simply accept this as the new standard for Thor? He’s completed more than six innings just once in his last seven starts now and while this sure isn’t bad, it’s why he isn’t in the Top 5 of The List anymore. Still a stud and I love him to death, but I have trouble believing he’s going to give us those unreal elite starts much more this year.
Gio Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. So we’re past the whole pure suckage times with Gio, which is a major plus. Is winter coming? And by winter I mean actual production that makes us happy to be a Gio owner? Cause it sure ain’t summer I’ll tell you that. ZIIIIING.
Lucas Harrell – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. A QS from Harrell that was sure to make opposing owners enter fits of rage as they lost the category by one. Oh yeah like what happened to me. AND SNELL/BAILEY/EICKHOFF COULDN’T GIVE ME ONE. Baseball man, it kills ya.
Paul Clemens – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. He’s not going to rocket you up the standings. Definitely not.
Carlos Martinez – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. This is why I’ve been so hesitant to give Cmart more love. The dude just isn’t an ace. The walks are returning, the Ks aren’t flowing, and his WHIP/ERA are in question for regression. It’s all there Johnny. Who’s Johnny? Don’t worry about it.
Bud Norris – 0.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. Norris walked the first batter, induced a pop out, then left with “back muscle tightness.” Nooooooooooooooooo
Dillon Gee – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Gee that’s bad.
Michael Pineda – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. Dammit Pineda, this just isn’t you. You were looking as sharp as the wit of Twain in your last few starts, now you’re walking batters like it’s your J-O-B against the silly Rays. Imma need to dock you some points now and I’m not going to like doing so.
Francisco Liriano – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. Yep, that’s why we don’t touch Liriano.
Carlos Rodon – 6.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Cut the kid some slack as this was his first start since July 5th. I’m curious who we’re going to get in the final two months of the season. Is it going to be the major PEAS that we hate so much? Or is it the guy who went on a 3.24 ERA and just a 2.81 BB/9 stretch over seven starts between May and June? I’m inclined to believe it’s the former but I’d like to be wrong. And let me tell you, I don’t want to be Wright. Heyyoooo.
Patrick Corbin – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I’m kinda surprised they haven’t demoted Corbin yet. It’s not he’s doing anything better to cure his ghastly 5.31 ERA.
Dallas Keuchel – 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. And here I thought that Keuchel could be a serviceable dude who was past being a major disappointment. Sure, this was against the Tigers, but three walks? That 2-out Grand Slam from McCann didn’t do him any favors but that first inning wasn’t looking good longball or not. To his credit, he did settle in afterwards a bit, allowing just 1 ER on 1 Walk and 2 Hits in those four frames.
Brian Matusz – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Don’t worry Orioles fans, Matusz isn’t pulling an Arrieta for the Cubbies. Not every starter you give up has wild success elsewhere.
Sonny Gray – 3.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. oooooooooooooooooooo. I’m still sad about Norris. Anyway, it’s pretty sad to see Sonny struggle so much. You have to believe he’ll rebound at some point, but that point may be in 2017…
Today’s Streamers
Jimmy Nelson vs. San Diego Padres – Jimmy is coming off a 6 ER outing, but I expect him to bounce back against the lowly Padres.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Mike Foltynewicz vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – This could go very poorly or very well, that’s the life of a risky upside streamer. There’s also Luis Perdomo against the Brewers, but I’m not sure he brings enough upside to the table to take the risk on his floor just yet. Too bad guys like Matt Moore and Zach Davies are owned in over 30% of leagues as they are better options.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Edinson Volquez vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Blegh this is bad. Like I was really tempted to just not pick anyone bad. This is as reluctant of a Call Boy as they come.
Game of the Day
James Paxton vs. Eduardo Rodriguez – There are a decent amount of fun games to watch today, though I’ll be focusing on these two young southpaws dueling against solid offensive squads.