I’m sure there are plenty of questions about what we do now with Mike Clevinger following a brilliant 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks outing against the Astros yesterday. This was a pretty start to watch. It was by far the most polished I’ve seen Clevinger thus far, keeping the ball in the lower half of the zone incredibly well. 14 Whiffs are solid as well, though I am a little surprised to see small dip in velocity from last season as he was hovering 91/92 instead of the 93.94 we saw last season. It’s possible he pulled it back a little to touch up his command, I’m not sure. I will say though, it’s a terribly small sample (just 17.1 innings), but he’s allowing just 17.1% hard contact and that’s all kinds of good. Okay Nick, but what do we do with him? He was only supposed to be here during Corey Kluber’s DL stint, but if he’s pitching like this, it makes it hard from them not to slot him in the rotation in Josh Tomlin’s spot, who is sporting a 6.86 ERA and 1.43 WHIP thus far. I’d pick him up and see where this goes.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
Carlos Martinez – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. This might the best start we’ve ever seen from CarMart. Too bad the Cardinals couldn’t get a run off Samardzija :-/.
Jeff Samardzija – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. So much for Samardzija being a buy-low anymore as he put everything together to keep the incredible K/BB numbers and have the ERA follow suit with luck finally go his way. I’m considering giving Loose Lips a new name now since I don’t believe he’ll be ineffective and sink your ship. Fast came up with Braces. Not bad. Not bad.
Robbie Ray – 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. This was the first start all year Ray was under 36% hard contact and the second under 41% hard contact…with a 15.8% mark. Now that’s beautiful. *Suit Main whispers in my ear.* You don’t say…Folks, I need to stop whatever transactions you’re making based on this information because LIVE FROM NE–I mean Blame it on the Padres.
Mike Pelfrey – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Enjoy this feeling of success Pelfrey. Savor its sweetness.
Justin Verlander – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Yeah, I want one ER fewer – stupid Lucroy and his solo tater – but I’m encouraged as he allowed 40% soft contact here. Show me more against Astros next.
Mike Fiers – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Sure, that happened.
Dan Straily – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. At least the ERA BB/9 are so obviously bad that you have enough hesitation to not chase his disproportionate 8.88 K/9. Yes, I know he has a 3.70, but it’s a clear TEEs with his 4.22 FIP and 4.33 SIERA underneath.
Zack Wheeler – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s a terrible WHIP and doesn’t make me confident in Wheeler moving forward with those five walks, but five strikeouts, 2 ER and a Win constitutes a victory for the books. Streamer Record 19.5-16-6.
Ivan Nova – 7.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Is the ERA great? Nah. Just three strikeouts? Ugh. Was the WHIP superb? Meh. What kind of start is this? Bland. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you, NUMB. Low K total, middling ERA/WHIP numbers that make you feel kinda numb to the start.
Drew Pomeranz – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. The Dirty Cheerleader pitched into plenty of deep counts and got himself pulled way too early. Against the A’s. Dude, you’re better than this. At least the injury question has been put to rest…for now.
Sean Manaea – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Manaea’s second start back from the DL was a bit more encouraging. His command still isn’t pristine and one of those runs started from a bloop double that would have been caught by any other team. Problem now is he gets the Yankees next, which means I’m waiting for that June 1st start against the Indians (they’re bad against lefties) to really get excited about owning Manaea again.
Max Scherzer – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Aces gonna disappoint. Come on Scherzer, this was Atlanta! The Barves! Your ticket to a possible no-hitter! Get it together.
Bartolo Colon – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. The Giant Peach made it look like he was back with the Mets for a hot moment, but didn’t complete the fifth with 97 pitches under his belts. I really do miss NYC’s affection for Colon and I hope the trade rumor of Colon coming back to Flushing is true. Notice how I didn’t talk about fantasy implications as Colon has lost all relevancy. Womp womp.
Kevin Gausman – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Gausman got Singled Out including two infield squibs. Good to see his walk rate down and I think with a little luck, this would have been a fantastic start. So it goes.
Alex Meyer – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. A short start with a poor WHIP, plenty of walks and more strikeouts than a pitcher should have in so few outs? Yep, that’s a Meyer start alright.
Antonio Senzatela – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Senz-A is finally running out of steam and I don’t have any faith he’ll get a coal refill anytime soon. This isn’t a movie theater fountain soda machine.
Mike Bolsinger – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. Bolsinger isn’t the answer for Toronto, and he sure isn’t the answer for your team.
Matt Andriese – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. You know, I had some praise for Andriese in the pre-season, then slowed down on it as Andriese was kinda boring to start the year with plenty more walks than I expected. But I was surprised it was a 3.18 ERA and 8.34 K/9 entering yesterday’s outing with the Yankees…Good news here is the lack of walks, but not his FIP is 4.76, xFIP 4.04, 3.40 BB/9 and 42.6% hard contact. Yikes.
Vince Velasquez – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Even Velasquez doesn’t know what happening with his command. That is not good. That is not good at all.
Tim Adleman – 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. With Adleman, be idle…man.
Masahiro Tanaka – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Man oh man oh man. What are we to do with Tanaka? I went over in the podcast this week about how I have more faith in Tanaka than your typical starter to make the proper adjustments and get back on track, but come on Tanaka, we ain’t got time for that! His overall command is the problem, causing a rise in walk rates and HR/FB (24.5%!) You know the latter has to come down. That’s just stupid high. I think I hold Tanaka and bench him until I see that start that shows he’s made a tweak to get back on the right track. If someone’s buying, yes I’m selling. He’s not going to be Top 40 come Monday.
Julio Urias – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. Hooo boy so in the last outing he allowed 6 ER as well as he pitched in Coors and now I hear ideas that he might head back to the minors for a moment as the Dodgers have a healthy staff for the time being. It’s a weird situation and I’d wait to hear more news before making a decision, but if he is demoted I think I’m okay dropping him if you need the spot. Remember, his IPS is terrible and whatever starts he does have for the team aren’t necessarily pristine, either. For example, I’d love to own Steven Matz over Urias right now.
A.J. Griffin – 3.1 IP, 9 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. So you’re saying his sub 3.20 ERA and 1.10 WHIP weren’t legit? Griffin faced the Tigers yesterday – the first good lineup he’s come across all year – and the Tigers feasted.
Yovani Gallardo – 3.2 IP, 9 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. I never was a YoGa kinda of guy. Especially Bikram.
Luis Perdomo – 3.0 IP, 8 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. I still like Perdomo, I just don’t like him against the Diamondbacks, yeah?
Today’s Streamer
Zack Godley vs. San Diego Padres – He’s still owned in fewer than 30% of leagues and he gets the Padres…too easy.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
JC Ramirez vs Tampa Bay Rays – He’s been a bit better with his Fastball command and the Rays aren’t scaring me. I’m also a fan of Jeff Hoffman’s spot start against the Phillies if you need another arm.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
German Marquez vs Philadelphia Phillies – He’s outside of Coors and has strikeout upside that could be realized. I’d also consider Jordan Montgomery against the Royals, even with his blegh start against them last time out.
Game of the Day
Aaron Nola vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – HE’S BACK.
Urias or clevinger ROS? Knowing both could be sent down.
Perdomo, straily, JC Ramirez or folty ROS?
I think short term, Clevinger. 2nd half, Urias.
JC Ramirez.
Again, most of the Shark’s punchouts on fastballs and cutters. Another thing I noticed was that he is very close to matching his cutter and slider velocities with the latter having WAY more movement. It must be a nightmare trying to figure out whether that 89mph pitch is going to tail in a tiny bit or really dive in/away. Hope he keeps it up!