Sonny, It’s Time We Had A Talk

I have to imagine there is a ton of confusion about how to feel about Sonny Gray, who just made things more difficult to assess after his 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks against the White Sox last night. Now he hosts a 4.45 ERA on the year, though it comes with a 9.05 K/9, 54.3% GB rate, and comfortable 3.39 xFIP. I will mention that his previous two outings were disappointing, but he faced the Astros and Yankees, and Gray finally got some respite against Chicago. Now, is Gray someone that can take that step and be a solid #3 like he was back in the day? I don’t really think so. When he was coming back from the DL, I essentially labeled him as a Toby and I think he’s still that guy. He’ll have those moments where he makes you a super happy owner, but that BB/9 is still above 3.00 and he’ll struggle against good teams. Don’t expect consistency and certainly don’t expect him hinting at #2 arm for your squad.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Jeremy Hellickson – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. That’s two straight 1 ER games from Hellickson as he raises his K/9 to 4.50. That’s not a typo. When you look at K/9 and don’t know if it’s higher or lower than his ERA, there is a problem. (It’s higher by 0.10)

Zach Davies – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. After allowing 14 ER in his last three starts, Davies finally took advantage of an easy matchup as he dispatched the Braves. That’s nice, but he did this without a single strikeout. The Braves went 4-25 on balls in play. Riiiiight.

Derek Holland – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. He avoided the Dutch Invasion this time, but they are circling the shores with their boats. Their sails block out the horizon…

Mike Montgomery – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Monty is still living the dream as the Cubs #5 and had himself a fantastic two-start week. Now he gets the Reds and I’m a little uneasy about that one.

Randall Delgado – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. He got the spot start as Zack Godley was on paternity leave. Back to the pen with ya. That totally sounds like someone who just took a bathroom break in the middle of an English test. Jeez, I hope he’s writing in pencil instead.

Ervin Santana – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Here’s something ridiculous. Santana hasn’t allowed exactly 2, 3, or 4 ER in any of his 16 starts this season. That’s what we call a VPR darling…not the typical Cherry Bomb we associate with the term. Anyway, he’s bouncing between 5+ ER outings and 0-1 ER starts without the consistent strikeouts we used to see – this was the first time he struck out 7 since May 2nd – and I’m playing this matchup-by-matchup.

Rafael Montero – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. That’s nice discount Monty, we all know you get emotional and don’t have the same level head as Mikey. Or Leo, and definitely not Donny. He’s the best one. Duh, he was the smart one.

Scott Feldman – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Feldman Schmeldman. I still dislike believing I’m going to catch Feldman on a good night.

Parker Bridwell – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I would say that he’ll have success since he used to be an Oriole, but I don’t think he has enough in the tank to make him fantasy relevant.

Francisco Liriano – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. We had no idea which Liriano would show up and we got one that had just three K+BB but also earned a Win and a 3.00 ERA. Right.

Ariel Miranda – 7.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Miranda had a tough fourth inning and doesn’t have the strikeout upside to make this worthwhile for you against the Astros. Sure, the WHIP is fine, but I don’t want to trust that each time and even if you pick Miranda against weaker teams, you’ll still get hurt a bit. He’s such a TEEs, y’all.

Jason Hammel – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. That’s his fourth straight start under 3 ER, but he really doesn’t bring enough to the table to overlook his super low floor.

Doug Fister – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Fister is back and said to hell with the Grave Mistake. I get the impression Fister feels like a kid returning for fall semester saying “I’m going to get all my homework done before 8:00!” before falling into old habits by Wednesday.

Edinson Volquez – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Sure, whatever Volquez. I’m happy you walked five batters to keep the uninitiated away.

Mike Leake – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Ehhhhh it’s so boring as he got a PQS. I’d rather chase Spice Girls than plumbers.

Francis Martes – 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. I think he profiles more as a reliever than a starter, but I’m sure down the road he’ll get another chance to be a part of the Astros rotation. I wouldn’t invest in this at all for 2017, though.

Jake Odorizzi – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Odorizzi might be the most average pitcher in the majors. An ERA exactly 4.00, 7.75 K/9, 3.03 BB/9…you know what he is and he doesn’t win you fantasy leagues.

Nick Martinez – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Don’t expect any different.

Chad Kuhl – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Kuhl story, bro. Kuhl was actually doing well through five, then couldn’t get an out in the sixth, leading to two more ER via a solo shot and double. Careful, Icarus. Oh man, I might start saying that every time a starter is left out there too long by their manager, adding a few more baserunners and ER to their totals. This wasn’t really one of those as Kuhl should be able to survive the sixth – well, he’s not very good – but I wanted to get this down in writing because I would have surely forgotten it otherwise.

Josh Tomlin – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. A WHIP over 2.00 is sure to make every owner stay away, right?

Tanner Roark – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. That’s 19 ER now in three starts. Hoooo boy.

Brandon McCarthy – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Bleeeggggh. McCarthy dealt with the yips as his command disappeared. How did I not see this coming…at least it happened against the Rockies, who some of you may have avoided, instead of a team like the Padres.

Jordan Zimmermann – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Speaking of which, so much for that Slider working as he faced the Padres. It’s been real, Zim. Streamer Record 41-27-11.

Chris Tillman – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. You Can’t Spell Win With Tillman. I really need to get that on a shirt…

Matt Moore – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. You know, I didn’t even suggest Moore as a possible streamer choice for a Win yesterday even though he was pitching against the Mets. That’s where we’ve come to with Moore.

Clayton Richard – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s the wrong Clayton!

Tyler Anderson – 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. It was DLH against the Dodgers. No thanks.

Michael Pineda – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Surprise, surprise, Pineda allowed two HRs that totaled 5 ER. WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED IT. It’s hard to believe Pineda has made the jump to being consistently good when this is still a major problem.

Julio Teheran – 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. And Teheran just keeps struggling. I don’t want nothing to do with him.

Today’s Streamer

German Marquez vs. San Francisco Giants – Not a big fan, but there’s nothing else. Marquez is out of Coors and the Giants aren’t good, so if he’s going to do well, this is how he can do it.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Sean Newcomb vs. San Diego Padres – Yes please.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Los Angeles Angels – No reason not to roll with him while h’es on the field and against bad offenses.

Game of the Day

Chris Sale vs. Jose Berrios – Hot damn this sounds like such a fun game.