The Dodgers had an unfortunate spring, losing multiple arms in their rotation and forcing them to dive into their pockets to find some change. Ross Stripling is the latest addition to the squad and his MLB debut was better than expected: 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Yep the kid threw a no-hitter with just five outs away, but hit the 100 pitch mark and was pulled. You may be thinking that this warrants a spot on your roster, and you maaaaay be right. This was against the Giants, after all. Stripling features an average Fastball with a good Curveball + Change and a decent Slider, and I don’t see him dominating outings often. He’s not a big upside play but could provide some value against weaker teams collecting a W without killing your ratios. Nothing more though.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jordan Zimmermann – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. It was vintage JZ last night and I refuse to make the obvious joke. I’d sell high though, because there isn’t going to be much to salvage from his starts when the balls start finding grass instead of gloves.
Danny Salazar – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. The White Sox simply couldn’t catch up to Salazar’s heater yesterday, while his secondary stuff wasn’t all too impressive. I worry that Danny will run into trouble when he has to depend on his Slider/Changeup more often, which means I don’t see him Top 20 in the near future, but his strikeout ability still warrants a Top 25 spot.
Chase Anderson – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Anderson is the main guy the Brewers got in exchange for Jean Segura, and he’s always had good K upside, with his biggest caveats being a poor walk rate and few grounders. This is a step in the right direction obviously, though I’m not sold that you want to roster him yet.
Jacob DeGrom – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Good news: Aces gonna ace. Bad news: he left the game with slight lat tightness. These kind of issues rarely result “Ahhh just kidding! It was nothing!”, and I suspect he’ll miss a start. Owners already endured him getting pushed back to Friday, now this? It’s not fair I tell you.
Jason Hammel – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Nice start to the season for Hammel, who seems to get a little more flak than he deserves. Yeah he can quickly fall off the table, but he has also put together some amazing stretches that last for weeks. Ride him while he’s performing like this.
Chris Tillman – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. You can’t spell Win with Tillman. Alright, I think I’m retiring that one this season given that A) Tillman was 11-11 last season B) He’s taken enough harassment for an okay pitcher. C) Disregard B, he struck out five straight in his first outing and looked good here. Play the matchups and life will be fine.
Ervin Santana – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Just look at that Santana upside, especially against the gritty Royals who don’t strike out often. He also gets three solid matchups in a row now, which means I’d roll with him if you need some SP help in the short term. Don’t fall for him though, that’s a dangerous game.
Alfredo Simon – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Let’s all bow our heads in memory of the owners who saw this stat line and rushed to the waiver wire.
Yordano Ventura – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 6 BBs, 6 Ks. Ho boy that’s a perfect representation of the Ventura complex. You can see the upside wanting to be set free while the chains of his command and immaturity are holding him back. It’s going to be an interesting year.
Robbie Ray – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Dude, don’t be a Ventura. You gotta fix those walks Ray or else I’ll have to stop giving you any sort of endorsements.
Taijuan Walker – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. No walks is a plus, and I’d take this outing from Walker despite the four strikeouts. I still am not the biggest fan and worry about his consistency, but this is fine.
Matt Cain – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Cain isn’t worth your time. This is a boring start through and through and it really doesn’t get much better than this.
Jaime Garcia – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Wow, Garcia did this against the freakin’ Braves? I’m not worried and I’d buy buy buy like JT.
Matt Wisler – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. If you Wisler while you work, you’re going to get fired/burned/regretting your life choices/especially this joke.
Eric Surkamp – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Surkamp throws a 88-90 MPH Fastball witha good hook but not much else to offer. I don’t see him having much – if any – mixed league value.
Jerad Eickhoff – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. The strikeouts are a little lower than expected and this is a really really blegh start from Eickhoff. I still think he has value here, especially since he gets the Padres/Mets/Brewers in his next three outings.
A.J. Griffin – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. It was 2013 since he last pitched in a MLB game, and he did fine. Not fiiiiine, just fine. Translation: let him sit on the wire like a bored bird on a Tuesday afternoon.
Francisco Liriano – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. And suddenly the curtain is revealed where the audience truly grasps the skill set of Liriano that makes him such a frustrating starter. This isn’t going to go away.
Luis Severino – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Severino was Singled Out by the Tigers, and I believe that he’ll impress moving forward…once he gets past Toronto. His Slider wasn’t biting a whole bunch, which I’ll blame on the super cold Detroit weather, and he had some hesitation going inside to right-handers. Nevertheless, he’s still a very good option on your staff.
Scott Feldman – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Feldman Schmeldman.
Marcus Stroman – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Before the fifth inning, Stroman allowed 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. Looks like he lost a little gas, then Jesse Chavez came in a served up a grand slam to Brock Holt. What a bro.
John Danks – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Danks the Tank! Danks the Tank!
Colin Rea – 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. If you had the courage to start Rea in Coors…wait I’m sorry I misspoke. If you had the liquid courage to start Rea in Coors, then I may slightly understand why you let him fly. And by letting him fly, I mean pushing him out the moon door.
Jordan Lyles – 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Lyles 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.
Chris Archer – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. What seems to be the problem? Well you know, you could not serve up four solo HRs. That would be super cool Archer. Real cool.
Matt Shoemaker – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Welp, so much for that. It may mean that Nick Tropeano sticks around once Andrew Heaney/C.J. Wilson return from their respective DL stints, so at least we’ve got that going for us.
Joe Kelly – 3.0 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. This is the cup of Joe that’s served at a Gas Station in the middle of Montana. They’re shocked you’re even there in the first place.
Today’s Streamers
Nate Karns vs. Oakland Athletics – I like Karns more than your average hurler, especially when he gets to the horrid Athletics. Don’t let their name fool you, they aren’t a good team.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Josh Tomlin vs. Chicago White Sox – Tomlin had a great stretch at the end of the 2015 season and looked good enough in the spring to bump Trevor Bauer out of a rotation spot. The Chi Sox aren’t looking like a strong offense out of the gate, making Tomlin a decent streamer pick among a sea of studs.
Game of the Day
Clayton Kershaw vs. Madison Bumgarner – It’s ace day so we’re going to have the whole Dodgers vs. Giants schtick going with preemo pitchers. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?