That’ll Do It

(Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire)

It’s always hard writing this one. It’s my fourth straight full season writing an SP Roundup for 186 days straight (save for the ASB) and despite how rigorous that might sound, I’m going to miss these pieces. A lot. I always feel that way, but this year has been different. We more nearly quadrupled our staff, got a massive redesign, added podcasts, tripled our content, and so much more this season and it’s been incredible to watch our community grow each step of the way. It’s wild to think back at just a year ago – let alone when it was Pitcher GIFs back in 2014 – and consider how much this site has changed.

This is a thank you to all of you. Yes, you. Thanks for sharing the season with me, enduring the eye-rolling jokes, the emotional rollercoasters of Spice Girls, and questioning my daily streamers. It’s people like you that push me to get these Roundups out and continue to improve Pitcher List. Because of you, we’re not going dark in the off-season, with mock drafts, podcasts, team reviews, GIF Breakdowns, Nastiest Pitch Tournaments, and plenty other stuff that should exist at a Fantasy Baseball site. After all, that’s what Pitcher List should be. The site you want to exist.

And as we look ahead to everything coming across the winter and in 2019’s Pitcher List 4.0 launch, we still have work to do, one last time.

Let’s see how every SP did Sunday:

Tyler Anderson – 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. We thought we might get one last moment of German Marquez, but he was pushed to tomorrow’s wonderful Game 163 as Anderson returned following his late scratch last week. Now, I have many reasons not to be on Mr. Anderson’s train next year, though I won’t ignore the fact that he could be a perfectly fine Toby with strikeout upside. Y’all know I preach “Floor early, ceiling late” in drafts (everyone does, right?) and that makes me not want to go after Anderson next year, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he found his way on me team here and there as the season goes on.

Roenis Elias – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I’ll be honest with y’all, I think the best thing Elias has done and will probably ever do is throw this curveball. It’s all I ever see when I see his name and we kinda already know he won’t be truly fantasy relevant again.

Gio Gonzalez – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. The Brewers needed him not to suck – yes, more importantly than your fantasy team – and goo on him for allowing just 6 ER total in five starts with the Brewers, including these shutout five frames when they needed it most. I’m so very out on Gio next year, but good on him for this.

Rich Hill – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. This is brilliant. I know it was the Giants, but still. Brilliant. I can see him being a later pick in drafts and I’m down – the guy helps a lot when he’s on the mound. It’s that simple, he’ll help your team if you own him. So get him over the guys that could be on the waivers by the time April ends.

Charlie Morton – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. We knew Morton would be limited here, but it’s too bad that Josh James only got two innings of relief. I was hoping for at least three here, but it wasn’t in the cards. I’d be surprised if I owned Morton next year (there’s rumors of him retiring…?), simply because of the injury history. It will show up much earlier than it did this year, while I see a 3.50 ERA guy with a 28% K rate and 1.20 WHIP. That’s helpful, definitely, but I think the price is a Top 25 SP pick and that’s way too high for me.

Rick Porcello – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. You probably think Porcello had a solid season. He didn’t. Ish. 189.1 innings of 4.33 ERA hurts you in a roto league, though that 1.18 WHIP and a strikeout per inning definitely made an impact. For 2019, I wouldn’t be shocked if Porcello left the board before the 40th SP and I won’t be doing it. I just don’t see the magical season returning, while there’s so much turmoil here and smaller margins for error than I’d like. He just isn’t that dominant.

Ryne Stanek – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Yarbrough came in for three frames after for those wondering about this False Start. You guys know my stance on these pitchers – I hate em – but I can’t deny that Yarbrough earned a 16-6 record because he was almost always there when the fifth ended. There’s something to be said about it, but man is it annoying and points more to disaster than success. We’ll talk more in the off-season about it, I’m sure.

Noah Syndergaard – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little disappointed it was just six strikeouts. Is it wrong to feel that way? I know that he wouldn’t have survived through nine innings if he tallied more pitches fanning more batters, but even in his “total stud” start, he still gave us the same amount of strikeouts as Ranger Suarez. Yeah, that guy. I’ll likely be slotting Thor outside the Top 10 for 2019 – the injury bug is super real with Thor + BABIP will always be elevated – but I’ll still absolutely love watching him pitch. It’s just so beautifully dominant when he’s on.

Jimmy Yacabonis – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. I look at this, look at who did it, and think to myself there are so many things I could do with my time that would be better than talking about Yacabonis. I will say, though, he’s got a super fun name to say aloud, so at least he’s got that going for him.

Sandy Alcantara – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Alcantara, you wonderful, wonderful man. I know it was rough against the Nationals twice, but to see you absolutely kill it against the Mets today was just so wonderful. The floor is still going to be low next year, but there’s a chance he develops consistency and becomes a legit starter on your 12-teamer for a hefty chunk of the year. Streaming Record: 103-53. I’m still in amazement that the Streaming Record is that close to 2:1 for the year, as y’all know how streaming isn’t supposed to work this well. Seriously, we’ll get updated stats soon for the awesome Dominic, but when he ran the numbers last week, the average pitcher over 140 starts was a ~3.50 ERA and near 9.00 K/9. That’s just dumb. I guess we’ll be streaming again next year, ya’ll. 

Carlos Carrasco – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Aces gonna give us a taste of acing. It’s all solid, I just need more than five frames, you know? Cool to see Trevor Bauer go the final four innings for the save as well.

Mike Montgomery – 2.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. Monty isn’t that good and the Cubs gave him a super short leash. Smart move, honestly. I wonder if we’ll see Monty start more than five more games in his career. He was a backup option when the Cubs weren’t able to go anything better at the trade deadline, knowing they weren’t going to start him for the postseason. They’ll have more depth next season and the crispy M&M will fade into the wind of starters…

Eric Skoglund – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. If only he were a stud player and turn into a household name. IF ONLY.

Ranger Suarez – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Wait, I didn’t know Andrew joined the Parks department! *Suit man whispers in my ear*. Ohhhh right, that dude on the Phils. The Cup of Schmo. Yep yep, I got it.

Brett Anderson – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. I’m surprised by the five strikeouts, and won’t even give you Patrick Stewart’s mild shock for the rest of it. Brett really is just not fantasy relevant.

Kevin Gausman – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. Ehhhhh I want a little better in the WHIP department, but I’ll take a 3.60 ERA and 7 Ks from Gausman any day of the week. I think I believe in Gaus giving us a sub 3.75 ERA/1.25 WHIP next season in a Braves uniform, making him a Toby. A lovely, lovely Toby.

Zack Littell – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Littell by littlell I’ll get through this blurb. Just one letter a-t. A. T-i-m-e.

Joey Lucchesi – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. ATTA BABE LUCCHESI. Good to see him go six frames here as well and now I have no idea what to do about him for next year. He was part of a crew of value arms to fill out the ends of staffs, and not define them. I don’t think his ceiling is all too high and there is a decently low floor given his affinity for going five or fewer innings. It’s not cool, duder. At the same time, I imagine streaming him quite a bit if given the chance. So that makes him, what, in the 50s/60s? Sure, that sounds right.

Robbie Ray – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. This was against the Padres and eight Ks with a Gallows Pole (17 whiffs) is what you expected. Not needing 93 pitches for 12 outs and killing your ratios. Where should he get drafted next year? He’ll be in my Top 40, maybe hinting at the Top 30. It was a weird year for Ray, though he did turn on the jets like a depressed NY football fan on a fall Sunday in the final two months of the season, hinting at his 2017 self. I think the strikeout ability plus the upside to not be a detriment ratio wise is enough to warrant a pick as your #3/4 next year, but I still need to think about where he is relative to the other options. 

Sal Romano – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Nobody loves Romano. I said it.

Matt Shoemaker – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. We ran with Shoemaker last time against the Rangers and it was wonderful. Here he got the A’s and I hope you didn’t get cocky, kid. 

Luis Cessa – 0.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. The Yanks are preserving their arms for the playoffs, so we got to see more of Cessa. Yay. It also came with more Loaisiga though and I legit believe that if we get 15-20 starts from him next year, we could be talking about a Top 30/40 SP pick for 2020. He’ll be a Spice Girl if he gets a spot in the rotation.

Jack Flaherty – 2.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. I wonder if people are going to judge Flaherty harshly based on his final few weeks of the year, allowed 3 ER in four of his final five games. I think it’s a taste of what’s to come in 2019, personally, as he’s a guy that is relying so heavily on a breaking ball that needs a little more support if he’s going to be a consistent arm through a year. It’s McCullers 2.0 and I don’t want to spend the Top 20 pick to get it.

Yovani Gallardo – 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. YoGa poses are the worst poses. Because he poses as a bad pitcher. It’s a really poor life choice.

Clay Holmes – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. I saw his line for the night and almost did a spit take. I didn’t because of course, don’t spill water in Clay Holmes.

Spencer Turnbull – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. Turnbull isn’t so bad. There it is. I watched a bit of this one given the “implication” and I was impressed with his breaking stuff. Not the best heater, though, but at 94mph and a pair of decent breakers, this could work out for a stream with a touch of upside to go with it in 2019. He still sounds like a Pokemon, though.

Erick Fedde – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. The Feddes went to Coors and we all knew how that would go. If only we got Scherzer instead…

Andrew Suarez – 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. I had to go with this one in my Ottoneu league (points league and there was legitimately nothing else to go for) and it hurt. I hope you didn’t have the same pain. Suarez is a great example of pitchers that get unwarranted hype after a super small sample to kick off their career that we take way too much at face value. The man isn’t even a Toby and back then the questions were if he were a Top 40 guy moving forward. No no no. 

Dylan Covey – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Remember kids, Don’t Covey Thy Dylan. Even if you mispronounce his name all the time.

Sam Gaviglio – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Ugh, I can’t believe I wrote about you this year. I feel so dirty.

Today’s Streamer

Tiebreaker Pitchers – So it’s not 100% over necessarily. If there are tie-breakers, your league may count Game 163 to your H2H playoffs or roto league. Stock up on the possible starters for the Brewers/Cubs/Dodgers/Rockies. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Legit None – Okay so the season is actually done at this point. There’s no tie-breaker tie-breaker scenario left. Yep, it’s the end.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

For real, the season is over – I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.

Game of the Day

Brewers & Cubs & Rockies & Dodgers – AGAIN. I’ll be on Twitter (@PitcherList) talking about them Live. Join me.