There are a bunch of pitchers in the league that pass the eye test with flying colors, yet don’t seem to perform consistently at the fantasy level. Some few examples are Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, and Nathan Eovaldi, the later of which has been turning some heads recently. While he hasn’t been outstanding in any way, since June 20th Eovaldi holds a solid 3.29 ERA across 11 starts, with a 55.0% GB rate and 2.95 FIP. Last night he continued the trend with a dazzling 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks effort. Now, I don’t think that Eovaldi and his unreal 100+ MPH heat has this high of a ceiling, but there are reports that he has changed his Splitter grip, allowing him to feature harder velocity on his putaway pitch. Take note, before his previous start of 8 strikeouts, Eovaldi had 20 straight games of 6 Ks or fewer. Twenty games. Grips can certainly change things, but I just can’t throw out that data instantly and especially when you’re making tough decisions down the stretch to bring home a cup. At the end of the day, Eovaldi’s ceiling is pretty low, but he has been stable lately and can provide an okay ERA floor for in the closing weeks. Just don’t go crazy with the recent strikeouts.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Corey Kluber – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Anyone believe Greinke should be at #4 instead of Kluber?
Jacob deGrom – 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Aces gonna blow up in my face because my insane love for them causes me to squeeze them too hard. What is this deGrom, you saw the others all get their fill of letting it all out and you wanted to be different? But you were the chosen one! He’ll be fine moving forward don’t worry people.
Scott Feldman – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I don’t care if he’s only allowed 4 ER in his last four starts now. Feldman freakin’ Schmeldman.
Jon Lester – 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 6 Ks. Nice bounce back from Lester after getting all bad n stuff.
J.A. Happ – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Okay, sure I guess That Happened.
Joe Kelly – 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. I’m not blind to the fact that Kelly has allowed only 5 ER total in his last four starts now, but having eyes also makes me see that his FIP and xFIP are well above 4.00 and his K/BB is under 2.00. Eyes allow us to understand beauty…and its enemy. Dude, no need to poetic right now, this is freain’ Joe Kelly we’re talking about here. The guy with a grosser mustache than Michael Cera.
Julio Teheran – 7.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks. Our Call Boy did alright, though one ER fewer would have made us feel a bit cozier. I don’t suggest you rostering Teheran for long, but there may be one day when we will have to call upon him again. Let us pray that day is far…far away.
Kris Medlen – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Medlen’s return to the rotation after a near 2 year hiatus was a bit uneventful, but it is near what you can expect from Kris. He has a decent floor but he won’t blow you away on a given night. Decent chance at Wins given that the Royals are his bros.
Jhoulys Chacin – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks. He’s in the Dbacks rotation until Hellickson returns from the firey pits of Arizona and recovers from a hamstring injury. Should we be chasing Chacin? Don’t ask questions, you don’t want to get involved.
Felix Doubront – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. For the few that started the wrong Felix, he left the game with a foot contusion. And dozens wept.
Tom Koehler – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks. Blegh.
Buck Farmer – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Farmer, you should be playing Big Buck Hunter not slots. But I got all 3s!
Lance Lynn – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. I benched Lynn in one of my leagues and I’m not happy that it was the right thing to do. He’s been all over the place lately and while it’s possible, I don’t think Lynn puts it all together in his next outing against the Giants.
Jeff Samardzija – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Yes, Loose Lips is sinking ships. What else is new? I just got a new car. NO ONE CARES. Okay…
Jorge De La Rosa – 7.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. De La Rosa 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.
Adam Morgan – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. I see Morgan’s line and all I can hear is Morgan Freeman dictating my experience. He glances slowly, with an air of hope still hanging delicately. But today was not unlike any other day, and Adam hung his head low as he returned to his home…
Keyvius Sampson – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. I thought we threw away the key. We got a new one. Nah, this looks like the same bad stats we had last time. ZING.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Iwakuma was cruising in the second half and this was his first bump in the road. A bit shocking in SafeCo and against the A’s, but whatever, it happens. I still like him a bit moving forward.
Ubaldo Jimenez – 5.2 IP, 7 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BB, 3 Ks. Why do you keep doing it to us Ubaldo? Don’t you know we don’t have any hair left to pull out? That was my plan all along. NOOOOOOOOO.
Today’s Streamers
Nathan Karns vs. Minnesota Twins – The kid has been cruising and is following up a 1 ER, 8 K performance. Jump on board where you can as he’s still owned in under 35% of ESPN leagues.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Jon Gray @ Atlanta Braves – I normally don’t indicate where games are being played in the bold, but the only reason Gray is worth starting here is because he’s outside of Coors and in Turner Field. It’s mostly ace day limiting the options, and Gray is your best bet for a solid outing from a guy under 40% owned.
Game of the Day
Noah Syndergaard vs. Philadelphia Phillies – People keep telling me that Thor’s troubles are simply because he’s pitching on the road. I find that silly, and if there’s any team he can prove his dominance against home or away, it’s the Phillies. Please don’t screw this up kid.