I’m often surprised by certain pitchers through the year, and one guy is Kevin Gausman who has returned from his DL stint to impress, going 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks Thursday night. Sure, it was against the Yankees who couldn’t hit a tree with a giant pole made for these sorts of things, but you still gotta get the job done. And yes, he faced the Rays…and White Sox…But still! He’s commanding his Split-Change well out of the gate, and his Slider is looking a bit better, giving me a bit more confidence that he can maintain a good floor. And while he has faced weak teams thus far, his future schedule is pretty solid as well, save for a date with the Tigers in 10 days. Now I don’t see Top 30 upside from him, but I’d be surprised if he fell out of the Top 65, which makes him a solid asset for any team.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Masahiro Tanaka – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Tanaka is Top 30 if his injury risk wasn’t so much of an issue. Ride it out while you can, and hey, maybe you’ll get lucky like Jamie Gold and his injury issues will go on a vacation to the Catskills or something. I hear it’s wonderful at this time of year.
Jaime Garcia – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. There we go Garcia, even if it was against the Phils I’m happy to see you take advantage after some questionable outings. Stick with him boys, you’ll be pleased.
Colin Rea – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. No I don’t want you Rea, not in a house with a mouse, not in a parade with a maid, not even in a jacuzzi with a floozie.
Kyle Hendricks – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. I’ll take this from Hendricks as he’s a high floor guy, not my upside lover. Who is your upside lover? Dude, that’s, like, personal.
Adam Conley – 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. I’m actually really impressed by this outing as Conley was challenged and performed against the Dbacks. He has a decent two-start week ahead (MIL, @WSH) and I’d sign up for it.
J.A. Happ – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Happ just keeps on plodding along as he becomes the staple child of Tobys everywhere. I can see his slogan now: It could Happen to you.
Joe Ross – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. I commend those who rolled the dice with me as we started Ross against the Cubs. Now he gets another test against the Tigers before riding down the hill against NL Easy teams. I’m kinda feeling like I should start him again there too. He’s just too dang good right now.
Chris Devenski – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. You may be considering heavily to pick up Devenski, because he’s a pretty face that you’ve never seen before and you have no idea if he even speaks English. Or Russian if that’s your kinda of thing, whatever, I don’t judge. But I got you. Here’s the quick schticky: He’s like a worse Stripling with middling stuff, super awkward mechanics that make me shocked he only walked one batter, and I really don’t see him being an asset you remember down the road. We good? We good.
Alfredo Simon – 7.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. This is a Top 5 start from Simon this year. This is also really really sad.
Wade Miley – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. A solid start to backup his shutout last time out. No I’m not buying at all. You shouldn’t too.
Trevor Bauer – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. FYI, Bauer did this against the Tigers. It’s totally possible for Bauer to perform well here and there, I’m just well too aware of his ability to crash and burn right when you start believing in him.
Robbie Ray – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s cool Ray. I still don’t trust you yet, definitely not enough to move forward with your two-start week ahead of you, but that’s cool.
Jerad Eickhoff – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Alright, so that makes three straight meh starts from Eickhoff (one much more than meh), but I’d keep the faith. Excellent schedule ahead and he has the stuff to make a big difference.
Chase Anderson – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Gotta love that 4.67 xFIP he’s holding to get with that 6.44 ERA. The girls must chase after him.
Henry Owens – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 6 BBs, 2 Ks. There may be a time Owens is a Toby, but now is not that time. Womp womp/
Jacob DeGrom – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. DeGrom will figure it out guys. Whiff rate is only slightly lower, more grounders, more soft contact…he’ll be fine.
Erik Johnson – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I think of Johnson…let me rephrase that. I consider Erik an occasional streamer and nothing more. He’s like the substitute teacher for Toby.
Chris Rusin – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. Rusin 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.
Michael Fulmer – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Fulmer started the game off with a textbook strikeout, then got Singled Out before allowing a bomb to Mike Napoli. After allowing four runs in the inning (he also struck out the side), Fulmer did look much better and I still like him a bit moving forward. I am concerned about his lack of formidable Changeup, but when it comes to Manaea v. Fulmer (NOW ON PAY PER VIEW), I’m taking Fulmer every time. Better Fastball command, Better approach, Papa Johns.
Matt Cain – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. It’s really sad seeing the duo of Peavy/Cain fail so hard these days that not even the “Even Year” can save him. Not gonna lie, I sat here for a good minute trying to write that sentence without saying “even” twice. Sometimes you just gotta give up, you know? Yeah, give up like Cain is on his career. :(
Derek Holland – 2.2 IP, 11 ER, 11 Hits, 3 BBS, 0 Ks. When the Dutch sailed to conquer Canada, he was met with cannons to the face. Not punches, not swords, not even guns, freakin’ CANNONS. Poor Derek didn’t stand a chance.
Today’s Streamers
Drew Pomeranz vs. New York Mets – There really isn’t a good streamer pick today, so I’m going to bend the rules a little and go with The Dirty Cheerleader despite his 41.1% ownage rate in ESPN leagues. I could understand the desperate gambler going with Tim Adleman against the Brewers, but I really don’t want to trust in that.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Brandon Finnegan vs. Milwaukee Brewers – I’m not much of a fan of Finnegan, but he can be productive and possibly escape with a win against the Brew Crew.
Game of the Day
Noah Syndergaard vs. Drew Pomeranz – It’s Thor – duh – but I’m also interested in watching the progression of The Dirty Cheerleader. Pomeranz could continue his path of being a super sneaky stud.