I need to dig deeper into Carlos Rodon. After going 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks Friday night, his last seven starts have now produced a 3.24 ERA (only one start above 2 ER), a strikeout per inning, and just one outing above 2 walks. Has there been a major adjustment or is this just noise? Well, his velocity has gone up in that time (92.88 mph on May 4th, 95.08 mph last night), and he’s getting more whiffs with his Slider (~15.8% in April/May, 24.8% in June). Definitely good signs for the kid. The biggest change is a 22 point jump in swing percentage for his Slider, despite throwing it for a strike just a five points more. That’s a huge change as it leads to fewer walks and more chases out of the zone. That Slider has clearly improved – 88.64 mph yesterday, up from about 85 mph in early May – and it may be time for me to get rid of the PEAS label. Crazy, I know.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Wade LeBlanc – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. So the Mariners are so hurt that they decided to sign LeBlanc – the whitest guy you know – to start against St. Louis, and in the most improbable of events, he has the best start of the evening. Freakin’ baseball man.
Carlos Martinez – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Don’t like the walks and four strikeouts, but a low ERA and 1.00 WHIP is nothing to ignore.
Zach Eflin – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Super boring outing, but it’s not a blowup and that’s all that matters with Eflin as he gets acclimated to the bigs. I think he can be a productive backend/streamer, not sure I would label him that quite yet, but I think it’s there.
Kyle Hendricks – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s odd seeing Hendricks allow four walks – he also had four unearned runs due to a first inning grand slam – then he rolled through the Marlins like a pin that he is. Too bad his run support isn’t as good as it should be.
Jake Peavy – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Peavy was a popular stream today as he faced the Phils. You know what that means. Blame it on the Phillies.
Colin Rea – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Four walks in five innings? I don’t care if he struck out seven, that makes me more nervous than a parent-teacher conference in 8th grade.
Archie Bradley – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Do those walks freak you out? They freak me out.
Aaron Sanchez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Solid stuff Sanchez, might be enough to sneak a fast one on someone who doesn’t realize Sanchez’s shutdown is like a month or so away.
Masahiro Tanaka – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. It’s not pretty – 1.50 WHIP, 4.50 ERA – but you have to respect the floor from Tanaka as strikeouts are back in the game.
Tyler Anderson – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Anderson 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 not named Gray and maybe even Gray.
Max Scherzer – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 10 Ks. And this is why I had to demote you past the rest of the studs. Stop giving up longballs dude. Seriously.
Zach Davies – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. Alright, maybe it’s time to stop calling Davies a TEEs, as those are normally reserved for guys that are only valuable through their ERA, while Davies has now collected 36 Ks in his last five starts.
Danny Salazar – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. Now his walk rate is 4.48 BB/9 and I’m scared, especially since it comes with a sub .250 BABIP and a 84.1% LOB rate. That 2.40 ERA is not going to last. The Ks definitely will (over 7 per game!) so it’s not like he won’t be productive, but it’s hinting on the McCullers issue of walking too many batters and while he’s clearly ahead of Lance, I would consider selling.
Tom Koehler – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Tommy got the Cubs, which was a recipe for disaster. Well this wasn’t completely catastrophic, but it doesn’t help all too much and I’d be shocked if anyone actually cares what I’m saying about this start. It was Koehler against the Cubs, after all.
Matt Moore – 6.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Give it a rest guys and stop chasing Moore’s upside.
Yovani Gallardo – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Some were considering Gallardo for this stream against the Rays and this is what you get. I’m not shocked in the slightest, this seems like a typical YoGa line, just without the super tight pants.
Nick Martinez – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Stop ruining it for all us Nicks everywhere.
Nick Tepesch – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. SERIOUSLY GUYS, NOT COOL.
Eric Surkamp – 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I hope you’re in the right camp and aren’t close to owning Eric.
Tommy Milone – 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. No this isn’t a Matrix-esque thing where the true nature of Tommy lies in his last name. Milone is not a Lime, guys. Or a Lemon. Nor is he the One. But he is a bad Omen.
Jered Weaver – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. I feel like the only thing keeping Weaver alive is looking up the box scores of other pitchers in the league on a given day to see if he was the worst of the lot. You made it by today Weaver, but maybe not next time…Let’s be real though, those fellas didn’t get to play the Athletics.
Dallas Keuchel – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Keuchel has been in purgatory, and to see him allow 11 hits in just six innings is enough for me to pull him out. Yeah? Is he going to Heaven? What, no. Definitely not. It means he’s rubbed me the wrong way and I’ll be shifting him lower come Monday. Awwwww. Yeah, I’m sad too bud.
Cody Reed – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Speaking of being sad, what is this Reed. For realsies, this was the Padres, and you’re so much better than this.
Jameson Taillon – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. I really expected more from Taillon against the Dodgers. You may be questioning his K upside now that he has produced just 15 Ks in four starts, but stay strong. Well, he gets the Mariners + Cards next and that’s not cool at all. So stay strong for the second half…?
Jordan Zimmermann – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. In his last seven starts, he’s allowed three 7 ER clunkers, while collecting just three strikeouts five times. If you’re still owning JZ, I feel bad for you son. I understand why you are, but there has to be someone out there overvaluing him who will take him off your hands.
Steven Matz – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. This might be the weirdest start we’ve seen all year. Matz was cruising through four like he’s in the USA, then it all fell apart. Cespedes lost a ball, singles and doubles were all up in this, and then a three run shot. Oh, then of course there were no walks or strikeouts, because that would be too normal. Now there is word that Matz’s elbow is flaring up again, but it really doesn’t seem like that inning was to product of an irate elbow. That totally sounds like a band name. Yeah I’d see the shiz out of Irate Elbow.
Aaron Blair – 4.1 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. I don’t care about Blair. And he doesn’t’ care about me. So we’re cool.
Edinson Volquez – 1.0 IP, 11 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. Holy suckage Batman! I mean, I haven’t been high on Volquez for a while, but not like this. Not like theeeeessse.
David Price – 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 12 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. I want to say this was a huge blow in one inning, but Price was just plain bad. And that’s the thing about him. He either has it on a given day, or he doesn’t. And I really don’t like depending on Price to simply have it on a given day when he gets so trounced when he doesn’t. Where is that floor that we expect Top 15 guys to have when they are experiencing an “off” day?
Today’s Streamers
Brandon Finnegan vs. San Diego Padres – Y’all know I don’t like Finnegan at all. His walk rate is way too poor for me to get on board. That’s how bad the options are today, with the only other consideration being Jhoulys Chacin against the A’s. Ouch. But if you’re really behind in a H2H league and need a Hail Mary, Fin could bring a lot of Ks against a poor Padres team, which might be the answer you’re looking for.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Anthony DeSclafani vs. San Diego Padres – You may be sensing a common theme with these starters: the Padres are bad and no one likes to own Reds pitchers. Tony Disco is good enough to call this a relatively safe stream for your Sunday.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Robbie Ray vs. Philadelphia Phillies – I liked what we’ve seen the last few starts from Ray, and he gets a sweet matchup against the Phils again. I can also understand going with Eduardo Rodriguez against the Rays in hopes that he can find his Slider and put it all together against a weak team.
Game of the Day
Dillon Overton vs. Los Angeles Angels – Yet another prospect joins the mix, and while he doesn’t have nearly the same pizzazz as the others, I’m still curious what we get from him.