The Sick Senz

Who on earth is Antonio Senzatela? He’s a dude who went 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks against the Brewers yesterday as he made his MLB debut for the Colorado Rockies. Yeah, that last part sure isn’t a fun label to have as a pitcher but let’s ignore that for a second. The kid pumps cheese – 94.5mph average Four-Seamer yesterday – mixed with an average Slider and the very rare Changeup. His command across the minors has been superb, exceeding a BB/9 of 2.34 just once and that was Single A in 2013 with a 2.76 mark. Strikeouts have been somewhat around, but nothing here makes me believe that he’s a strikeout heavy arm. I see a lot of problems for Antonio coming up and it’s pretty easy to see why: He’s a heavy Fastball pitcher without the movement to generate plenty of groundballs, and he doesn’t have a secondary pitch that will make batters second guess for sitting dead-red on the heat. That doesn’t play well in Coors at all. I’m sure some will chase him, but I’m taking a backseat here and letting him head elsewhere.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Chase Anderson – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. What is going on with the Brewers pitching staff? Guys like Peralta and Anderson are having their way with the Rockies offense like they’re facing their Sunday Church softball team. DON’T BE HATING ON TEAM “CROSSED UP”. My bad, my bad. But seriously, Anderson isn’t this good and when he is, it’s not for long. I think that made sense.

Gio Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Whoaaaa, Gio has had decent strikeout upside before, but this is essentially the best start of the day and I’m not sure how often I’ll get to say that about Gio. He’s someone I would call a Panda as his ERA/WHIP really shouldn’t be anywhere near below 3.50 and I can’t put faith in the fella giving me a strikeout per inning through the year. So yay, good job Gio, now let’s get back to that slightly above average mediocrity again.

Matt Harvey – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. The start I was most interested in was Harvey’s, which was super weird. He had just 14 pitches through the first two innings and cruised through six – almost seven until Matt Kemp went yard for a second time against him. He ended the day with just 77 pitches to his name, which is bizarre to say the least. He was sitting around 94mph for the day and it was fine, but I wasn’t impressed with it all as I wanted to be – keep in mind, this was the Braves. I’m still holding reservations and I need that start for him to get me fired up me before getting fully back on board.

James Shields – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. Shields allowed five walks and just 1 ER. Because baseball is dumb.

Marcus Stroman – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Solid stuff Stroman. It doesn’t razzle and dazzle like other guys around your ranking, but that’s not what we pay you for. Give us those high groundball totals that will keep the ER and WHIP low, while sprinkling in a handful of Ks per night. That’s what I’m talking about, woooooow.

Brandon McCarthy – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. A solid return for McCarthy as he faced the Padres. Do I trust him to be an asset when he’s not facing the Padres? Ehhhh not really.

Andrew Triggs – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks. Our Call Boy did his thing, raising my streaming record to 2-1 for the season. Is that a thing now? Sure, why not. Because you could be exposed for being terrible at picking streamers. I’M WINNING NOW AREN’T I? Anyway, I think a good amount of people are sleeping on Triggs and sure the three walks and just one strikeout are super sketchy, he gets the Royals next and I think that can work out well.

Tom Koehler – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Don’t fall for this. Sure, he did well against the Nats but Koehler is not a strikeout guy, he’s not a Win guy, he’s not an ERA guy, he’s just a guy. A guy like you and me. You wouldn’t start yourself, would you? This might be the dumbest blurb you’ve ever written. Is that an award? That sounds like an award.

Robbie Ray – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. This start does absolutely nothing to the preseason storyline of Ray. Bad ERA, good amount of Ks. We’re still at the baseline here.

Lance Lynn – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Lynn was looking solid through the first four frames, though his lack of strong secondary pitches was catching up to him in the fifth and sixth. It’s interesting as I often dock pitchers a ton for lack of repertoire depth, though Lynn has made a career of it for a good amount of time and I’m okay with it…It’s weird. Anyway, I like Lynn a bunch for 12-teamers and he nearly gave you a QS without killing your ratios against one of the toughest offenses around in the Cubs.

John Lackey – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Lackey had a ton of trouble in the first inning, then coasted the rest of the way. I still think he’s a solid floor guy for the year and he won’t get shifted around come Monday’s edition of The List.

Kyle Gibson – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Oh right, totally forgot Gibson was a dude in the majors. His stat line sure doesn’t help him get remembered as that is the belghiest blegh I’ve seen thus far.

Ariel Miranda – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Okay I lied, maybe this is. At least I can conceive Miranda having some value chasing a desperate Win on a given Sunday?

Joe Musgrove – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Three walks and just two strikeouts? Ughhh Musgrove you’re killing me here. The Mariners are tough and he’s going to get them again…not sure I’m a fan of that outing, it’ll probably get another Maybe in my Sit/Start article tomorrow.

Blake Snell – 6.2 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. I’ll admit, Snell was looking super good early on. Then the walks showed up. Then he allowed a Grand Slam to Kendrys Morales. The stuff is there. The polish isn’t and you shouldn’t have to suffer because of it. Yes I want Brandon Finnegan instead.

Jaime Garcia – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. Not a single strikeout in 18 outs. How did you do that Garcia? That is absolutely nothing to redeem from this outing now. NOTHING.

Jason Hammel – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. This is far from what you want to see from Hammel as he faced the Twins – especially the four walks that make me cringe like thinking of myself dancing at the ripe age of 19 – though you would be silly to overlook his next start against Oakland if you needed help in QS league.

Tyler Skaggs – 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. If you’ve been reading about some hype regarding Skaggs, just toss it away. Sure, it’s totally possible he can rebound this year and come into his own, but why would you pay for that now?

Jered Weaver – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. After ever outing, Weaver runs into the clubhouse to see if he had the worst pitching line of the day. Today, he survived. Jered 1, Baseball 0.

Clay Buchholz – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Buchholz went from the AL Beast to the NL Easy so there may have been some hope for a few of you out there that he would be beneficial on a 12-teamer. Ha, not a chance.

Rookie Davis – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. It was the MLB debut for Davis and I tuned in to see if you should care or not. You shouldn’t as he’s a Cup of Schmo.

Jeff Samardzija – 5.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Through the first two innings, Shark was cruising like it was seal season, with five strikeouts in six outs. Back-to-back jacks in the fourth were unpleasant, but then he struck out the side in the fifth. Haha Nick, you were so wrong about Samardzija! Noooope. A three-run blast in the sixth followed by a walk and single did Loose Lips in and serves as a tough reminder that you don’t want none of this guy. The strikeouts aren’t real and there is a legitimate chance he performs like this each and every outing.

Matt Boyd – 2.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. I was curious to see if Boyd could take a step forward now that he’s getting more innings in the Tigers rotation. Guess not.

Today’s Streamer

Francisco Liriano vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Liriano had a great second half with the Jays and it may have been a product of reuniting with Russell Martin. If you need an upside play for the weekend, Liriano could whip out a great deal of strikeouts without demolishing your rate stats.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Mike Foltynewicz vs Pittsburgh Pirates – Not many decent options here, so I’ll go with Folty’s upside against the middling Pirates. I don’t love his secondary stuff and I think his massive Fastball is more hittable than it seems, though it’s hard to deny his strikeout upside.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Martin Perez vs. Oakland Athletics – Ohhh I hate this one but it’s hard to deny that Perez might have the best shot at stealing a win as he players for the Rangers and faces the A’s. I’m doing this whole Streaming Record thing, and I’m only going to bet .5 a point on this one.

Game of the Day

Michael Fulmer vs. Steven Wright – Don’t care about Wright (Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer) but I’m a big fan of Fulmer and look forward to seeing how he does against one of the premier offenses around.