The Stroman Argument

(Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire)

After two comfortable starts since returning from the DL, Marcus Stroman faced the Mets and was lost as ever, returning a disappointing 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. 22/85 CSW as he struggled to find the zone and you’re asking yourself “Is it worth it?” Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t see a high ceiling for Stroman though I think of him as a Toby with the chance of being a little better. That’s about it. He’s not this terrible and his sinker + slider should make him effective more often than not, so don’t completely count him out moving forward. The bigger problem is his schedule as he gets the Braves next and I’m sitting that one out, though the second half looks favorable for the first few series in the second half. He’ll probably be one your wire come late July and don’t ignore him for a possible pickup.

Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:

Tyler Anderson – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. That’s three straight starts from Anderson with at least 8 Ks and his 12%+ overall whiff rate is impressive. It’s too bad that I can’t waver off the Rocky Mountain Way with him. Stick to the rules and don’t go overboard, though I’m all for letting it ride when the conditions are met.

Matt Andriese – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Following Andriese was Ryan Weber – Yes, that Ryan Weber – and he tossed five innings of 2 ER ball. Cool.

Erick Fedde – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. Erick left this one with a shoulder injury. The Feddes will always get ya.

Eduardo Rodriguez – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks.  After two tough starts against the Mariners and Yankees, Edu had a date with the Nationals and took full advantage. Only 7 called strikes is a little odd, but 15 whiffs works and he cruised through this one, inducing plenty of weak contact (sub 80mph average EV! I don’t mention that much, but I rarely see sub 80mph overall). The Rangers and Jays are next and that’s lovely.

Jose Urena – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Urena returned and was as good as he’s been all year against the Rays. He’s a Werewolf and I’d hate to consistently roll with him.

Chase Anderson – 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s three straight 1 ER games from Anderson, though against the Cards, Reds, and now Twins. 30/87 CSW here is great, hinting 94mph as well. Secondary stuff was okay with just three whiffs in 29 cutters/changeups/curveballs, but 9 called strikes did enough as his heater got the work done. He’s now under 4.00 ERA (barely at 3.99) and maybe he’s a Toby. That’s the dream and those kinds of dreams are often not worth chasing.

Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. That’s three straight fantastic outings after he went through his turbulence that I thought was the product of decreased velocity. Now I don’t know what to think. Okay, that’s not exactly true, though #VelocityWatch2018 is getting harder and harder to fully buy in to. Now I have Corbin at #25 and I think he deserves the bump near #20, but I need to bake in some expected decline coming, right? I still have to believe that he’ll go through more bumps along the road than we’d like given the velocity drop…to be fair though, he was at 90.7mph, a little better than the “hovering 90mph” we’ve seen prior. Very small, but something.

Aaron Nola – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Aces gonna ace. 39 CSW with 16 whiffs against the Orioles and I love Nola day.

Yefry Ramírez – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Nope, this is a Cup of Schmo. Don’t spend more time than we need to.

Andrew Suarez – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I doubted Suarez in Coors and I shouldn’t have. Okay maybe I should have as BABIP went his way a bit, but consider me impressed. He gets the Cubs next and unfortunately, I can’t endorse that, even surviving a night like this.

Trevor Bauer – 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Bauer is so good it hurts, 35/108 CSW here and he pounded the zone early and often. Royals Schmoyals, look at those Ks.

Rich Hill – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Hey this ain’t so bad. Well, save for him hurting his neck sliding headfirst into home and getting pulled with 73 pitches. That’s bad.

Sean Manaea – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Those are wonderful ratios from Manaea, but just one strikeout? HAISTFMFWT?! I do question if we’ll see the whiff rates we once saw from Manaea, but for now treat him like a slightly better Toby.

Miles Mikolas – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. These four walks are surprising, though they are rooted in 3/16 CSW on his curveball. That’s not going to work. I’m coughing it up to one of those days as we’ve seen plenty of it working already this season. Let’s move on.

Corey Oswalt – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Sorry Corey, you’re no King. Yes, this joke makes sense.

Luis Perdomo – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Perdomo returned from the minors, held a 3:4 K per BB and showed no signs of becoming a fantasy relevant starter.

Jose Quintana – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Yeah, I’ll take this from Quintana who has been infuriating this season. Small steps…small steps…

Garrett Richards – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. I labeled this a DLH and Richards didn’t care for a moment, even against the Mariners. Just 23/80 CSW but he had his slider working and velocity hinted 96mph. Feel confident rolling with him moving forward.

CC Sabathia – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. CC keeps dealing and I can’t hold myself back from raising him in the ranks. It’s pretty nuts and hats off to him.

Jose Berrios – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Soooo this is bad. Well not really, but I’m super worried as Berrios’ curveball is lost again – 1 whiff/4 CSW on 22 thrown. It’s what happened during the dark times in May, though he was able to come out of it and dominate again after four starts. It’s been two, here’s to hoping we don’t need to go through two more.

Mike Leake – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Leake got Singled Out with just 4 frames despite 87 pitches to his name. I think you’re still okay rolling with him short term, but give him the hook if there’s anything else exciting on the wire.

Francisco Liriano – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 5 Ks. A VVPQS from Liriano with five walks is just like the good ole days. And when I say good ole days I mean terrible maddening evenings that made me question my sanity. Those were the days…

Mike Minor – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. It’s a VVPQS from Minor against the Astros and that’s kinda impressive. Kinda. Outside of QS leagues, it’s a pretty harmful outing, after all. Velocity down to 92.2mph however, and that’s too bad. I need to see that 93+!

Trevor Oaks – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. I do not want to start an adventure with Mr. Oaks. Even if he gives me a new pet to join me.

Gerrit Cole – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Is this the endless decline of Cole? Ehhh not really, he had two 1 ER starts prior to this and while you’re super disappointed here against the Rangers, he still gave you seven Ks. However, I am really tempted to move him down to #12 on Monday as Nola/Paxton/Snell are still killing it as Cole hasn’t exceeded 8 Ks since May 9th. 10 Still a very consistent 7+ K average per start but not that unreal explosion we saw before and I think that requires us to recalibrate.

Clay Holmes – 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. You don’t know Clay and let’s keep it that way. A Cup of Schmo is a no-go.

Sal Romano – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I didn’t want to roll with you but you had the ChiSox and options were limited. Thanks for nothing. Streaming Record: 51-28.

Julio Teheran – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 10 Ks. Oddly enough, Teheran earned himself a Gallows Pole and gave you 10 Ks if you were crazy enough to start him in the Bronx. 5 ER and a 1.80 WHIP are as expected as a terrible Angel Hernandez strikezone and I still encourage everyone to ignore Teheran in 12-teamers.

Dylan Covey – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Don’t Covey Thy Dylan. I don’t care how you actually pronounce Covey. I DON’T CARE.

 

Today’s Streamer

Max Fried vs. Milwaukee Brewers – He was feeling his curveball last time and it could happen again.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Dereck Rodriguez vs. St. Louis Cardinals – I don’t see a reason to stop this train.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Anibal Sanchez vs. Milwaukee Brewers – There are about five choices available, most carrying poor matchups. The other one to consider is Mike Fiers against the Rangers and I’ll go with Sanchez’s recent upside + chance for a win.

Game of the Day

Johnny Cueto vs. Luke Weaver – Cueto is returning from the DL – It is a DLH – and I wonder if I’ll feel bad giving him that label. And hey, maybe Weaver figures it out.