Ah, Michael Fulmer, you’re just the gift that keeps on giving after going 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks against the indians. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But Ful me nine times and I’m basking in a 0.63 ERA. AWWW YEEEAAAAH. Super amazing jokes aside, this is the fourth Fulmer start with 3 Ks or fewer, and his excellent run over his last nine starts now is producing a near 4.00 xFIP…but also a 3.00 FIP and I don’t care keep tossing Fulmer out there. The stats nerd in me is shouting to tell you that Fulmer is a prime sell high guy – that xFIP mixed with an inevitable shutdown and questionable strikeout consistency don’t do him any favors – but my heart tells you to hold. Do what you will with that.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Ervin Santana – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Ugggggggh, freakin’ Santana with the one-pitch-off from a Maddux as he collected eight Ks against the A’s. I don’t believe Santana will come close to producing this again all season and while he does have this upside every so often, it’s way too inconsistent to warrant a roster spot.
Johnny Cueto – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Marcus Stroman – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Good news: 18/27 on FPS (First Pitch Strikes, this ain’t Bioshock y’all), excellent stat line. Bad news: movement still isn’t there on his Sinker (still chilling at 5 inches, more than 3 inches less than his prime Sinker that made him so consistently good), and I can’t endorse him until he gets there.
Miguel Gonzalez – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Miguel…No. You’re just two starts removed from 8 ER, and four from 7 ER.
Ian Kennedy – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Another double digit strikeout performance from Kennedy and it’s hard not to be a little curious. Then you see that he dominated the Blue Jays and now he has your attention. That’s 29 Ks in his last three outings, but even though he did this well against Toronto, I am worried about his next start against the Tigers. He’s had these mini hot streaks only to revert to prime suckage many many times in his day.
Jered Weaver – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Even Weaver is doing well tonight? Jeez.
Jacob DeGrom – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. The only two ER were a pair of solo MONSTER DONGS from Giancarlo Stanton. Super cool to see him absolutely killing it once again. Were you talking about deGrom or Stanton. Why not both?
Adam Warren – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I turned away from suggesting Warren for the stream since it was expected that he would pitch be limited in his innings. Then he has to go throw 93 pitches and look like a beast. THANKS FOR NOTHING. I don’t see him making many more starts in the near future, so just tuck this one in the memory bank and move on.
Sonny Gray – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. A) This was against the Twins B) Those four walks scare the bejesus out of me C) I need more definitive success before endorsing Gray. D) This was against the Twins. You said that twice. Sure did.
Jorge De La Rosa – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 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 not named Gray and maybe even Gray.
Jeremy Hellickson – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. This is his third straight start with 1 ER…They told me Satan would be attractive. Take the chance if you’re up for the risk. His Changeup is super good, but his Fastball is Jonah Hill-esque super bad.
Tanner Roark – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Roark got yet another superb matchup and floundered it with four ER. This is getting really annoying now.
Tyrell Jenkins – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. This Cup is as Schmoy as it gets. Is Schmoy a word? YES. Oh, okay.
Anthony DeSclafani – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. I love me some Tony Disco and it’s too bad that he had to get matched up against the Cubs today. Whatever, snatch from a worried owner if they are silly, otherwise ride him like that unicycle you always wanted. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF.
Bud Norris – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. After spouting Norris love on WashPo and in today’s Podcast, he of course didn’t give a good start against the O’s. Now that’s one of the tougher matchups he’ll get, and this isn’t the end. Keep rolling with Nud and you’ll be happy.
Jaime Garcia – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Blegh. Jaime is back to his stupid ways and it’s stupid.
Michael Pineda – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Welp, that was a fun run. If he can’t excel against the White Sox, you really can’t have faith otherwise.
Kevin Gausman – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Gaus allowed a 2 run shot in the first on a poorly placed heater to Justin Turner and then settled in for the most part afterward. We discussed Gausman vs. Tillman in the podcast today and I still think Gaus gets the nod, though I don’t think he’ll be hanging in the 30s much at all ROS.
Justin Nicolino – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Nico? Just no.
Steven Wright – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Now I’m going to be told that the super hot Boston weather affected Wright’s knuckler too much. That’s three straight shaky outings now for Wright (he’s even adding an ER per start!), and while I wouldn’t be dropping him, I’m starting to be very scared that he can keep it up. I hate knuckleballers.
Mike Fiers – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Fiers is like the girl that’s into you who doesn’t make a single effort to win you over. And she wonders why it didn’t work out. Stacy is the worst.
Shelby Miller – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Our Call Boy will not be getting any more dials from this fella. This one hurt, especially since other decent streams were brushed aside for this clear choice.
Colin Rea – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Is this fantasy? No, just Rea life.
Wade LeBlanc – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. And this is why LeBlanc was labeled as a TEEs.
Jeff Locke – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Remember when Locke had a CGSHO? Oh baseball…
Josh Tomlin – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Tomlin has been performing much better than his peripherals, but A) this was against the Tigers, and B) this line looks a bit worse than how he actually pitched. I still kinda like Tomlin for 12 teamers and deep leagues, just obviously be careful against the top tier offenses.
Drew Smyly – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. Jeez, I know Smyly went down a dark path, but this is…this is bad.
Matt Garza – 4.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Look at Garza, making his owners feel like this.
Martin Perez – 4.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. There are so many good things named after Martin. Aston Martin, Martin guitars, Martin Lawrence. Noticeably absent from that list? Martin Perez.
Today’s Streamers
Doug Fister vs. Oakland Athletics – Not many streaming options on this ace-day Thursday, so if you’re looking for a stream, you might as well go flip the coin on Fister’s ERA against the A’s. If Blake Snell has been dropped, he’s a great option against the Angels as well.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Scott Kazmir vs. San Diego Padres – Kaz is coming off a 10 strikeout game and the Padres are the Padres. Other options are Daniel Mengden against the Stros if your leaguemates are still in the dark, as well as Yankee rookie Chad Green going against the Indians.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Brandon McCarthy vs. San Diego Padres – He looked super good in his first start back from TJS, and he gets a welcome back gift wrapped in the form of San Diego. Adam Conley against the Reds should also end well for owners taking the risk.
Game of the Day
Tyler Glasnow vs. St. Louis Cardinals – The time has finally come for Glasnow to make his debut, which seems odd given his massive walk issues. I’ll be breaking it down and don’t even think about streaming this start.