I really liked Drew Smyly in the preseason and in early April. He looked on top of his game, his Curveball was super pretty, and the strikeouts were flowing. Those were happier times, as the month of May concluded its brutal assault of Smyly with its most devastating blow – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 12 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks against the Royals. It’s getting tough to keep him around, even if he gets the Twins next. You may be able to get a good price for him yet still given his 9.55 K/9 and 2.18 BB/9, but that 4.12 FIP and 3.96 xFIP are not pretty, and his velocity has been dropping since April. This isn’t going to end well.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jake Arrieta – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. Aces
Jose Fernandez – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Gonna
Aaron Nola – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Ace. I can say that about Nola now!
Jake Peavy – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. And definitely not about Peavy!
Scott Kazmir – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Kaz is on as good of a roll as we’ve seen and color me super impressed as he did this against the Cubs. He gets the Braves next and you can bet your butt dollar that I’m grabbing Kaz for it. Butt Dollar? Don’t you mean Bottom Dollar? Nah, I mean a butt dollar, you know that one that you tucked away for that one rare occasion, if you get my drift. Oh. Ohhhhhh. Oh. Yeah.
Joe Ross – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. The strikeouts will come. Meanwhile adore the shiz out of that ERA and WHIP. His schedule is mighty easy for a while now and it’s hard not to be on the Ross train.
Colby Lewis – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Did you know that Lewis is allowing the most hard contact of his career, sitting near 40%? You didn’t? What about holding a 4.59 xFIP? No? What about his near 6.00 K/9? Still want to pick him up?
J.A. Happ – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. The Grave Mistake and Happ are super tight buds. And I’ll take it at the back end of my deep 12 teamer staff.
Mike Leake – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Mike fixed his Leake a while ago. So far so good.
CC Sabathia – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. CC won’t let no Blue Jays break his stride! Still can’t buy it, I’m sorry y’all. This is CC we’re talking about, and if I have to put my foot in my mouth because of my dislike for the fella, then so be it. I just can’t endorse him.
Matt Wisler – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. At least that WHIP is pretty solid. There just isn’t enough upside with Wisler for me to get on board.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. This was supposed to be a decent stream where Iwakuma was available, but even dem Padres were too much for him to lower his ERA. Lesson is, never try.
Eduardo Rodriguez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. I’m pretty happy with this debut from Erod – especially against the O’s – though his Slider still needs some work to be the devastating pitch I saw last year. He gets Toronto next and you know I’ll be watching.
Hector Santiago – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. It’s all about the velocity when it comes to Santiago, and while he got burned by multiple HRs, his heat allowed him to bring strikeouts. He’s been fluctuating all year, which means I can’t endorse him long term, but keep the idea in the back of your mind if you need an upside play out of nowhere.
Jon Gray – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. So this is what it’s like with Gray pitching in Coors, but against the Reds. Still not good enough for me to invest in.
Mat Latos – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Cat Latos ran away because it was ostracized by association. Poor fella.
Kevin Gausman – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Mookie Betts has his way with Gausman for 2 HRs and 4 RBI and that’s about everything there is to know about this start. Stick with the kid.
Lance McCullers – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Yep, that’s a McCullers line alright. I mean, if he didn’t have the floor low enough to produce these kind of outings, he wouldn’t be outside of the Top 20.
Gerrit Cole – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. And this is why you’re at the back end of the Top 20, Cole. It shouldn’t come to a surprise that he’s averaging just under six innings per game.
Steven Matz – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Finally there’s another blemish on Matz’s excellent season, but don’t let it reconsider Matz as a stud. He’s a stud, just like his grandfather Studly McStuderson. What a guy that McStuderson…
Corey Kluber – 7.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Well damn. He’ll be out of the Top 10 next week as Carrasco returns and I have a feeling deGrom builds on his excellent weekend performance.
Dillon Gee – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. I didn’t know Gee could give owners seven Ks. But I did know that he can give owners a 7.20 ERA and 2.00 WHIP.
Eric Surkamp – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Raise your hand if you’re happy Surkamp has a sturdy place inside the A’s rotation. No one is here Nick. You are and your hand isn’t raised. Ohhhhhh.
Tyler Duffey – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Ouch, this one hurt. Like a lot. Duffey had a tough pair of outings before this glorious matchup against the A’s and he felt right on his face. Now he has me reconsidering a start against the Rays. THE RAYS. Nah, he got beat on the longball and I’m still rolling with him for that one start. He gets the Sawx after it, so just one more time like a kid at an amusement park, then it’s most likely back to the wire.
Anibal Sanchez – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 0 Ks. Why is he still pitching for the tigers. WHY. Let’s take the time to recite the Anti-List, which always make me feel like Arya Stark. Anibal, Simon, The Weaver, Peralta, and Pelfrey.
Wily Peralta – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Speak of the devil! Stop being so Wily!
Patrick Corbin – 3.1 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Maybe Corbin should also be added to the Anti-List. Saying that is making me sadder than I thought it would.
Jon Moscot – 2.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Jon needs a long nap on his sleeping apparatus that’s covered in dense green clumps of flowerless plants. Is that a Moscot joke? Yes, and a very bad one at that. Not your best. Yeah, thanks.
James Shields – 2.2 IP, 10 ER, 8 Hits, 4 BBs, 1 Ks. If you were preparing for trouble, James just made it double. And then triple because WHY THE HELL NOT.
Today’s Streamers
Michael Fulmer vs. Los Angeles Angels – I love how much Fulmer is relying on his Changeup these days and I think he keeps it going against the Angels. Originally I had Danny Duffy vs. Tampa Bay Rays, but Fulmer got moved up a day, and thank the lord since Duffy was the best option otherwise and we know how much I didn’t want to do that.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Jerad Eickhoff vs. Milwaukee Brewers – Now that Fulmer was moved up a day, Eickhoff gets the nod. He’s been a bit wonky lately and this stream isn’t nearly as confident as it should be, but I’d be riding with it nonetheless.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Doug Fister vs. Oakland Athletics – There is really nothing to go with today, and at least Fister has allowed more than 3 ER just once all season. That’s the only endorsement I can give.
Game of the Day
Jacob DeGrom vs. Chicago White Sox – I really, really want to see deGrom do well after his promising outing over the weekend.