Tying Yourself Down

This is going to be a quick opener today because we’re talking about Tyler Anderson and his startling 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks against the Diamondbacks inside Coors last night. Some may look at this outing, remember Anderson’s surprisingly good mediocre 2016 and think “huh, maybe I should pick him up?” That’s why I’m here. I’m here to tell you no. Don’t do that. But his xFIP is 3.92! K/9 8.42! 2.97 BB/9! Totally get that. Anderson is not going to live up to those numbers – they were a pedestrian 7.26 and 3.26 prior to this start – and you have a guy who’s a possible weak streaming option in only have the games he plays (i.e. outside of Coors) and not someone you want to own. Capisce?

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Gerrit Cole – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Man Cole, you’re killing it right now. Whiff rate is back around 10% as it was in 2015, I guess I’m on board now. Choo freakin’ choo.

Lance McCullers – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. This is all kinds of weird from McCullers. Four Strikeouts? Just two walks? Whatever, I’m happy he’s healthy and pitching and let’s keep it going.

Jake Odorizzi – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. Odorizzi doesn’t care about DLH. He takes his aspirin, eats food, gets enough sleep and downs enough water to show up and perform after a DL stint.

Josh Tomlin – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. This is exactly what a Birthday Party is. It comes once a year and it’s a great day that won’t last.

Clayton Kershaw – 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 9 Ks. Aces gonna ace. I know, this season hasn’t featured legit Kershaw just yet. Sure, that ERA and Ks are great, IPS and all, but four walks? What is going on. No, I wouldn’t be selling.

Jason Vargas – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. And Vargas made easy work of the Indians. Now, the Indians haven’t bee good against LHP this year, but I’m not going to write this one off like that. Keep riding this until the wheels inevitably fall off.

Rick Porcello – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. A 2-4 record isn’t helping his Cy Young vote chances, but a 9.35 K/9 and 1.87 BB/9 is much better than expected. I don’t think that will last while a 3.70 ERA seems likely.

Chase De Jong – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. There are so many bad jokes I want to make with Jong’s name, but what’s important is that this is a Cup of Schmo, and you should Chase what matters. Don’t Long for Jong. Any more? Just another day on De Jong. Saving your best for last eh? You know it.

Matt Garza – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Don’t get any ideas. I don’t care what he’s done, will he will do is making owners feel like this.

Mike Leake – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Leake against the Braves? Yeah that sounds about right. Notice the Ks y’all, he’s not some newly made man.

Jordan Montgomery – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. I’m kinda impressed by Montgomery as managed to survive against the Cubs. I can see him being a fringe starter through the year earning a good amount of wins, the ocassional good strikeout game, and decent ratios.

A.J. Cole – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. Cole is back and is not the upside grab you want. I can imagine him being a streamer at some point, but this isn’t the investment you’re hoping it is.

JC Ramirez – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. It didn’t come with the strikeouts we want so badly from JC, but that low ERA is oh-so-pretty. I’ll take it. Streamer Record 14.5-12-4. 

Amir Garrett – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. Poor Fastball command is still at the forefront here. I’d prefer to not be chasing Garrett this year.

Martin Perez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Sure Perez, whatever makes you sleep at night.

Dylan Bundy – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Sooooo when are those strikeouts going to show up? That’s five of his last six starts all coming with three or fewer strikeouts. xFIP sitting at 4.66, though he is a flyball extreme pitcher suddenly with a 42.5% flyball mark and just 31.3% grounders. It’s interesting since I’m still selling with that 2.17 ERA, but I also expect the strikeouts to increase a bit as well.

Vince Velasquez – 7.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Velocity was up, taters went far. This was the Nationals and I think there are good things to pull from this one, believe it or not. Those Ks might be sporadic, but considering I wasn’t starting VV against the Nats, this is a good step in the right direction.

Jordan Zimmermann – 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. You’re not still thinking JZ is bound for a rebound, right?

Marco Estrada – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. It was always be the longball that does Estrada in. He got burned twice in this one and that’s how it goes. Still like him in all 12 teamers, obviously.

Robert Gsellman – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. It wasn’t a tragic outing, maybe this is okay? Nah, this isn’t okay. I need to see dominance before buying into him again :(

Jesse Hahn – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Hahn was already over 100 pitches when he was pulled in the fourth. Y’all know I preach Fastball command a ton here and seeing how infrequent that is from Hahn is as troubling as it gets.

Julio Teheran – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. With Paxton on the DL, it makes you wonder if I’ll win that Bold Prediction by default (we’ll see how much time Paxton misses this year). However, if Teheran isn’t beneficial in the time that he does get, this will be a sad bout to watch. It’s weird rooting for Teheran, since I didn’t buy him as a Top 35 guy in the preseason and his flyball heavy approach without the same bread-and-butter as others like him is concerning.

Clayton Richard – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 6 BBs, 5 Ks. It’s the wrong Clayton! 

Odrisamer Despaigne – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. OH MAN. I don’t care how he pitched – you all know to avoid here – the point is that I get to say the sexiest name in baseball. Despaigne….

Nick Tepesch – 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. My love for Nick is Tepid..esch. This is so bad. Like the worst joke I think you’ve ever made. 

Dylan Covey – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Don’t Covey thy Dylan.

Brett Anderson – 0.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Anderson allowed 5 ER while earning just one out and arguably didn’t have the worst start of the day. Anyway, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Anderson’s value lies solely in being a cheap Win streamer against average to poor offenses. This was against the Yankees = easy sit.

Patrick Corbin – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. With all that talk about his arm angle, it still wasn’t wise to start Corbin in Coors. You’re better than that.

Ty Blach – 3.0 IP, 8 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. This start makes me think I should stop saying Blegh and start saying Blach.

Today’s Streamer

Alex Cobb vs. Toronto Blue Jays – I don’t like Zach Davies since he’s playing the Cardinals for the second straight time and I still don’t trust Daniel Norris, though roll with him if you need strikeout upside. I think Cobb could get a cheap win as the Jays would theoretically be throwing out Mat Latos or some poor replacement.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Blake Snell vs. Kansas City Royals – I still worry about Snell long term with his walk issues, but the kid holds a 3.45 ERA with solid K upside. That itself warrants an outing against the Royals. Alex Wood against the Pirates is my secondary Call Boy for the day even after his disappointing start last time out.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Charlie Morton vs. Atlanta Braves – He’s on a roll and the Braves aren’t the kind of offense to make me reconsider. Jharel Cotton against the Angels also gets my vote if you need another arm.

Game of the Day

Chris Sale vs Ervin Santana – This should be a super fun one to watch.