What Can Yu Do For You

Alright, it is time to talk about Yu Darvish after he had an monstrous evening of 3.2 IP, 10 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks against the Marlins. His entire season is a wave of emotions. He started off a little shaky, with only one game above 5 Ks in his first four starts and a pair of 4 ER clunkers to his name. Then he had a 13 game stretch as a legit ace – 3.06 ERA, 10.06 K/9, 2.73 BB/9. But now his last five games have been sandwiched by 7 and 10 ER and I’m sure owners are infuriated. It’s maddening that someone how can at times win you your week – *Cough* 12 Ks last week Cough* – can so quickly demolish it the next. I’m sure many of you want to ship him off – He has a 4.01 ERA! – but what’s funny about all this is that while I was suggesting selling Darvish a few weeks back, I’m telling you to hold now. Darvish’s poor ERA is a result of three really bad games. That’s not fair! You can’t get rid of the bad and keep the good! Fine, if we remove his three best games, we still have an ace. The price I imagine you’d get for Darvish now will not be close to the production you will get down the stretch. Yes, he may have one, heck even two bad outings the rest of the way. The rest will be beneficial and make you a happy owner. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get hurt like the rest of the SPOIL’D.

Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:

Aaron Nola – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Easy A did this against the Astros and now has seven straight games of 2 ER of fewer and 7+ Ks as he’s holding a near 7 IPS in that time. Is it time? I think it is. Aces gonna ace.

Jimmy Nelson – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Nelson did this against the Nationals as he holds a 2.82 ERA, 10.82 K/9, and 1.91 BB/9 across his last 16 starts. Aces gonna ace. What, you think Nola is the only one that was going to get crowned today? Yes it does mean I have some shifting to do on The List to raise these guys above Berrios and whatnot. But I’m curious if any of you feel these guys don’t deserve it.

Chris Sale – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace. But this is just another day at the park.

Carlos Carrasco – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Aces gonna ace. It’s not super flashy, but it helps across the board.

Luis Severino – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Aces gonna ace. For Severino, too. Plenty of aces…EXCEPT FOR DARVISH. Severino was also the Gallows Pole recipient today with 20 whiffs. Atta boy.

Carlos Martinez – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. Okay, not CarMart either. At least he gave you 8 Ks in the process – something to salvage is what separates the wheat from the chaff. Total irrelevant sidenote: I wonder if Wheaton College calls their selection process the Wheaton Chaff.

Paul Blackburn – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. ERA, BB/9, K/9, FIP, xFIP. That’s the ascending order of stats for Blackburn: 2.25 ERA, 2.81 BB/9, 3.38 K/9, 4.66 FIP, 5.00 xFIP. I feel dirty just typing that.

Brock Stewart – 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Stewart took over for Kershaw and this year is a little different as I’m not as high on the guy this time around. I can understand chasing in deep leagues where starters are a rarity, but I wouldn’t go anywhere near him in a 12-teamer.

Alex Cobb – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. And despite everything saying no, Cobb keeps saying yes. It’s crazy. He has a 2.24 ERA over his last nine starts with a 7+ IPS. Hot damn! At the same time, it’s a about 4 Ks per start and he’s needed a .207 BABIP + 9.5% HR/FB rate which means…yeah a 4.42 xFIP. Let’s imagine that Cobb beats that and sits at his 3.89 FIP. While averaging 4 Ks a game. And probably not lasting 7 innings as he’s allowing more ER. So you can clearly see why I call him a TEEs and it’s not just some old man yelling at a cloud. But what does xStats say? It says Cobb has a 4.70 sCFIP in July as he actually held a 2.70 ERA. He can’t keep getting away with it.

Ian Kennedy – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Are we back to trusting Kennedy again? Pfffft no.

Jeff Samardzija – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. FINALLY. I elected to look at defensive metrics yesterday in context of Sonny Gray and I noticed that after the Athletics being way at the bottom, the Giants are ranked 29th. Maybe that has something to do with Samardzija’s struggles this year? Regardless, Braces (yes, you earned that name today) did good things and it makes us all so happy.

Trevor Williams – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. You know, I give Williams a ton of hate – it’s really easy to with a 4.53 ERA and 6.27 K/9 – and it’s going to continue today. Sorry honey, you know you can’t do this every day.

Jake Arrieta – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Here’s something interesting. In his last four starts, Arrieta has dramatically increased his Sinker usage. We’re talking 70%+ in every outing after not hitting the mark previously all year and averaging 55.6% prior. Reh-he-he-heally…His performance in these outings? 2.88 ERA, 2.52 BB/9. Much better than before, though it has come paired with just 17 Ks in four starts. I wonder if there’s a happy middle ground that can propel Arrieta to the top once again.

Jhoulys Chacin – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Chacin will do well when Jhoulyst expect it. I’m allowed to say that after a start like this, right?

Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. Our Call Boy did well save for a WHIP north of 1.80. Does that mean a tie? A Win? 5 Ks with a 3.00 ERA….I’m taking the dub, tell me if you think I don’t deserve it. Streamer Record 52-37-12. I’d stick with Corbin for his next outing against the Giants.

Marco Estrada – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. Like a rabid Half Life fan, I’m still waiting.

Gio Gonzalez – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. And he just keeps going. Regression Schmegression, that’s what I always say. Still don’t buy it ROS.

Ubaldo Jimenez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. I know we talk about Birthday Parties but this is like getting invited to a friend’s cousin’s college roommate’s shindig that you met once and didn’t really like, only to find out his parents are loaded and it’s a mansion pool party. Yes, I will have another whiskey ginger with Johnny Walker Blue Label.

Mike Fiers – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 7 Ks. I thought this was the safer play than Nola – I should have never doubted you Easy A – as Fiers had been rolling and while the Ks are still there, he’s getting into deep counts n all. I don’t have any faith this will be here come September.

Ricky Nolasco – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. A Quality start where you needed to sell your soul for a near 2.00 WHIP. Ouch.

James Shields – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Sure, whatever Shields.

Andrew Moore – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Yep, that’s the kind of Moore I expect.

Anibal Sanchez – 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. I find it weird that Anibal is pitching again. We all just gave up on him so hard and it’s just re-opening old wounds watching him struggle once again. What’s the point? Why did you come back?

Ervin Santana – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. It’s the fourth time all year he’s exceeded 6 Ks as he holds a 5.34 ERA in his last five starts and a 4.53 ERA since May 7th. It’s good to have the old Santana back where you don’t start him against the Dodgers but let him fly against the Angels.

Homer Bailey – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. Homer Bale just isn’t there yet. Maybe someday, but not today. Also, 0 strikeouts Bailey? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEED MY FAMILY WITH THIS?

Aaron Blair – 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. Hey look, it’s Blair! The man who will forever be the example of not trusting every prospect pitcher that comes through the ranks. And guess what! WHAT?! He’s still bad. YOU WOKE ME UP FOR THIS?! Why are you sleeping so close to my computer? It’s warm.

Jose Urena – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 5 Ks. If you roster Jose, Urena boatload of trouble.

Jeff Hoffman – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. If you’re not giving up on the Hoff after this start, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.

Steven Matz – 3.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. I said I was still staying away last time and even against the Padres, Matz couldn’t get it done. He did get a little screwed by Jose Reyes in the field, but he’s so far away from where he needs to be. This might take a while.

Today’s Streamer

Luis Perdomo vs. New York Mets – It’s Perdomo or CC Sabathia against the Rays and I can’t say I love that one. Don’t expect much here, but a Quality Start could be coming.

Tomorrow’s Streamer

Dinelson Lamet vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – It’s hard to turn down that K upside when he’s facing the meh Pirates. There isn’t any other choice really outside of Brent Suter against the Cubs, but I don’t love that one and I’m not ready to believe in Sal Romano a second time against the Marlins.

Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer

Sean Newcomb vs. Philadelphia Phillies – I’d also consider his opponent Jerad Eickhoff, but Newcomb has shown that he can bring solid K production when not facing a solid offense.

Game of the Day

Luke Weaver vs. Zack Godley – Weaver makes his first start of the season while Godley is one of the more underrated arms in the majors. If you haven’t yet, sit down and watch his 95mph Sinker. It’s glorious.