(Photo by: Juan DeLeon/Icon Sportswire)
Dallas Keuchel went 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks last night as I let out a significant ugggggggh that I swear was just my reaction to Keuchel’s outing for my neighbors who read these roundups. Keuchel, buddy, pal. That’s your second 5 ER game in three starts and it’s killing me. you had a fantastic eight-start stretch until the middle of August and it’s been a lot of ups and downs like a spoon plane when serving my nephew. It’s really become a decent *shrug* each time Keuchel starts – spoken like a true Toby – and I think you kinda don’t have a choice but to keep starting him as he gets the Jays next. Don’t let us down. Please. Regarding next season, I’m tempted to place him outside the Top 40, if not Top 50. That doesn’t mean he can’t help over a full season, it’s that his ceiling isn’t high enough for me to chase him over other upside plays that can legit win me the season – Corbin, Snell, Bauer, Clevinger, Taillon, etc. from this year’s drafts. I want to chase that, not a middling helpful but dispensible arm.
Let’s see how every other SP did Wednesday:
Brett Anderson – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. It’s so boring it hurts. Nothing like banking on Anderson to go 3/20 on balls in play, am I right?
Walker Buehler – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 12 Ks. I feel like he deserves an AGA label, though I’ll probably wait until 2019 for that. At least he’s raising the whiff rate (19/101 here) to make people actually believe his strikeouts are real. He’s essentially Wheeler if Wheeler had solid breaking pitchers to complement his heater.
Diego Castillo – 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. FALSE START.
Dylan Covey – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Don’t Covey Thy Dylan. Yes, even with this good start against the Indians. On the real though, last night was weird. So many surprising starts.
Zach Eflin – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. It looks like we can begin starting Eflin again versus weak teams. Yes. Now he gets the Rockies in Coors. No.
Matt Festa – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. FALSE START.
Gio Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. That’s just 3 ER in three starts for Gio since becoming a Brewer and I’m a bit skeptical if his changeup is really this good. I’m be careful starting him next time against the Cards.
Gabriel Moya – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. FALSE START.
Robbie Ray – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. Ray is hot and you best not overthink this. This was the Cubs. It didn’t matter.
Jimmy Yacabonis – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Ha, even when Jimmy does well it was still four frames. That’s the life of Jimmy.
Chris Archer – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. This is all kinds of lovely for Archer owners that have endured a very difficult year from Archer. What isn’t all kinds of lovely is an evening with the Cubs next week. Womp womp.
Carlos Carrasco – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 11 Ks. Aces gonna ace as Carrasco earned another Gallows Pole at 21 whiffs – 40/111 CSW. Crazy good.
Marco Estrada – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Whoa, Estrada was helpful for a night! Seriously, it’s shocking and weird and in no way should we put stock in him now.
Luis Severino – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Would you look at that! Severino survived against the Red Sox, giving a stud start when we had our doubts. It was a risky play and it worked if you had the brass to do it. I’m still a little worried seeing just 4/34 whiffs on his slide piece and just 30/108 CSW overall, but you have to think this is a step in the right direction.
Tyler Anderson – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Anderson had a date with the Dodgers and surprised us with a solid outing. Next up are the Phils in Coors and that’s a little better in my book
Heath Fillmyer – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Good on ya Heath, we all know you’re not this good.
Touki Toussaint – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Touki was the strikeout upside play and succeeded against the Cardinals. He’ll probably stick as the sixth man in the rotation, meaning he gets the Mets next and I’m all for it.
Robbie Erlin – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Oh good, we have another resident in Mediocricity. I’ll be honest, I feel like even saying that is giving Erlin too much credit.
Noah Syndergaard – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. Oh great, now we’re back to Thor being unbelievably frustrating. Should he be in the Top 15 next year? You’d think not, right? It’s wild that guys like Buehler, Taillon, Clevinger, Flaherty, etc. would all be drafted higher than Thor if the 2019 season started the day after the 2018 year ended. But it doesn’t as possible tweaks, trends reset, and much-needed rest can all affect a new season. I’ll have my ranks for 2019 out on October 8th and I have no idea what that will be. He gets the Braves next and you have to let him fly.
David Price – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BBs, 2 Ks. Earlier in the year we were all about starting Price against everyone except the Yanks, then he’s killed it over the last three months including a start against the Pinstripes and we all – myself certainly included – let him fly. Note to self: Follow your notes. Three homers here did the damage, plus an Eduardo Nunez error did little to help the evening overall. He gets the Orioles next but then another possible date with the Yanks to end the season (maybe not as the Sawx could restructure their rotation prior to the playoffs), so let’s start him next time and see what happens after.
Jack Flaherty – 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. You just had to pull down your draft stock just a little, didn’t you, Flaherty. I was expecting myself to be a little lower than average on Flaherty, but if he tosses another one of these, I’m curious if the pendulum will swing the other way. Here’s to a successful start next time out.
Chris Stratton – 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Nooooooooooooooooo. Seriously, this is a nightmare of a start as it seemed like such a clear success, but of course Stratton had to realize his floor on the night we wanted to chase him. Ugh. I feel for everyone who started him here, it’s the risk we run with streaming and…blegh. Sorry. Streaming Record: 97-48.
Felix Pena – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Pena, despite being a decent streamer lately, just isn’t good enough to handle the A’s. It’s okay, we didn’t expect it to go well.
Spencer Turnbull – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. For a guy that sounds like he wants his chance to prove his bucking skills at the local bar, Turnbull sure didn’t put on a show. He’s a Cup of Schmo from reliever turned starter for this one, so it’s not a surprise in any way, but you always root for the underdog, you know?
Cole Hamels – 6.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Bleeeegh. Hamels has been killing it in the second half and it fell apart with two longballs. Let’s move past this.
Matt Harvey – 5.1 IP, 7 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. He was able to handle the Cubs last time, but the Brew Crew were too much for him. Even with this atrocity, he’s still holding a 3.91 ERA in his last eight starts with a 3.50 SIERA and 25% K rate. Don’t ignore Harvey as an option after this game as he gets the Royals next.
Yohander Mendez – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Do yourself a favor and get off the Mendz. Is that supposed to be a pun on Meds? Maybe. Yes. It’s not a good pun. YOU’RE NOT A GOOD PUN.
Today’s Streamer
Edwin Jackson vs. Los Angeles Angels – I hate him, but this slate is terrible. Here’s to hoping we can Survive A Night With EJax.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Zach Davies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – Tough day for choices here with a lot of different ones right at the same level as Davies. Ian Kennedy vs. Detroit Tigers. Davies was pushed to tomorrow, so I’m going to with Kennedy against a poor Tigers offense. Ivan Nova may work as well against the Brewers, but that offense is a bit scary for me while I’d favor Reynaldo Lopez against the Cubs instead, but none of them make me all too confident. I’d choose John Gant vs the Giants if I could, but his 22% ownage rate just puts him out of my threshold of 20% or lower.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Zach Davies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates – Few options under the 20% threshold here, so I’ll go with Davies still who was pushed from his Friday start.
Game of the Day
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Masahiro Tanaka – Both are great starters, but they have to deal with potent lineups. Should be a fun matchup.
