In Clay Buchholz’s 17 games started this year, you know how many of them he’s allowed more than 2 ER? Six. He’s known as the guy that could blow up in your face on any given night, yet has been one of the stabler pitchers around. After last night’s gem of 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks, Clay has allowed 1 ER or fewer in each of his last four games lowering his FIP to 2.55 and xFIP to 3.16. I’m not sold that Buchholz is the Top 30 pitcher those numbers detail, but I’m willing to give him more of a chance than before.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jeff Locke – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. A broken stove cooks right twice a day. Or something like that I don’t know it’s tough to be coherent the day after July 4th.
Michael Pineda – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Am I all too shocked? Nope. He’s had this upside all year and it’s good to see him on the other side of luck this time around.
Jeff Samardzija – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Okay, I am shocked about this though. It’s the second time he’s hit 9 Ks this season, but it was against the O’s who rank 6th in the majors in Ks. Ehhh I’m not jumping on this boat. Loose Lips earned his name and there’s no going back.
Hector Santiago – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. He got super lucky with the BABIP, but it is his third straight start of 1 ER or fewer. I’m selling like whoa given that his 2.40 ERA is supported by a 4.11 FIP and 4.48 xFIP. It’s not like he has a great batted ball profile either to support to .234 BABIP. Find a worthy buyer and peace out.
Zack Greinke – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Man, the Greinkster is just killing it. 21.9% soft contact and under 36.9% hard contact is hella legit (sorry for that) and hasn’t allowed an ER in four starts. he did get the Marlins, Rangers, Mets along the way but whatevs. He’s boss.
Cody Anderson – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Oh come on Cody, you’re not that good. Everyone knows you’re a phony. A big fat phony. I just realized phony is just an h away from pony and is making me reconsider my choice of words.
Kendall Graveman – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. The Call Boy was what we thought he was. HE WAS WHAT WE THOUGHT HE WAS.
Nathan Karns – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 10 Ks. Come on Karns, I wanted to feel cool going with Graveman for the stream and now I look at your 10 Ks and feel like a dunce. Yes, he’s a great add to fill out your staff in a 12 teamer.
David Price – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. He got a little Singled Out but that’s just the Price you pay. Yeah I did that and don’t act like you don’t enjoy these bad jokes.
Stephen Strasburg – 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. The story here is that he was pulled with tightness in his left side in the fourth inning. He’s missing his next start so pick up Joe Ross everywhere.
Carlos Martinez – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Not very exciting from CMart, and he hasn’t really been baller since his 6/05 start against the Dodgers. Ehhh, not worried, keep rolling with the youngin’.
Odrisamer Despaigne – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Who’s the guy that allowed only 1 ER for the first time May? Despaigne.
Felix Hernandez – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Ughhh Felix step it up man. Seriously.
Clayton Richard – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. He’s not someone you want to invest your time in as he was acquired for just a handful of starts. He doesn’t have K numbers that you want, and he’s unstable to trust moving forward. Just ignore and move on.
Patrick Corbin – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. If you were looking for a start to get you pumped for Corbin, you weren’t gonna find it against the Rockies. A lot are getting hyped about Corbin, but I just don’t see it. His K rate was a decent 7.69 per 9 in 2013, but he slowed down tremendously in the 2nd half, making him two years removed from relevance. His upside is Top 40 at most, but he has a lot of hurdles to get there and I see him hovering the 50s instead. I don’t blame you for testing the waters, just ease the expectations.
Jimmy Nelson – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. You had so much promise Nelson. So much promise.
David Hale – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. Hale 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.
Matt Harvey – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Five walks Harvey? What is going on with you man. All the peripherals check out for the most part – a little disappointing in the FIP/xFIP department, so I’m willing to cough this up to a fluke.
Chris Tillman – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. You can’t spell Win with Tillman.
Collin McHugh – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 1 Ks. I’m willing to give a slight pass given that it was against the solid Red Sox offense, but I really wanted to see him dominate them and become the boss we want him to be.
Alex Wood – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Wood has failed to have that stretch of games that really gets you excited in him moving forward. I think you’ll see him inch closer to the “enigmatic zone” in the rankings tomorrow.
Joe Blanton – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 4 Ks. Wait, so his debut wasn’t legit? More at 11.
Mike Pelfrey – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. The MFRTSPA is slightly back up for grabs now with May gone, but Santana takes his place who should probably run away with it. In other words, go away Pelfrey.
Josh Smith – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. No, not the basketball player. Well, if he did pitch it might look something like this.
Madison Bumgarner – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. He gave up a longball on his first pitch of the day and never got into a steady groove. This can happen to Bumgarner every so often, but I believe in him for the longhaul.
Wandy Rodriguez – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Yeah yeah yeah, the balls dropped a while back.
R.A. Dickey – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Dickey once sold me his bed frame saying it would hold up for years. It broke the next day. Don’t trust a knuckleballer. Sidenote: I need a new bed frame.
Jarred Cosart – 1.2 IP, 7 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Somehow not the worst start of the day. Congrats Cosart.
Kevin Correia – 3.1 IP, 9 ER, 10 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. He pitches for the Phillies and his name isn’t Hamels. Of course this is what you’re gonna get.
Today’s Streamers
Mike Bolsinger vs. New York Mets – He’s owned in under 50% of leagues, but should be rostered in 12 teamers. He gets the weak Mets and will have a ball – this time with no food poisoning.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Wei-Yin Chen at Minnesota Twins – He’s been on a nice roll and the Twins grant a solid matchup for the Orioles lefty to get a win.
Games of the Day
Ervin Santana vs. Kansas City Royals – He’s back after the suspension and I’m curious what we’ll see.
Danny Salazar vs. Gerrit Cole – There are a lot of good games today (McCullers vs. Erod, Matz vs. Bolsinger, etc.), but this is the cream of the crop. Should be fun on both sides of the ball.