It’s that time in the season where it’s fun to look ahead to 2016. One pitcher that is flying a bit under the radar moving forward is Jaime Garcia who may change that status after last night’s 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks outing. His 2.36 ERA is pretty to look at, but it’s pretty stable under the hood with a 2.94 FIP/3.33 xFIP. His 21.0% soft contact rate is excellent and a 2.01 BB/9 gives Garcia one of the best floors of a guy with a sub 7.00 K/9. Playing for the Cards will help out his Win total, but be careful. He has an injury history that can affect his innings next season, and I wouldn’t be investing in him as a Top 25 SP. Once the 30s hit and you have a few solid members of your staff, by all means chase the stable lefty. But hey, it’s still September, so there’s a lot of time to talk about this later.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
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Stephen Strasburg – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 13 Ks. In-and-Out Burger has been super consistent since I gave him that nickname and he’s making it so much harder to rank him for next season. I can’t really argue against someone who wants to rank him in the Top 10, but I’ll most likely have him around #15. The upside is Top tier, but we’ve seen some incredibly frustrating years from Stras that make me hesitant to trust.
Francisco Liriano – 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. This is beautiful Liriano, but you’re making it tough to trust long term as the walks that you helped diminish early in the season have returned in full swing in the second half.
Robbie Erlin – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Yeah, this is a One Night Bland. He’s not that great.
Justin Nicolino – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. His K/9 would be a Top 10 ERA at 2.82. Yup.
Adam Warren – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. I’m not much of a fan of Warren who doesn’t have much upside at all. He doesn’t seem to be a likely member of the 2016 rotation either and destined to be a long-reliever or cheap back end guy.
Jeremy Hellickson – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Don’t care Hellickson, I like you less than that tiny dog downstairs who never stops barking. YES I’M TALKING ABOUT MILO AGAIN.
Aaron Nola – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Solid stuff Nola, I think he’ll be a decent late add for teams who want a little consistency next season.
Craig Breslow – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. I’m surprised he made it through four innings given that he hadn’t started a game in his career. Just a Cup of Schmo.
Andrew Heaney – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Heaney is pretty bland, and starts like these are his ceiling. He can do it frequently, but I prefer guys who can exceed this than taking the mediocre consistency.
Wei-Yin Chen – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. It wasn’t the best of matchups, but Chen made it work against Boston. He’s like Heaney, but with more K upside in good matchups, which makes me like a guys like Chen more.
John Danks – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Meeeeh. Yooooooou. Nah that was an extended “Meh” cause it’s super Meh. You’re an extended Meh. Okay.
Matt Harvey – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. So in the end it was worth it to hold Harvey during his “half starts”, even though that WHIP is worse than you’d like. Yeah he’s Top 20 next season, probably Top 15.
Alfredo Simon – 8.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. I would be shocked if the Tigers can’t find a better option than Simon next season.
Felix Hernandez – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. The King is chilling in his court, but it’s like he’s taking annoying questions all day and his eyes are getting tired. He’s still laying down the law, but without nearly the same authority.
Julio Teheran – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 3 Ks. Nah, you’re not going to sway me for next year. Nope, not going to happen Teheran.
Tyler Duffey – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. Our Call Boy did his part getting the Win and a 3.00 ERA. Sure the 1.50 WHIP and 3 Ks aren’t ideal, but you’ll take it for the price of free.
Collin McHugh – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. You’ve torn my heart into pieces McHugh, I can’t believe you can put it back together.
David Price – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Disappointing from Price after he’s been so dominant in a Blue Jays uniform, and you’re obviously starting him for his last game of the season.
Barry Zito – 2.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 0 Ks. It was the Zito/Hudson game, which we all knew wouldn’t end in a pair of stellar outings. It was a nice moment, but neither guy should have been started.
Tim Hudson – 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BBs, 0 Ks. You just couldn’t outlast Zito, could you.
Jason Hammel – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. I have no idea where to put Hammel next year. Is he just gassed? Was that his issue in 2014? Or is he just playing adequate opponents now?
Derek Holland – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. Pass the Dutchie.
John Lamb – 2.0 IP, 5 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. It wasn’t a good matchup for Lamb as he faced the Mets and he paid the price. Yes, this was a Lamb Sacrifice.
Kyle Kendrick – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Kendrick 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.
Josh Tomlin – 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. Tomlin had it coming for a while – poor Soft Contact/FIP/super low BABIP, and like the rest of you I couldn’t help but keep running with him until he hit an obstacle. To be fair, it was against the Royals and he’ll get the Twins next, so I don’t blame you for keeping him in your lineup through THursday.
Tyler Wagner – 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 0 Ks. He was recalled to fill in for Wily Peralta and promptly did his best Peralta impression. Just a Cup of Schmo move along.
Kris Medlen – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Bleeeggggh. This is frustrating as Medlen is a decent floor guy and shouldn’t have blowups like this. The Indians are not a poor offense, but not a top tier and 6 ER in under 4 IP is disappointing to say the least.
Brett Anderson – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Anderson has been a bit shaky on his own and this was in Coors soooooo yeah.
Chris Archer – 3.2 IP, 9 ER, 10 Hits, 5 BBs, 3 Ks. Whaaaaaa. Wow, the Jays are just trucking over everybody these days. Then again, Archer now has a 4.50 ERA and a 3.55 BB/9 in his last 17 starts since June 28th. To be fair, those numbers were 3.86 ERA and 3.23 BB/9 before yesterday’s start, but it’s not the sterling numbers we grew accustomed to from Archer. Is this a Top 12 guy moving forward? Are we looking at a guy who will be overrated in next year’s drafts?
Today’s Streamer
Chris Heston @ Oakland Athletics – Not many to choose from after Shomeaker’s start got moved. Decent chance at a win and the upside to carry some Ks with it.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Lance McCullers vs. Seattle Mariners – He has the best upside of any streamer tomorrow and gets a solid matchup against Seattle.
Game of the Day
Jake Arrieta vs. AJ Burnett – It’s a mini-preview of the wild card game as Arrieta takes on the Pirates.