I'm sure you want me to talk about Robbie Ray after his unbelievable line of 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 14 Ks last night against the Dodgers. Okay I know how this is going to sound and I almost stopped myself from writing it but I going to say it anyway. The Dodgers are a bottom tier offense in the last 14 days as Corey Seager is on the DL and their bats a slumping big time. That means they are not a good offense...which Ray wrecks. And now he has four easy teams the rest of the way and it will be glorious. GLORIOUS. Call that me being a hater, though on a per-start basis he's easily Top 15 right now ROS, only problem is that other guys have more starts left. Entering next year, I don't see myself paying the pretty penny that he'll go for and I'm sure there will be another rant and all that stuff as I will maintain the same stance I've always had about him: great against bad teams, bad against great teams. Also, congrats on the Gallows Pole, well deserved with 22 whiffs. Oh and please don't get the wrong idea from the headline that I had a real ban on Ray. The pun was more about lifting sunglasses in awe n all than saying I didn't want you to ever start Ray. Because that's just silly.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
Every team has ups and downs. I think it is a bit misguided to adjust the offensive rank of the opponent as opposed to backing off your statement that Ray dominates bad offenses. I agree that Seager is the guy that makes that Dodgers offense special, but I think that you have swung and missed on Ray this year. Thats OK. Everyone is wrong all the time about this type of thing. The real mistake is creating a web of mistakes to prop up the underlying mistake.
I like to think that I’m always the first person here to say I’m wrong on a guy.
In my mind, there is no reason to deny that a guy is good or bad as the whole purpose of these roundups and rankings isn’t for my ego, it’s to give y’all the best advice moving forward for your teams. Who cares if I was right/wrong about one guy as long as we can all understand why I think he’s going to be good/bad in the future.
I don’t think there is a single pitcher here that I haven’t explained my thought process for. I think that’s a really important part of this site as it makes all my decisions fully transparent and easy to have a discussion with. Instead of making you, the reader, go with a guy just because this voice on the internet said so, I instead tell you why I think he has a higher chance than expected to do well. It sets a solid foundation for discussion and a launching point to dive deeper on a player.
So I think I’ve made my argument really clear about Ray. Start him against bad teams and avoid the tough ones. Let’s look at it!
His bad starts this year have come against the Rockies, Dodgers, Tigers (in may with JD/Upton), Pirates, Phillies, Rockies, Nationals (with Harper).
His good starts this year have come against Giants, Dodgers (twice in his past two starts, once early in the year), Nationals, Padres twice, Brewers twice, Phillies, Reds, Mets.
I don’t think I’ve every said that you shouldn’t own Ray, of course not! I’m saying that he’s not a stud that you can start against top tier teams blindly like many other aces we have. And that’s a major distinction to make.
Thanks for the reply! It is hard to avoid your ego, but you do a great job of it. I was just trying to point out that I think you were getting caught up in a bit of a trap.
i’m in week 1 one of our playoffs playing the best team in H2H categories. i have a spot open for a streamer. is gohara a high enough upside play to give him a shot? relevant pitching categories are K, QS, ERA, and WHIP.
I wouldn’t trust a 21-year-old in his MLB debut who started the season in High-A.
Dude has an 80 belly. Depends on your league’s scoring – that could be huge!
Would you pitch Snell tomorrow vs Minn
What’s your situation?
I think if you don’t have a plethora of options Snell is worth the gamble given how well he’s pitched recently.
Happy early Nola day to me! Someone dropped him to pickup a 2-start Paul Funyon. I’m a little concerned with the schedule and maybe hitting a wall with 40 more innings then last year. I’m dropping Pomeranz who is the lowest on your list who has done nothing since I picked him up. My staff sits at deGrom, Verlander, Godley, McCullers, Cole, Rodon, Clevinger, Weaver and Paxton (DL). Thanks for everything this year! I feel ready for the playoffs next week.
pick 2 of 3 tomorrow:
McCullers vs Seattle
Gonzalez vs Atlanta
Flaherty vs SD
Flaherty and McCullers. DLH is still better than trusting Gonzo.
Nick! I’ve been going crazy with the football drafts but I’m still here! Locked for the playoffs too, thanks to you.
I was wondering what your take on Gibson’ recent success was? I’ve read he’s made some mechanical tweaks that have yielded positive results. Do you trust him with his mostly soft schedule ROS?
Reply
Matt!
No worries, hope you’re checking out QBList.com for your Fantasy Football needs…
I think it’s a Vargas Rule situation and you should roll with him until it doesn’t pan out, with the easy schedule ahead as you mentioned