After a dazzling spring and impressive debut to the season Juan Nicasio was given the difficult task of facing the Tigers and he didn’t look right at all, featuring the poor command from previous seasons and a Slider that didn’t have the bite we saw against the Cardinals. The result was a line of 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks as he threw a whopping 94 pitches to get those nine outs. Now don’t get me wrong here, this isn’t the end for Nicasio. I still like him for his next outing against the Brew Crew and he could be a useful streamer through the year. Still, I hope this means we can tame our expectations for guys that put up great spring numbers and have just one start under their belt to pull data. It goes both ways mind you: Luis Severino/Michael Pineda/David Price/Drew Smyly will all be better than their early outings indicate. Keep a level head and we’ll get through April together.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Aaron Sanchez – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. What would a talk about Nicasio be without a little Sanchez? I watched this game all the way through (great game, by the way), and Sanchez was wild as I remember him, getting a bit of luck to steer him out of trouble often. The end is coming people, and I’d be selling high on Sanchez while I still had the chance.
Charlie Morton – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Blame it on the Padres.
Jhoulys Chacin – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. Because I know you’re wondering about it, Chacin hasn’t struck out more than 7 batters since 2013 when he had a K/9 of 5.75. This is what we call a One Night Bland. Sidenote: The term NL Easy is as true as ever this year with the Mets looking like their classic iteration, the Nationals allowing…well this to happen, and the Phils/Braves looking horrific. If anything, the Marlins are the biggest team to fear and their lineup includes Derek Dietrich and Adeiny Hechavarria. Yeah…
Noah Syndergaard – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 12 Ks. How anyone can watch Thor and not Sploosh is beyond me. Aces gonna freakin’ ace and I’m tempted to put him at #5 in The List. That’s how ridiculous he is right now. I know I shouldn’t based on how many innings he’ll most likely throw this year (under 200), but jesus only Kershaw, Arrieta, and Sale can say they have stuff on level with Thor. No, not you Scherzer, sorry bud.
Gio Gonzalez – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Gio isn’t a bad starter, he’s just not a good one. He’s just kind of…there. That makes me a fan given the matchups he’ll get, but only for streams and not much else.
Derek Holland – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Our semi-Call Boy was as solid as a state of matter as he cruised through the Mariners. Holland isn’t a guy that I’d seek out to roster, but he’s fine for occasional spot starts. He may have one or two games like this during the season with like 7 Ks instead of 4, but that’s really it.
Robbie Erlin – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Ehhhhhhhhh I can see Erlin having sneaky value in NL leagues given a his of a decent K/9 and FIP/xFIP rates. Please don’t chase him in traditional mixed leagues.
Matt Moore – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Still not buying. The Indians aren’t all that good and Moore’s stuff has seen better days. I mean, fine. If you need help in a deeeep 12 teamer sure go ahead. Just don’t start him against Top 15 offenses unless you heavily need the gamble. Roto leagues need not apply.
Kenta Maeda – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. This looks like a Maeda start alright. He has a good floor, but don’t expect the K upside, which means there will be times that you get burned by Maeda this season and you’ll have little to salvage. Worth the risk, which is a rare thing for me to say given the context.
Jeff Samardzija – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. Loose Lips didn’t sink your ship pitching in Coors. Crazy. I’m not going sit here and say this wasn’t a solid outing – 1.00 WHIP, 2.25 ERA and yeah, the Ks are low, but five Ks aren’t so bad. And now I feel like Margot Robbie in Wolf of Wall Street, because that’s the last time I speak good of Samardzija. Sorry guys, I’m going to need to see a much bigger sample before I change my mind.
Corey Kluber – 7.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. The Klubs allowed just two baserunners + a HBP in the first six innings while striking out four. Then he look a bit gassed in the 8th when he served up a 2-run shot to Forsythe. Kluber often starts off slow, but keep the faith and you’ll be rewarded shortly.
Kendall Graveman – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. The Kendall Be-all of Blegh.
Jose Fernandez – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. He was shaky to start, then retired his final ten batters. He’s really not struggling all that much guys, just look at his body language on the mound and you’ll understand. It’s like being that guy in basketball who can score at whim, but is suddenly missing jump shots and wants the ball back right away so he can do a Schoop-de-scope (Heyo!) and dunk the ball. I have a feeling he’ll go double digit Ks next time and people will wonder why he wasn’t like this from the beginning.
Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. I don’t know how it’s possible for Corbin to get just one strikeout with his deadly Slider, but I’ll take this outing just so we all understand he’s not the shaky guy we saw last time out against the Rockies.
Masahiro Tanaka – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 4 BBs, 6 Ks. This was against the mighty Blue Jays offense, and it’s hard not to like Tanaka moving forward as he stays healthy.
Anibal Sanchez – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. He looked so good when compared to Nicasio, but in the end Sanchez lost steam in the 6th after pitching five strong, and I he’s no longer his dirty self that you loved years ago. Sounds like my ex-wife.
Mike Fiers – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. I thought we got you for the Ks Fiers, not to be a freakin’ Toby.
Kris Medlen – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks. Seven strikeouts? Four walks? Dude, stop trying to be someone you’re not. I feel like Fiers and Medlen swapped lines tonight. Medlen is supposed to be a Toby, not a wild K fiend. A fiend he is…Rawr! Dude, I was hoping I wouldn’t see you this year. Yeah man, I brought some beers and thought we could interrupt each other often n stuff. No get ou—Wait. Is that Smuttynose? Old Brown Dog? Sure is. …You can stay.
Tyler Chatwood – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 2 Ks. Chatwood 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.
Hector Santiago – 7.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 3 Ks. What am I supposed to do with this Santiago. How am I going to explain this to my kids?
Mike Wright – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. I don’t want to be like Mike.
Clay Buchholz – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Bucky was actually looking solid through five, with the only blemish being a 2-run shot. Then he fell apart and BOOM there goes your evening. That’s Clay in a nutshell though, and he’ll have many an outing where it’s just those five innings, and he’ll have many that are just like this. Pick your spots where you need him and it could pay off.
Wade Miley – 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. Here’s a pitching line that sets a Rabbi up for disappointment. Seven Ks! No Walks! What’s this? 10 Hits? 6 ER? Oy, I’d rather be at my own Briss.
Today’s Streamer
Jerad Eickhoff vs. San Diego Padres – The Padres are bad and Eickhoff is sneaky good. Yes please.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Vince Velasquez vs. San Diego Padres – The K upside is real and the Padres offense is real bad.
Drew Pomeranz vs. Philadelphia Phillies – If Vince is taken and you need a guy bad, you might as well look in the opposite dugout as Pom-Pom has the capability to take advantage of the Phils.
Game of the Day
Carlos Carrasco vs. Drew Smyly – I’m hoping for a fantastic pitching duel as neither offense is stellar while both pitchers have tremendous K upside. Awwww yeah.