It’s the end of August and it’s tough not to look towards next season. Where will Michael Pineda be ranked? I’m imagining that many sites will place him in the mid 30s or so, and I see him being a great steal for many. His FIP/xFIP is around 3.00 each, with an elite 20.4% K-BB%, numbers that don’t dictate a mid 30s guy. As for this season, he’s been a disappointing after a potent start to the season, evidenced by a line of 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 3 Ks yesterday against the Astros as he came off the DL. He’s a bit too inconsistent for teams to love him entering the playoffs and he doesn’t have an easy schedule ahead, facing the Red Sox, Orioles, and Blue Jays next. There should be some recovery – you know pitchers generally underperform in their first start back – and it’s hard not to like Pineda for the long term.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Justin Verlander – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hit, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Oh man, the Verlander hype was already building but after this start is has to be at critical levels. There isn’t much to add here – if you own him keep rolling with him obviously – but I will tell you that I don’t buy into Verlander’s renaissance. These last four starts have been boosted by a crazy good .185 BABIP and from what I’ve seen, he still doesn’t seem to be featuring the elite command he once had. It could come crumbling against the Royals next, but with this kind of run it would be odd to bench him now.
Felix Hernandez – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 7 Ks. Finally, Felix did something productive for owners. Sure it was against Oakland, but if he couldn’t do it in his cozy Seattle ballpark, then we’d have a very serious problem on our hands.
Bartolo Colon – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. The Big Apple got into a groove last night against the Phils and made owners happy. This is most likely the best start he’ll have rest of the way, and I wouldn’t put too much stock in Colon.
Rick Porcello – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Sure, now you think people will care.
Chris Sale – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Only seven Ks Sale? What do I pay you for? Whatever, Aces gonna ace.
Patrick Corbin – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Solid Corbin. Super solid.
John Lackey – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. Was it a good matchup? He faced the Dbacks. Yes it was.
David Price – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 8 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Collin McHugh – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. If you need another guy on your staff down the stretch and McHugh is still out there somehow, you best climb aboard as McHugh looks to have figured things out for the most part.
Brett Anderson – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks. It’s been a little since he gave us a start to feel good about. I don’t trust him all too much, but his floor is decent if you need some stability.
Jeff Locke – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BB, 3 Ks. Even if your name is Smith, you have to resist adding Locke to your team.
Jake Peavy – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Blegh.
Cody Anderson – 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. Nah, you’ve already shown your true colors, and this isn’t even good!
Tyson Ross – 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 9 Ks. Well, at least the walks aren’t out of control to completely destroy your WHIP, and hey, 9 Ks are 9 Ks, but dang Ross get it together. I wouldn’t be shocked if people drool over Ross again entering next season though, completing ignoring the major problem of his walk totals and just eyeing his 2.88 FIP. Crazy it’s that good, right?
Jerad Eickhoff – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 6 Ks. The Hoff needs to restart his career as it hasn’t started so great. Maybe some time abroad in a German league?
Kyle Hendricks – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks. I’ve pretty much given up completely on Hendricks at this point. Maybe we’ll become friends again next season but at this point we have to stick with guys that aren’t question marks entering September.
Chris Archer – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BB, 12 Ks. He got Singled Out by the Twins despite 12 Ks. It’s like a zombie movie where the hero is blasting millions of feral zombies but in the end there are just too much for him to handle. Poor Archer.
Tyler Duffey – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 4 BBs, 4 Ks. He’s a super sleeper and surprisingly a guy that has some upside if you’re desperate for catching lightning in a bottle. It’ll only be a little bolt though, like Harry Potter’s scar.
Wei-Yin Chen – 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Not Chen’s best, but neither was the matchup in KC.
Shelby Miller – 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. Surprised by the 7 Ks, not the ERA/WHIP.
Yohan Flande – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Flande 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.
Gio Gonzalez – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. Man, I really just don’t like Gio. How many times has he truly realized his upside? At most five times, and that’s a little generous. Other times he’s so in the middle of the road with a poor floor that makes you question why you were a fan of him in the first place.
Johnny Cueto – 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BB, 8 Ks. Baltimore smacked a trio of two-run blasts in three consecutive innings against the Dreaded Wonder. Is that his nickname? Nah, just something I’m feeling right now. Anyway, Cueto isn’t living up the name of “ace” right now, but I’d be shocked if he hurt you more than helped down the stretch.
Colby Lewis – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 4 BBs, 1 K. As if you needed more reason not to trust Lewis.
Hector Santiago – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. The Santiago ride has been shut down for weeks after that one kid went out of his way to unhook himself at the top of the loop. Thanks kid. Is he okay?! Of course he is, he’s an MLB pitcher.
Chris Bassitt – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 5 BBs, 1 Ks. Our Call Boy’s luck ran out of steam and the Regression Angels swooped in with their stylish robes (Banana Republic, I’m told), beating Bassitt down with their golden tassels. Yeah, that’s exactly what happened.
Jimmy Nelson – 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 4 Hits, 8 BBs, 4 Ks. Eight walks in only 10 outs?! Managers let guys do that? Yeah, when it’s raining a ton and no one can get a grip on the ball. I wouldn’t judge Nelson too harshly for this outing.
David Holmberg – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 1 Ks. There’s no place like Holm. Well, there’s actually this place called Guthrie that’s kinda like it.
Chris Narveson – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. The Narvester hadn’t started a game since 2012 before last night, and it didn’t go all too well. Not sure yet if he’ll get another chance in the Miami rotation, but unless you know him personally – give him my best if you do – there’s no reason for it to be on your mind.
Today’s Streamers
Drew Smyly vs. Minnesota Twins – Smyly has a lot of upside that can take advantage of the Twins, and is coming fresh off 5.2 innings against the A’s.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Mike Fiers vs. Minnesota Twins – There are a couple other choices like Taijuan Walker, Aaron Nola, and Ian Kennedy, but I like Fiers the most coming off his no-hitter and facing a weak Twins offense.
Game of the Day
Carlos Rodon vs. Seattle Mariners – There isn’t a great matchup today, so I’m electing to watch the game featuring the most enigmatic pitcher of the lot.