It was the brightest of times, it was the blarkest of times?! We’ve been waiting all year for Matt Harvey to kick it into high gear and, well, we’re going to have keep waiting after going an atrocious 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks against the Nationals Thursday night. What are we supposed to do with him now? His velocity is still down, and he’s just not the Harvey we expected. I still feel he will rebound a bit later in the season, though it’s incredibly difficult to endorse at all in the short term. I’m treating him like a N/A stash moving forward until I see some major shifts in both his command and velocity. No real point in selling low at this juncture since you’ll get little in return, so you might as well hold and hope that there isn’t an injury hiding underneath it all.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Chris Sale – 9.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 9 Ks. Aces gonna ace. This guy is pretty good, grab him off the waiver if you can. But seriously, I understand the case for making Sale #2, though I think I’m holding with Arrieta. Let’s not forget the eight starts with at least 4 ER from last season.
Jeff Samardzija – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 8 Ks. First of all, this was the Padres. But second of all Shark is really sticking it to me the past month and I can’t do anything but keep promoting him on The List. There is that homunculus telling me that he’s going to burst at any moment, but that’s just not a safe bet to make right now. I guess I need a bigger boat to cruise with Shark.
Marco Estrada – 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks. Part of me really just wants to blame this on the Twins, though Estrada does sprinkle these starts through his season. Just don’t forget his 9 baserunner + 4 ER effort last time out so quickly.
Ervin Santana – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. I have to hand it to Santana for staying strong against the Blue Jays. Got anything else to hand to Santana? Nah, that’s it. What, you think I’m flush or something? I’m wearing Shoprite brand jeans for crying out loud. Do they make your butt look good? Psssh you know it.
Josh Tomlin – 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Why didn’t I pick Tomlin as our Call Boy? Seriously, my bad guys for not going with Tomlin against the Reds, y’all know I’ve been eyeing for streams through the season. Any way, this is where Tomlin excels – against weak opponents. I’d be rolling with him against the ChiSox next week.
Collin McHugh – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 8 Ks. “McHugh will not be successful until his Slider gets its movement back” – me like every time he pitches. Well, he added an inch of both vertical drop and horizontal bend to his Slider today compared to its average 2016 movement and BOOM he gets some success. Now he’s still about an inch of vertical drop left to go from its 2014 model, but its lateral movement is looking legit and there might not be a better time to buy in on McHugh. Yes, it could disappear next time out but if it doesn’t…well then that’s a mighty sweet pickup.
Stephen Strasburg – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 10 Ks. Aces gonna ace. Stras is one of the very few who has exceeded expectations inside the Top 20 and deserves a gold star. Sidenote: I should invent a way to send gold stars to people over the internet. But where are you going to get all the gold stars from? Good point.
Junior Guerra – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 11 Ks. I’m going to make this easy for you. In a 10 teamer don’t even touch him. 12 teamers you don’t want him either, though I don’t blame you in a deeper league to just see what happens next time out against the Braves. No, I don’t see this being a regular occurrence as his stuff really isn’t all that great. Anymore questions? Um, yes. Any relation to Dr. Alex Hesse? No, there is no relation from that male doctor who got pregnant. A follow up ques– No more further questions, that will be all.
Ivan Nova – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 3 Ks. You wanna know the cool thing about this start? Nova did this in just 62 pitches. He’s still being eased into the rotation so they pulled him to put in Done DMC for the final three innings against the A’s. I can see someone in a deeper 12 teamer taking a flier on Nova, but I think there are some bumps in the road ahead.
Jeff Locke – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 6 Ks. I thought we threw away the key for this Locke? Nah, the dog ate it and we…have it again. Yep, that properly sums up Locke alright. You’re gonna have to wade through a lot of stink to get a cool drink.
Nate Karns – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Here’s something that might surprise you. Karns now holds a 9.39 K/9, a 3.33 ERA (3.59 FIP, 3.65 xFIP) and a 4-1 record. Dang that’s solid for a 12 teamer.
James Shields – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Oh come on Shields. Stop roping people in again. It’s like you’re a much less sexier version of Wonder Woman who doesn’t have superpowers and is a bad fantasy baseball asset. So the only comparison is that he’s lassoing people in? Yeah, that’s the entire point of that analogy. K.
Jason Hammel – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. This might look bad, but if the ERA doesn’t kill you you got a good amount of Ks and a bearable WHIP.
Kendall Graveman – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. I wish there was an emoji for rolling eyes. If you really had a wish, would that be it? Yes. I don’t care about world peace I WANT MY DAMN ROLLING EYES EMOJI.
Tim Adleman – 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 2 BBs, 3 Ks. Adleman was pulled with an oblique injury in the fourth inning. Wait a second. Wha– Shhh. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of incredibly disappointed owners. I don’t hear anything. Exactly.
Tyler Wilson – 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. I feel like Matthew Broderick at the end of Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. You’re still here? Why?
Ross Stripling – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Fortunately this Toby was fired weeks ago. No I will not give him a good reference. Nice guy though.
Jon Gray – 3.1 IP, 9 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. A) The Cardinals are better than we thought B) It’s too early to put stock into Gray C) Mediterranean is my favorite D) Not the way I go E) He still gets half his game in Coors F) This outing all around G) Why bring Dillon up? H) I think I should stop.
Jhoulys Chacin – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. Stop being so Wily!
Mike Foltynewicz – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 Hits, 0 BBs, 1 Ks. Ah yes, there’s the Folty I know and hate.
Michael Wacha – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Wacha is always just kind of…there. None of his numbers are horrendous, yet none are great to get you excited. I guess that makes him Spider Man, the most prolific Toby there is.
Today’s Streamers
Tyler Duffey vs. Toronto Blue Jays – Wood got moved to Saturday, and it was incredibly slim pickings. If you need help entering the weekend, Duffey has the upside to turn your week around, but it’s a huge risk going against Toronto. I wouldn’t make this start unless I was desperate, though it could pay solid dividends. If this start does go well, by the way, you can bet Duffey won’t be available to stream for a long time.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Alex Wood vs. San Diego Padres – Wood got pushed back a day for Bolsinger, which means he’s our DATS again. Other options include J.A. Happ against the Twins if his owner dropped him after his last horrific effort, or Mike Fiers against Texas, though that’s not a stream I’d be thrilled about.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Jerad Eickhoff vs. Atlanta Braves – I’m still a believer that Eickhoff isn’t as bad as he’s been as of late and there are few opponents that give pitchers confidence like the Braves. Those in need of a deep stream can also consider Ubaldo Jimenez against the Angels, but I’d stay away unless you’re desperate in a 12 teamer.
Game of the Day
Steven Matz vs. Milwaukee Brewers – I’m pumped to see Matz back on the hill and I want him continue his beautiful run. I’m also curious to find out if Corey Kluber can recover after his pair of clunkers, but Matz is more fun.