You may have noticed that I'm not too keen on Kyle Hendricks, and I'm sure you're expecting me to hold back enthusiasm even after last night's 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 Hits, 0 BBs, 2 Ks. And I'd say it's flattering and endearing that you know me so well. But let's dive into this. Since returning from the DL on July 24th, Hendricks holds a 2.36 ERA, 7.59 K/9, 2.36 BB/9, with a 2.29 BABIP, 88.3% LOB Rate, and 484.% groundball rate. He's faced the Pirates, Braves, Phils, Jays, Giants, Brewers, and White Sox in those nine starts (Reds and Nats were the only two tough outings). Whiff rate sits at an even 10%, Fastball still at 87mph. Hendricks has had a relatively easy schedule and was able to beat his 3.69 FIP by a mile as he's induced just 25.6% hard contact. I'm not going to make the argument that he shouldn't be rostered and started - he gets a suitable ROS schedule of Brewers, Cardinals, Brewers, Cardinals left and he could easily be productive through it - I just would favor other arms over him in this time. Nothing's really changed as his margin for error is smaller than the rest, and he's not bringing in the strikeouts to make it worth while when it goes poorly. He's Top 50, yes, but not Top 30 like his recent ERA might suggest. That's all I'm trying to get at.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
Castillo was phenomenal this afternoon.
I have no idea what to do with Salazar at this point. On one hand he has a great ROS schedule, but on the other, he looked absolutely terrible last night against a supposed “bottom” team. To hold or to drop and stream pitchers for the playoff push…?
What does your gut tell you about how he’ll perform in his next couple games, Nick?
Hold Salazar or try and find someone else to replace him?