David Price had what looked to be a good matchup against the Yankees – they rank 27th in wOBA against lefties after all – and went 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 11 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks because OH RIGHT HE’S PRICE AND HE DOES WHAT HE WANTS. At least he survived with just 3 ER with all of those 12 baserunners? It’s such a contrast from his eight innings of shut out ball where he had 10 Ks and 1 walk, but this really shouldn’t be a huge surprise anymore. You know what separates this year’s edition? A boom in hard contact. Price holds a 27.4% hard contact rate, and entering today’s start that number was sitting at 35.3% – the first time it’s even been above 30%. That makes it tough to get on board, even if he’s producing his best K/BB numbers of his career. I’m not entirely sure what that means for his spot on The List tomorrow, but you’ll be right to believe he’s not going to stay at #12.
Let’s see what every other SP did yesterday:
Jacob DeGrom – 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace. This why deGrom is ahead of Cueto in the Top 10.
Johnny Cueto – 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. See? And this was against the Padres. BOOM. Sorry, I just don’t like Cueto and it’s one of those irrational feelings I get that I just have to trust. I totally understand the beratement I get for that – I’d be a little upset if I didn’t, after all – but I ain’t no masochist! It’s the floor of these outings that can make owners infuriated with Cueto and yes this is just one start and so on. He’s still going to be at #10 tomorrow as this doesn’t change anything, just let me have my moment, okay?
Cole Hamels – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks. With all of his FIP/xFIP/BB issues, Cole is here to remind us that he’s still capable of kicking some booty and deserves a Top 30 spot. I ain’t going to make him sit close to the Top 20, but there it is.
Julio Teheran – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. I dropped Teheran a bit last week and while this sure is pretty, I still think he’s on the other side of awesomeness. What
Chad Kuhl – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. Don’t hate me but Kuhl story bro.
Dan Straily – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. After seeing this outing, I hope you learned your lesson from his previous performances that Straily is just a TEEs. In fact, he’s close to the poster child after Colby Lewis went down.
Robbie Ray – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. So after giving you guys all day to come up with a term to define a young pitcher who can’t be trusted this season but has enough upside to possibly make an impact in 2017 or beyond, it looks like I’ll have to do this one myself. FINE. We’re going to with a Young Gun – They are too young right now, so they continuously shoot themselves in the foot, but can grow up to be a valuable weapon. I think we’re cool with this one.
Jon Gray – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 8 Ks. Call Boy number one did his thang with eight Ks. Thatta Boy.
Zach Davies – 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks. And number two was serviceable as well against the Reds. Still not a big Davies fan, but he can excel if you play your spots right.
Collin McHugh – 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BBs, 10 Ks. Ehhhh I can’t do it cap’n! I CAN’T DO IT! He’s too inconsistent and while he days that are bliss as he whispers sweet nothings into your ears, the next day he’s not answering your texts.
Masahiro Tanaka – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. There’s the Tanaka production we know and love.
Max Scherzer – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Aces gonna ace.
Michael Fulmer – 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Man I so want Fulmer to pitch through the rest of the season, though I feel like he might be a TEEs give his 4.02 SIERA entering today. It’s tough to say sell here given a 2.13 ERA now, but these things are never easy. Plus, there’s that aforementioned shutdown, which has a good chance of happening.
Josh Tomlin – 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. CB3 (that’s Call Boy three) was a pleasant time as well against the Twins as he lowered his ERA to a shocking 3.34. Sure, it’s a 4.91 FIP as well so don’t go nuts about him and holy bejesus only 15.8% soft contact so really don’t go nuts about him, but he’s still a good streamer.
Jered Weaver – 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BBs, 1 Ks. Oh please Weaver, stop. JUST STOP.
John Lackey – 8.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BBs, 8 Ks. The tumble of Lackey continues, though to be fair, he kinda looked solid on the mound and that’s just a 1.00 WHIP…I think he rebounds a bit from his 3.75 ERA, but I doubt we’ll see him be a sub 3.00 ERA guy rest of the way.
Edwin Jackson – 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 1 Hits, 5 BBs, 4 Ks. Wait, Ejax? For real? And what do you know, he held the Giants hitless through six with a 98 mph Fastball. It’s like the Padres wanted to get a shot at their first franchise no-hitter and saw Jackson as the answer. He was on pace with the walks too, after all. Don’t buy into Edwin guys, for the love of all that is holy.
Yordano Ventura – 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 Hits, 1 BBs, 6 Ks. Ventura is still a PEAS and this changes nothing. YOU CAN’T JUST TURN IT OFF.
Adam Conley – 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 Hits, 3 BBs, 9 Ks. Solid stuff from Conley, though the Cardinals are 16th in wRC+ across the last 30 days (Twins are #2…?!?!). Anyway I still don’t like Conley and even though he holds a 3.14 ERA over his last 9 starts, that comes with a poor 4.18 FIP and 4.71 xFIP with a 4.20 SIERA. Just stream him and call it a day.
Jake Odorizzi – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 7 Ks. Odorizzi battled through the Orioles and gave a pretty solid line at the end of the day. Kinda surprised, actually. I don’t like Jake the Sake (he bombs a lot) and I find it tough to believe in any hype this start would generate. A move to the Rangers or honestly any other team would help.
J.A. Happ – 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. We have to have one neutral guy among the six Call Boy picks, right? Happ has that covered with a good WHIP + 5 Ks, but that ERA is iffy as he couldn’t complete the QS. Happ is barely one step up from a TEEs as I kinda believe he’s able to maintain a decent floor and out perform his poor FIP/xFIP, but I’m like a worried mother staring at that 31%+ hard contact. Just be safe out there, okay J.A.?
Rich Hill – 0.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Ks. This might seem weird. That’s because it is. Hill was a glitch in the matrix after his blistered opened up after just five pitches. Now he has to take a hit in The List. It’s super annoying since I absolutely dig his shiz when he’s pitching on the field. Blisters are weird as they could heal quickly, or they can take their sweet sweet time and make this a problem for your team. Shouldn’t be more than two weeks in my opinion, though.
Zach Eflin – 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BBs, 2 Ks. Call Boy numero four was pretty blegh with just two Ks against the Mets, but at least that WHIP is fine and he got a QS?
Mike Montgomery – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks. The final option was Monty who exploded for 7 Ks…but also a 1.80 WHIP and a 5.40 ERA. Ouch.
Kyle Gibson – 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 Hits, 1 BBs, 4 Ks. Does Gibson belong on the Anti-List? He needs to be playing a different tune soon.
Michael Wacha – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks. No there wasn’t an injury, just a ton of pitches (101!) in a short amount of time. What a boring season it’s been for Wacha, eh? A 4.36 ERA now with seven starts of 3 or 4 ER. That’s a Toby, alright.
Dylan Bundy – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks. I watched Bundy give up a trio of long balls in his shortened start and it was pretty much what I expected. A good breaking ball – not spectacular – a hard Fastball that needs more polish and a Changeup that could be very serviceable if harnessed right. There will be some growing pains here with sprinkles of decent outings, but I wouldn’t be thinking much about him in most 12 teamers.
Kenta Maeda – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 Hits, 1 BBs, 5 Ks. Make up your mind Maeda! I don’t like this 50/50 stuff you’re pulling across your last six starts now. Yes it means I have to dock you points tomorrow and that’s fun for nobody.
Jacob Turner – 4.0 IP, 8 ER, 7 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks. First of all, no this is Jacob Turner, not Justin. Second of all, this is as Cup of Schmo as you can find. Third, Carson Fulmer also showed up in relief and struck out Albert Pujols on three pitches – each a different one from his repertoire. If he gets a rotation spot in 2017, I’m curious if he can provide some value. But not this Turner, no way bub.
Today’s Streamers
Tyler Anderson @ Tampa Bay Rays – Yeah, I’m going with Anderson since there aren’t many good options and at least his ERA is being supported by his FIP/xFIP. I don’t like him ROS as I do believe the magic will wear off as his stuff just isn’t that good, but might as well make use of this matchup. Mike Fiers in O.Co is also a serviceable option.
Tomorrow’s Streamer
Cody Reed vs. Atlanta Braves – Not too many choices today, with Reed against the Braves having the highest ceiling. It could be shaky, though I’d expect a decent amount of Ks to come with his time on the hill.
Day After Tomorrow’s Streamer
Wei-Yin Chen vs. Philadelphia Phillies – Yeah, I know we kinda gave up on Chen, but the Phils are the worst team in the majors against lefties and Chen has enough in him to make this a serviceable outing.
Game of the Day
Jose Fernandez vs Aaron Nola – Not only do you get to watch JoFer run all over an NL Easy team, but we also get a peek at Nola hopefully on the other side of his horrific past month and a half.