There were a good amount of comments asking about why I ranked Trevor Cahill at #70 on The List this week when he was coming off the DL so soon and it came down to me wanting to see if he was still the same man as before following a long DL stint. Last night's line of 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks against the Indians looks like he's picking up right where he left off...but did he actually? What made us so excited about Cahill was his increased Knuckle-Curve usage that was the impetus for his improved strikeout rate this year and while he did throw it about 20% of the time, it only rendered 2 whiffs. Not great, not terrible. He also threw just 48 strikes in 85 pitches...that's not good. Now he did induce a ton of grounders in this game, which is what we want to see, and this was DLH, i.e. we didn't expect him to be great right off the bat. I'm just not fully sold that he's going to be the super strikeout fiend we saw before and his poor 3.74 BB/9 could bite him more than you think. I'm obviously buying as a flier if he's still out there, but I'm still a bit skeptical that he'll speak to his 2.96 ERA and 2.98 FIP in the second half.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
He didn’t pitch recently but do you think Rich Hill is succeeding due to weak opponents or has he made some positive changes? Arizona will be the test but I’m wondering if I should sell high. His schedule after this series does look pretty good though.
Hey Matt!
Padres and all, it was easy to see Hill was throwing the best Curveball he’s had all year. So there is something there.
But if people are paying like he’s back, I’d deal him. No idea yet if it was a short term thing and injuries are a thing.
Thanks Nick! Yeah I watched that game and he certainly looked on point.
Hey Nick,
Should I drop Cahill, Lamet, or Clevinger for Castillo? The dude’s fastball is just so nasty.
Lamet
I’m seriously considering dropping Verlander for Nola in my 10 team. I’m in first so can afford to wait to see if JV figures it out, but I love Nola after drafting him last season and figure he won’t be a FA for much longer.
Verlander is my worst pitcher this season(!) and according to your list my next worse is Taillion so if I want Nola he’s gotta go. I’m really close to dropping him. Talk me off the ledge?
I’m a bigger fan of Nola ROS than I am Verlander so why should I talk you off the ledge that will jump into the awesome ball pit below?
Nice call on the Wood, Godley matchup. 1-0. Vargas slipping to a home streamer?
I wouldn’t say that just yet about Vargas – just one start – but that is the expected path at some point. Might have to wait until next year to really feel that way as baseball is dumb.