It's not every day that you see a pitcher cruise through six frames with 19 whiffs to his name, but that's exactly what Andrew Heaney via 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 Hits, 3 BBs, 10 Ks against the Athletics. Now, we know that the A's are incredibly prone to the strikeout and have been at the receiving end of plenty double-digit strikeout games (enjoy the co-Gallows Pole award tonight!), but I think we should be looking at this a little more carefully. There was a decent amount of hype surrounding Heaney before he returned from the DL and while it may have died down a bit after he allowed 7 HRs in his first two games, I wonder if it's time to get it back. His velocity was up as well, hovering around 93 with the pitch, despite sitting around 91 pre-TJS, just above 90mph in his first game and around 92mph in his second. I watched a bit of this one and Heaney was legit on. My favorite stat of the night is that he earned 13 whiffs (24.5% whiff rate) with his Sinker. That's crazy. Seriously. The weird part here is that I've considered Heaney not a strikeout guy, but more of a finesse pitcher that could be useful for streams. This most likely was a guy just having one of those nights against a bad team and that's that. He has to head to Texas next (bummer), but his ROS after that is pretty decent and there's a chance Heaney can be beneficial down the stretch. Not the perfect fit for everyone, but keep him in mind is all I'm saying.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
No List update yesterday? I look forward to that every Monday!
Sorry! I tweeted out that I needed more time since I’m adding every starter’s ROS schedule to the table and that took much longer than anticipated.
No worries, that’s a great addition. Looking forward to checking it out!
Nick, I lost Duffy to injury, and thinking about streaming Leiter today. Hes had some interesting games, wondering what we can expect from him?
Also, I should start Hill against AZ, right? Always nervous about AZ.
Thanks!
I swear Ian Kennedy gets picked up/cut/traded in every 4th transactions. Someone cut Bear for him.
Nick, where’s this week’s Pitcher List?! I can’t start my week without it!
Sorry for the delay! I’m working on it. I elected to add every starter’s ROS schedule as well, which has taken a lot longer than I anticipated.
Hey Nick,
Heaney, Gausman, or Straily ROS?
I’m going Gaus.
Are we sitting Fulmer at Coors today? I’m up against my division rival and need all the points I can get, but I’m worried Fulmer will hurt more than help today.
That’s tricky Matt. I’m really conflicted. I’m leaning start right now but that could change in an hour. Really, it’s that close in my head. H2H league I’d sit, but points is a little different.
That’s where I’m at too. I’ll probably swap him in and out until the last minute and end up starting him ?
Watching Heaney yesterday, what stood out was the pinpoint control. One inning, he walked two batters in a row. But quickly regained that accuracy, mid-inning. That to me shows polish and dusting off some of the usual TJ effects. It was fun to watch. He made solid hitters, Healy and K Davis, look bad.
Great point! Those little things make a big deal in my mind as well.
Still just one start with SSS an all vs the A’s, but I was impressed.
Would you drop Richards for Heaney? I see your ROS ranks, and your with Heaney but wanted to confirm. Great work, thanks!
Depends on your needs. I’d rather have Richards when he’s healthy but Heaney is starting now and will have about double the starts ROS. I’d imagine you need Heaney’s next few starts, making me favor him over Richards.