6 IP, 4 ER, 7 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.29. Even the “stinkers” aren’t all that bad. The next one was the ‘late’ game last night vs MIN. EDIT: Ho Hum, just another absolutely dominant one last night. 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 13 Ks. I’d link Grey’s round-up from this morning, where he was Grey’s lede, but if you’re reading this, you’ve already read that!
2
Garrett Crochet
BOS
7 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 2.06. I watched this one against Tyler Anderson and the Angels, and holy hell does this dude ever make some hitters look like they’re bad at their jobs. I’m also glad he didn’t start against the Jays yesterday, or it would’ve been much of the same.
3
Zack Wheeler
PHI
So let’s check his last two starts. 11 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 6 BB, 16 Ks, ZERO wins and one loss. Uh, OK?
4
Hunter Brown
HOU
7 IP, 0 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 1.74. I just saw a stat that listed off the lowest ERAs after the first 16 starts of a season in Astros history. Brown’s was 4th. See if you can guess the other three (drop them in the comments). He was one of the leaders on “Magical Thursday” last week. (More on that later).
5
Max Fried
NYY
He got hosed out of his league-leading 10th win two weeks ago, but picked it up last Wednesday at CIN. 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks. This is a Top 5 line from a Top 5 starter.
6
Paul Skenes
PIT
4 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 2.12. 78 pitches. Skenes got twisted up by the Brewers and the Miz. 4 H, 4 Ks. At least it wasn’t 4 walks too? (2 BB). That’s called polishing a turd, kids.
7
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
LAD
Last Wednesday’s 5-inning, one-hit shutout with 6 Ks was pretty sweet. I’m undecided if throwing it at COL is still an impressive feat or if the talent from the Rockies has balanced that out.
8
Jacob deGrom
TEX
As much as I mention “Magic Thursday” from last week in the notes here, Wednesday had its fair share of stellar starts, too. deGrom took Yoshi’s one-hitter and gave us two more innings and one more strikeout.
9
Bryan Woo
SEA
A two-start guy last week, and both starts were nearly identical. 6 IP, 9 Ks in both. 6 H, 1 BB in his first game, then 5 H, 2 BB in his second. He gave up zero ER on Saturday after allowing 2 ER in his first game. Bottom line? I love him more than Ric Flair loves to yell his name.
10
Logan Webb
SF
6 straight quality starts now, and as solid as it gets. On the road for his next tw,o and he needs to keep it up because the next 5-10 SPs are making his Spidey-senses tingle.
11
Framber Valdez
HOU
The King of Quality Starts had two last week (I had to wait for his last out of the 6th inning before typing this). 13 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 5 BB, 9 Ks. Do we want fewer walks and more strikeouts? Sure. But this guy is an ace no matter what.
12
Spencer Schwellenbach
ATL
What a two-start week from Mr. Bach! 14 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 16 Ks. Just a symphony of beauty here. Magnificat! (Yes, that’s a Classical Music pun for the three people who will appreciate it!)
13
Carlos Rodon
NYY
6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.92. I’ll go with a quote from Grey from last week because he hammered the nail right on the head with Rodon, “This might drop him a little because of a no-decision, but, before this game, he was in the top 20 on the Player Rater. Not for starters, the top 20 overall.”
14
Joe Ryan
MIN
Yet another beauty start from last Wednesday. Ryan shut out the Mariners over 6 innings of 3-hit ball with 8 Ks. He’s a must-start in MIA this week.
15
Freddy Peralta
MLW
He’s won three in a row, and he’s slated for a two-start week this week (at NYM and MIA).
16
Robbie Ray
SFG
6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks. A start like this against the White Sox, and he ends up with a loss? Oh, baseball, you’re so silly.
17
Kris Bubic
KC
6 IP, 2 ER, 8 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.18 after Game 1 last week. Yesterday’s second start was 3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K against the Avengers at LAD. EDIT: He finished with 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. Not bad for a trip into the Lions’ Den.
18
MacKenzie Gore
WSH
This is our 2nd-highest strikeout starter in the league, just 6 Ks behind Garrett Crochet’s 135. Can you guess what Gore’s win-loss record is? If you guessed 3-8, then you beat my first guess.
19
Drew Rasmussen
TB
Another two-start week guy, Rasmussen gets ATH, then is at MIN.
20
Spencer Strider
ATL
5 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners (4 BBs), 8 Ks, ERA at 4.07. Just two hits! And 8 Ks! And a win! Just ignore the walks and absence of a quality start. That’s what they call ‘cherry-picking’, folks. That was the first start-of-the-week note. Yesterday he threw two more innings (7 IP), gave up just two ER, 3 BB, struck out 4, and somehow took a loss.
21
Sonny Gray
STL
More below.
22
Logan Gilbert
SEA
5.1 IP, 5 hits 4 ER, BB, 7 K. The Ks are there, but this guy has more rust to shake off than the Tin Man in a monsoon. We could argue that he should be below the next 3 or 4 guys, too.
23
Cristopher Sanchez
PHI
6 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.79. Cris Sanchez was one of the lucky starters to pitch on “Magical Thursday” last week when almost every starter threw the game of the year. (More in the list)
24
Ranger Suarez
PHI
More below.
25
George Kirby
SEA
Lots of two-start weeks for this pocket of arms. Kirby gets KC and PIT at home. Streamonator loves it too – (I guessed that before checking. He’s 3rd at $38.5).
26
Shota Imanaga
CHC
N/R
5 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.54. Shota through the heart! Let’s start him right around where he left the list and hope he moves up even higher. Another SP to get in on last Thursday’s pitching magic.
27
Andrew Abbott
CIN
He’s allowed just 3 ER in his last 4 GS (26.2 IP). That’s the good news. The bad news is he starts at PHI this week.
28
Dylan Cease
SD
You should scroll up and look at what Max Fried did in Cincinnati as a visiting pitcher. Now, flip it upside down, and that’s what Cease gave us last week.
29
Nick Lodolo
CIN
Another two-start guy from last week. 9.2 IP, 13 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 Ks. It wasn’t enough to build on his 5 wins, but it was enough to keep that sparkly WHIP in check.
30
Ryan Pepiot
TB
1.2 IP, 5 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, K. Not so peppy, yo!
31
Seth Lugo
KC
The 5 walks are kind of gross, but the rest of the line? 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 8 Ks. Was this against the Rockies? Nope. Vs LAD. Popping eyes emoji!
32
Luis Castillo
SEA
5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.69. Someone needs to tell Castillo that Mariners pitchers aren’t supposed to be this bad. (And while they’re at it, can they fix Bryce Miller, too?) ***Well, this was the note after his first start of the week. Yesterday’s start? 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks and a no-decision. Apparently, he got the note before I even printed it.
33
Clay Holmes
NYM
It’s a home start tomorrow vs MLW for the 8-game winner, but the one we want to see is the next one when NYY comes to town. Fun fact: I saw “Holmes” in the pencil list I draw up each week and nearly put Grant in here instead. They might be back-to-back sooner rather than later!
34
Jesus Luzardo
PHI
Last week, he escaped ATL relatively unscathed (5 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks). He gets Ciny at home this week, and SON doesn’t hate it ($7.9).
35
Casey Mize
DET
He won his 8th game on Saturday night. He hasn’t given up more than 3 ER in 8 starts. SON hates his next start at CLE ($-4.0). Come at me, Stupid robot, I’ll be in the pool. *blows electronic raspberry*
36
Will Warren
NYY
More below.
37
Jacob Misiorowski
MLW
5 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 1.13. We’re off to see the Miz-ard, the wonderful Miz-ard of…Milwaukee? He’s 3-0, and who cares if the song sounds dumb?
38
David Peterson
NYM
4.2 IP, 7 hits, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Uh oh. That’s 10 ER in his last 2 GS (8.2 IP total). Back-to-back losses and a handful of hits and walks might make a league-mate more likely to sell him low, though, if you believe this is just a rough patch. He gets MLW at home this week.
39
Nick Pivetta
SD
7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks and thisclose to the lede this week. Pivetta needed this kind of bounceback and victimized the Nationals pretty handily. He’s in PHI this week.
40
Jack Flaherty
DET
18 ER in his last 3 starts (13 IP). 12 BBs, too. And if that’s not bad enough, Latch-Key Kid has him (rightfully) listed in his “Do Not Start” Fortune Cookie tier for two-start pitchers this week.
41
Matthew Boyd
CHC
Two starts this week! Both are at home, but they’re facing CLE and STL. Be careful!
42
Merrill Kelly
ARI
5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks. Yawn. Yep. He’s good.
43
Tanner Bibee
CLE
6 IP, 2 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.80. Another guy who managed to get in on the fairy dust from last Thursday night. Just chucking pellets…or maybe they were Bibees.
44
Chris Bassitt
TOR
Remember when I said Bassitt has been the Blue Jays’ best starter this year? Well, this guy sure didn’t. He got flattened at Fenway Saturday night for 8 ER in 2.2 IP. If you can stomach the NYY start this week, at least you get the CWS road start in a couple of weeks.
45
Clarke Schmidt
NYY
Clark loses his 3-game scoreless streak by giving up 4 ER in 6 innings to … The Athletics? Shrug. Sometimes Schmidt happens.
46
Kevin Gausman
TOR
8 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 1 walk, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.21. Gausman pitched on “Magical Thursday” last week when nearly every starter had one of their best outings of the season. Hopefully, we get more of these the rest of the way.
47
Matthew Liberatore
STL
7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.96. And The Liberator only allowed one to go free (1 BB).
48
Michael Wacha
KC
This is one of the not-so-lucky guys from last Wednesday. 6 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks. Not a win and not a ratio killer. Gentlemen and five ladies? I give you Wacha, Michael.
49
Shane Baz
TB
Guess what night he pitched on last week. More below.
50
Yusei Kikuchi
LAA
7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.82 AND JUST ONE WALK! No more Kuch LaLoosh! Top 50, baby! Let’s go!!!
51
Nathan Eovaldi
TEX
N/R
3.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Ease him back in! On a side note, it felt so wrong putting him between Bailey Ober and Gavin Williams (before I shuffled the list). Like a high-end cut of prime rib in between two moldy, burnt pieces of bread. He’ll move way up when TEX deems him ready to shoulder a full workload. It should be soon.
52
Chris Paddack
MIN
5 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 4.64. “Thank you for riding the Paddack Express. Please double-check that you have your belongings before exiting the ride, and enjoy your afternoon at Regression Mountain!” EDIT: Yesterday at DET and Skubal was a scary one, but it didn’t go as badly as it could have. 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks. I’m still selling if I can get a good return.
53
Landen Roupp
SFG
Does this guy get his nickname from the Expos’ mascot’s dog? Rouppi, there it is! (More above)
54
Grant Holmes
ATL
5 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.70. After watching this guy pitch a few times, I can see why people are excited. And, no, I’m not just referring to the best lettuce in the MLB garden. Kenny Powers Holmes, indeed. He jumps today. What’s the word for upward motion? Oh. That’s levitation, Holmes.
55
Gavin Williams
CLE
5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.68. The walk rate is still pretty disgusting, but I won’t be able to stay away if he keeps on chipping at it. Two BBs in his last start were a lot better than the half dozen from two weeks ago. Hashtag Math.
56
Chase Burns
CIN
More below.
57
Cade Horton
CHC
In all of my copying, cutting, and pasting, I somehow lost Horton here. He’s our SP57 this week, and I still like him, but that apparently wasn’t enough to keep track of him when shuffling rows in the list. Oops.
58
Lucas Giolito
BOS
Three wins in his last four starts and a dominant Blue Jay beatdown Saturday night (7 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks). If you’re still unsure, he goes to WSH next, then comes home to face COL. The talent is shining through the muck!
59
Jameson Taillon
CHC
More below. (I had him even lower to start before moving some things around).
60
Brady Singer
CIN
5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 9 Ks at home vs NYY. If I were ever in (I wasn’t), right now would be the time I’m pulling the rip-cord (I’m not – see a few inches to the left and up).
61
Zack Littell
TB
Zack Littell and Zach Eflin are a black hole of baseball madness in my brain. Maybe it’s because Eflin used to pitch in Tampa. Maybe it’s the names. It might be that they’re very similar pitchers. No matter what, Zack with a K came out with the win in this one…and he had a half dozen Ks if you count the one in his first name. Zach with an H? Uh…check the OOF section below.
62
Tomoyuki Sugano
BAL
5.0 IP, 9 hits, 7 ER, BB, 2 K, 6th win. He gave up 3 homers to push his total to 17 (8th in MLB), but the W is nice. Apologies to those in QS, K, ERA, and WHIP leagues! If he has many more of these, he’s gonna leave us with some cavities. Hashtag yikes.
63
Brandon Walter
HOU
6.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, 5 K, 1st win. Score another victory for Team Two First Names!
64
Jose Soriano
LAA
More below. (Is it too late to say, Soriano?)
65
Bailey Ober
MIN
More below.
66
Shane Smith
CWS
2 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.38. Oh. No. Maybe he read what I said about him being the Sean Burke we expected and misunderstood. That doesn’t mean he has to pitch like Burke now, too.
67
Jack Leiter
TEX
Solid quality start yesterday vs SEA, and a nice bounceback after three rough starts in a row.
68
Jose Berrios
TOR
7.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, BB, 8 K, 4th win, ERA at 3.26. I mentioned last week that Chris Bassitt has been the Jays’ starter, but the rest of the arms in that rotation have more than held their own…except for the ones who bowed down to gopheritis and the IL (Francis!).
69
Quinn Priester
MLW
He took the Rockies to the cleaners Saturday (7 IP, 1 H, 11 Ks) and was part of my 19.2 IP, 2 W, 25 K, 0.92 ERA, 0.814 WHIP night in the Perts League. YeeHaw for Streamers who deliver! He gets the coveted SP69 spot today, too. Noice!
70
Noah Cameron
KC
He’s winless in three, but last week’s LAD matchup wasn’t fair. Any young pitcher needs to face a juggernaut at some point, but I would’ve liked him to have avoided the Avengers for at least another month. He slips a bit today, but that’s more about moving up the guys around him than any big issues.
71
Mick Abel
PHI
He was supposed to throw on Friday, but the Phillies kept him out after they had to wait out the rain. Innings management for the win? But without the win part?
72
Eury Perez
MIA
4.1 IP, 2 hits, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. I don’t know which one is a bigger tease, him or EdCab. And I’m fine with letting other managers roster both, so I don’t have to deal with the stress of waiting to figure that out. The EuryHeads are going to lose it, but it’s OK. They can keep him active and off my teams.
73
Edward Cabrera
MIA
Look above. Find Eury Perez. (He’s right there.) Copy his note. Paste it here. (That said, he hasn’t given up more than 3 ER in 9 GS). For the record, EdCab was in the late 70s before I pushed him up a bit just behind Eury.
74
Shohei Ohtani
LAD
2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K Saturday. I wouldn’t be starting him as an SP anytime soon, but the fact that he threw a 101.7 MPH pitch in this one? Whoa, baby. Someone’s arm is feeling good! When the shackles come off and he’s throwing 5, 6, 7 innings, then he’ll jump way up.
75
David Festa
MIN
5.2 IP, 2 hits, 6 K, 2nd win. I swooped into the FAAB pool and scooped this guy a couple of weeks ago. I know a lot of starting pitcher success can be luck-based, but if you have other managers who have an itchy trigger finger when a player is dropped or sent to the minors, there should be at least one or two spots in your roster that you can churn to house guys like this. Upside plays in a 7-month league.
76
Dustin May
LAD
4.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Can I get a better starting pitcher, please? Ahem. It’s “MAY I get a better starting pitcher, please?” (Teacher brain is tough to shake in early July).
77
Brayan Bello
BOS
6.0 IP, 8 hits, 3 ER, 3 BB, K. A quality start but lost to Berrios and the Blue Jays’ hit machine. Seriously. The Jays had 16 hits and 7 walks in this one and ZERO homers. I’ve poked some fun at Bello this year, but he’s been better than some expected him to be. He gets a modest boost today.
78
Hayden Birdsong
SF
4 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.13. Birdsong? More like a Turkey fart.
79
Taj Bradley
TB
6 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.57. The overbearing dad would say, “Oh, ya? Well, what about the strikeouts?!” But this one was solid.
Well, that was the note for the first start last week. Yesterday’s start? 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks. If you’re in a 25-year keeper league, this guy is a must hold. That way, your grandkids can enjoy rostering him when he’s finally good.
80
Mitch Keller
PIT
5.1 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 4 K, and oh my god, he actually won another game! Regular readers will know how annoyed I’ve been with the Pirates and their lack of support for the starting rotation. Keller winning his second of the year – almost 4 months after winning his first – is more than a welcome sight for that small percentage who still roster him…in their 30-team NL-Only leagues.
81
Clayton Kershaw
LAD
6 IP, 1 ER, 3 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.03. That’s cool and all, but can we have a timed competition between him and Scherzer to see who can still bend over and tie their shoes the fastest? Justin Verlander can use an hourglass to time it.
82
Jose Quintana
MLW
5.2 IP, 7 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 6th win. So you wanna Quintana? Maybe not all the time, but you certainly wanna if he’s facing the Rockies!
83
Tyler Anderson
LAA
Tyler Anderson was removed just before the second time through the order. I didn’t understand it. The broadcasters didn’t understand it (I was watching because of Crochet). He looked good, but I guess 82 pitches to get through 4.2 innings made it easier to remove him, which isn’t great.
84
Luis Severino
ATH
It was not a nice homecoming for Severino. 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks in The Bronx and his 9th L of the year.
85
Andrew Heaney
PIT
4 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.48. Jimmy Superfly Snuka versus Bailey Ober versus Andrew Heaney. Please rank in order of “launched from above and hurtling to the ground at an alarming rate with no chance of a positive outcome” speed. Oh, and that’s 14 ER in his last 8 IP.
86
Jeffrey Springs
ATH
5 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.30. Hope Springs eternal…but if anyone can claim they know when to cash in on that hope, they’re lying.
87
Chad Patrick
MLW
N/R
I nearly added him to the list two weeks ago. Yesterday I streamed him in Perts for his 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 8 K start vs COL. That was enough to make me look past his 13 ER in his last 15 IP (before yesterday).
88
Sawyer-Gipson Long
DET
Adding him for $2 from the FA list in the AL-Only, a week before he was activated, felt like a bit of a steal. I’m still waiting for the payoff. At least he got to start and pitched into the 6th inning last week.
89
Mike Soroka
WSH
6 innings of 2-hit, 1 ER ball at LAA Saturday night. It was a no-decision, but the strikeout potential is there, and he should have more than 3 wins in 11 starts.
90
Brandon Pfaadt
ARI
The positive is that he’s had two games with 7 Ks in each. The not-so-positive is he’s recorded just one win in his last 7 GS.
91
Zac Gallen
ARI
He’s averaged 5 ER over his last 4 starts. Last Wednesday’s 5 ER, 2 K loss at CWS feels like rock bottom. How has he not landed on the Ineffective List yet?
92
Justin Verlander
SF
ANOTHER Two-start guy from last week. He gave us two strong outings for a total of 11 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks. He goes to ATH on the 4th.
93
Erick Fedde
STL
Two-starter this week! At PIT and at CHC.
94
Max Scherzer
TOR
N/R
More below.
95
Nick Martinez
CIN
8.0 IP, 1 hit, ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5th win. I almost pushed him out for a new arm, but he moved up instead.
96
Ryne Nelson
ARI
5 IP, 1 ER, 1 hit, 3 BBs, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.71. I was ready to bump him out for one of our returning pitchers, but he’s been too good to slide off the bottom this week.
97
Slade Cecconi
CLE
Saturday vs STL was the first time he didn’t finish 5+ innings in 5 GS. I thought he’d be an easy bump out, but he’s not done just yet. SON doesn’t like his matchup at DET Friday, though.
98
Charlie Morton
BAL
5 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 5.63. Can you feel that? The tension on the other end of that rope you’re holding? That’s Charlie Morton pulling you back in.
99
Sandy Alcantara
MIA
I didn’t want to bump him out today, and his previous FOUR starts were really good. But 6 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks at ARI Saturday night isn’t solidifying his place on the list, that’s for sure.
100
Eduardo Rodriguez
ARI
6 IP, 0 ER, 10 Ks. Smh. I guess he can sneak into the bottom 10. EdRod replaces Glasnow for now until the former implodes or the latter returns.
