Carlos Carrasco was bombed his last outing allowing eight runs and nine hits (two homers) over 3.2 innings against the Twins. He hasn’t been sharp at all over his last six starts with a 4.22 ERA, 3.66 walks per nine and just 6.75 strikeouts per nine. He’s also allowed five homers in those six starts leading to an elevated 1.41 HR/9 mark. As talented as he and Danny Salazar are, concerns about their arms is always at the forefront of my mind.
Yu Darvish has taken the bump four times since his last DL stint. He’s gone 0-3 but look at the rest of his numbers: 13.90 K/0, 2.38 BB/9, 1.99 HR/9. Walks are down, strikeouts are through the roof, but the homers have been crushing him leading to a 3.57 ERA. Most importantly, his arm looks great.
Zach Eflin has made 10 starts with a 4.77 ERA and 3-4 record for the Phillies. He’s better than that. He’s walking just 2.24 batters per nine which has helped him to a 1.24 WHIP. Alas, his last two outings have been beat downs: 13 runs, three homers, 15 hits, seven walks in 10 innings. That’s flat out ugly. Like puke style bad. He doesn’t miss bats, his 4.62 K/9 rate is pathetic, so he’s nothing more than a start in NL-only leagues.
Mike Foltynewicz throws an easy 95 mph. There’s a lot to like with that arm. Alas he simply cannot find any type of consistency whatsoever and over his last two outings he’s allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, over 10.2 frames. He has problems against lefties as well as they are mashing him with a .484 SLG this season. He’s also had issues out of the stretch as his RISP numbers are .302/.360/.480. Can’t trust this guy.
I detest Kyle Gibson. It always seems like he should be better. He never is. I say avoid him, and I have except for one league the last three years. Fifteen team mixed league and I was desperate for a starter two weeks ago. He allowed three runs over two outings making me feel alright, but he then went out and did me wrong allowing six runs over 4.2 innings against the Indians. Don’t do what I did the past two weeks and give him a shot. He’s just not worth it.
Clayton Kershaw (back) has been transferred to the 60-day DL meaning he won’t be eligible to return until August 27th. With each passing day I grow more concerned that we might have seen the last of Kershaw this season.
Sean Manaea had allowed three or fewer runs in 4-striaght outings heading into his last start. He lasted 5.2 frames against the Angels allowing five runs. At least only four were earned as he was taken deep twice while walking three batters. There are signs of success if you look hard enough, just three walks in five outings being one key to lower his BB/9 rate down to 2.24 this season, but overall there is still nothing more than a streamer in mixed leagues here at the moment.
Brandon McCarthy has a 3.07 ERA and 1.02 WHIP this season, with a 10.74 K/9 rate over six starts with the Dodgers. Those are fantastic numbers. However, (A) it’s Brandon McCarthy and (B) in his last two starts McCarthy has allowed six runs while walking seven batters over just seven innings. He is who he is, and that is rotation filler in mixed leagues, nothing more.
Aaron Nola could be done for the year. The Phillies kept saying he was fine… well… not so much. Nola was placed on the DL Wednesday and it sounds like his wonky elbow might lead to him being on the shelf the rest of the season. Nola had shown glimpses the last eight starts, but it was clear that there was something wrong as he posted a 9.82 ERA and 2.06 WHIP, despite a 9.82 K/9 rate. His 4.78 season long ERA is not reflective of how well he’s pitched overall.
David Price tossed seven shutout innings against the Mariners. He then allowed two to score in the 8th before he was removed. Of course, recently acquired Fernando Abad entered the game and promptly allowed a three run homer to Robinson Cano with two of the runs being charged to Price. The result – four runs in seven innings for Price. It’s not normal for Price, or at least wasn’t until this season. I’ll take the positive side. Over his last two starts, spanning 15 frames, Price has allowed runs in only one of 15 frames. That’s what I take away from things.
Anibal Sanchez has gone at least six innings in 3-straight starts. Two of those were quality starts while the other was a four run effort. He’s struck out 17 while walking just five in those 18 innings despite a 4.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. The strikeouts are there but not much else.
Dan Straily allowed seven runs over 3.2 innings against the Cubs on June 27th. Since then he’s tossed six consecutive quality starts. He’s actually allowed a total of five runs his last four starts despite allowing three homers in that time. I admit it, I did not see this coming. Still, I think he’s more Colby Lewis than anything else.
Masahiro Tanaka is closing in on his big league career best of 154 innings pitched with 140.1 frames this season, his third in the majors. Over his last two starts he’s looked tired as he’s permitted 15 hits, including three homers, and 11 runs over 11.1 innings. His WHIP is still borderline elite at 1.12, but the 3.46 ERA is a rising and the 7.18 K/9 mark is a full batter off his career mark. Solid, but he’s been unable to fully replicated the success of his first two seasons.
Adam Wainwright has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of six outings. Here are his numbers his last six outings since the calendar flipped to July: 1.99 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 8.19 K/9, 1.77 BB/9. It appears he’s back to being “Adam Wainwright.” Just shows you how bad he was given that his season numbers include a 4.14 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and 7.16 strikeouts per nine.
DFS DIAMONDS
*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.
CATCHER: Mike Zunino has two homers his last two games and three hit last 10. Drew Pomeranz has a 7.53 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and a .305 BAA in three starts with the Red Sox.
FIRST BASE: Billy Butler has two hits in four of his last five games during which time he has two homers and five RBI. He’s also hit .333 against Ricky Nolasco (5-for-15).
SECOND BASE: Howie Kendrick has hit .327 with an OPS of nearly .950 his last 26 games. Tyler Chatwood has a 5.69 ERA at home with a 1.68 WHIP.
THIRD BASE: Righties versus Mike Fiers have hit .287 with a .338 OBP and .456 SLG. Josh Donaldson takes on the homer prone Fiers hitting .291 with 22 homers in 306 at-bats against righties this season.
SHORTSTOP: Erick Aybar has a hit in 9-straight games. That includes five hits his last two games and a .340 batting average his last 17 games. He’s also hitting .284 at home and faces Ryan Vogelsong who is making his first appearance since May 23rd.
OUTFIELD: Curtis Granderson has a .342 OBP and .455 SLG versus righties. He has marks of .342 and .479 on the road this season. In eight at-bats against Nathan Eovaldi he has two homers and four hits.
OUTFIELD: George Springer against lefties this season: .276/.387/.562 with seven homers in 105 at-bats. For his career the marks are .266/.393/.510 with 19 homers (312 at-bats). He takes on the streaking J.A. Happ who has eight wins in nine outings.
OUTFIELD: Khris Davis has hit four homers his last six games. He’s scored seven times in those games as well. His road SLG is .500 this season, and Ricky Nolasco has a six year high 1.30 HR/9 mark.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 8 PM EDT, on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 11 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).