Ray’s Ramblings: Pitchers, Down the Stretch

Chris Archer went over the 200 strikeout barrier in his last outing, the second season in a row he’s reached that mark. His walk rate is up this season at 3.20, compared to last year’s 2.80 rate, but he’s closer to his career mark (3.05) than last year’s level. Archer has allowed one homer in three games and two in five outings as he’s kept the ball in the yard. Ratio update as well is coming. Over his last eight starts Archer has a 2.79 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 11.50 K/9 and 1.92 BB/9. #ThatsElite

Chad Bettis has 11 wins. He also has a 5.17 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and a 6.75 K/9 with a 2.30 K/BB ratio. He’s also not good on the road with a 5.01 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 1.45 homers per nine. Nothing to see here. #WhyBother

Madison Bumgarner has been rough the last three starts with a 6.35 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and a 1.59 HR/9 rate. Some folks are nervous. I don’t think you should be at all. Folks seem to forget that a star throws makes 32-34 starts a season. A guy is going to have some bad starts, and bad runs over the course of a full season. Do you know how many times MadBum has allowed five earned runs this season? The answer is one time. Do you know how many times he’s allowed four earned runs? The answer is five times. The guy has a 2.49 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and 207 strikeouts. How dare you complain. #TakeAChillPill

Jaime Garcia tossed out yet another stinker for the Cardinals. As I have said for years now, you cannot trust Garcia and you’re taking an extremely dangerous passage if you think you can navigate his starts all season long. Disaster now is he. In four of his last six starts he’s allowed at least five runs and over his last three outings he has been miserable: 16 runs and seven homers over 16 innings. #Run

Lucas Giolito has once again been sent back to the minors after a start with the Nationals. He should be back in September, but it’s unclear if he will start or relieve. What we do know is that he simply isn’t getting batters out with high enough frequency. In four outings Giolito has a 5.63 ERA and 1.81 WHIP. Worse, and yes I used the term ‘worse,’ are his strikeout (3.94 per nine) and walk (6.19 per nine) rates. He’s simply not ready. Period. #FlatOutEmberassing

Derek Holland isn’t someone I would trust as anything other than a streaming option, but in two starts since he returned from the disabled list the lefty from the Rangers has been pretty sharp allowing two runs over 12 innings. Holland has walked a mere single batter in two outings which will lead to success. However, it’s two starts and he hasn’t been trustworthy since 2013. #MildInterest

Justin Nicolino has been optioned to the minors as Austin Brice was called up. Nicolino has made 13 starts this season with a total of 30 strikeouts. Through 144.2 big league innings he has 53 strikeouts, a pace of 3.30 strikeouts per nine. #DoesHeThinkIts1891

Luis Perdomo has made 30 trips to the hill this season with 15 starts for the Padres. He’s 7-7 with a 5.84 ERA and 1.70 WHIP, and the K/9 rate is a mere 6.77. He’s been locked in his last two outings allowing just 11 hits and two runs over 16 innings, but there isn’t anything here that leads me to believe that he’s worth your time. His 59.5 percent ground ball rate is elite, but that’s all we got here. #Nah

Trevor Bauer can’t do anything wrong at the moment. Rick Porcello is having a career season and it is amazing how he has done it. Yu Darvish keeps the quality start streak going. DAILY DIVE VIDEO.

Carlos Rodon was at it again in his last start as he allowed one run to the Mariners over six innings. That’s five straight quality starts for Rodon, and it’s better than that. Rodon hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of the five starts, and in four of the five starts it’s 0/1 earned run allowed. Rodon’s numbers his last five starts are excellent: 3-0, 1.47 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 7.63 K/9, 2.05 BB/9, 0.29 HR/9. I’ve been saying it since last season – this kid has a great arm. #FinallyMeetingExpectations

CC Sabathia had a nice stretch there but overall he’s been just a guy. In 24 starts he is 8-11 with a 4.31 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP with 7.81 strikeouts per nine and 3.38 walks per nine. Toss in a 1.00 HR/9 mark and a 1.47 GB/FB and you’ve got a passable starting option in a pinch, but that’s it. His last two starts he’s allowed four runs and in four of five outings he’s permitted three or fewer runs (the one failure was seven runs to the Blue Jays). #IfIHaveTo

Tyler Skaggs tossed six shutout innings against the Tigers in his last start. I don’t care. Here are his August numbers – five starts worth: 1-3, 7.23 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 4.94 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9. #WhyBother2

Vincent Velasquez did it. For the first time in his life he reached 125-innings as he’s now at 129 completed frames. Hard to know how many more outings he will be allowed to make for the Phillies, but it will certainly not be five more starts to close the year out for the Phils. Over his last four outings the guy has a 0-3 record, 8.44 ERA, 1.69 WHIP and an unconscionable 3.38 homer per nine mark. I still don’t understand why folks are interested. For all you out there who disagree, you do understand that Drew Smyly has been virtually the same pitcher this season, right? #MaybeNextYear

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 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).