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Brett Anderson deserves kudos for making 25 starts after he made a total of 32 starts the previous four seasons. He’s also eight outs short of his second season of 150-innings pitched in seven years. Again, props for all of that. I’ll even pat him on the back for the 3.36 ERA that works in all fantasy leagues. However, he’s only 8-8. That’s nothing to get excited about. His K/9 rate is 6.05 which is very poor. His 2.54 K/BB ratio is very average. His 1.30 WHIP is league average. I get that he has had success, and I love the 63 percent ground ball rate, but the gaga love for him in the fantasy world is totally overblown.

Chris Bassitt has only one won game in 15 outings (10 starts). That’s terrible (way to go Athletics). The good news is that he’s pitching really well for the most part. Through 73.1 innings he’s the owner of a 2.82 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, some seriously good numbers that would make Anderson blush. Like Anderson he doesn’t strike folks out (6.63 per nine) and that leaves his K/BB totally uninspiring at 2.25. Unlike Anderson his ground ball rate of 42 percent is pretty blah. Add it all up and I would rather have Anderson than Bassitt, despite what the numbers suggest at the moment.

Jerad Eickhoff profiles as a 4/5 starter at the big league level (and yes, he spells his name in a funky way). A big guy at 6’4”, 240 lbs, he came to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels to Rangers deal. Over 23 outings at Double and Triple-A this season Eickhoff went 12-5 with a 3.85 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He also struck out 126 batters over 133.1 innings while walking a mere 2.6 per nine. At the same time he’s been homer prone allowing 15 homers, and that’s what can happen when the ball stays up in the end zone. Eickhoff has looked sharp through two outings striking out 11 and only walking two, but he’s not talented enough to keep pitching at this pace. Be wary in mixed leagues.

Kyle Hendricks has made 26 start this season but is only 6-6 on the year. Still, there is a lot to like here. The 7.84 K/9 rate is two and a half batters higher than last year and to say that is surprising is an understatement. Guys just don’t make jumps like that. That fact that he has been able to do that while maintaining a solid walk rate of 2.15 per nine is impressive. Nothing negative I can say about his 51 percent ground ball rate – I love seeing that. His 1.23 WHIP is also something everyone can live with. Then it starts getting dicey. Hendricks has a worse than league average 4.11 ERA. As if that wasn’t bad enough how about that 5.97 ERA his last seven starts? Are you comfortable with his 3.82 walk rate per nine in that time? How about your feelings on his 1.57 WHIP over seven starts? Oddly despite those struggles he still has 40 strikeouts over 37.2 innings. The strikeouts are nice, but his overall game is heading in the wrong direction as we approach September.

Collin McHugh might surprise a few folks with his 14 victories, especially after so many started bailing a while back on the righty. Since getting bombed for eight runs over three innings on June 13th he’s been a different guy, the fella we saw last season actually. Over his last 13 starts McHugh has gone 8-4 with a 2.84 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP as the Astros keep winning. McHugh has whiffed 7.77 batters per nine over that time frame with a walk rate of 2.84. He’s also been very stingy with the long ball allowing four as he’s racked up a 46 percent ground ball mark. Not much reason to expect things to be much different the rest of the way.

I feel like I receive Michael Pineda questions every day. I always think to myself, why? Back from the DL Pineda last 4.1 innings against the Astros and allowed five runs. Folks, you have to put out of your mind his start to the season. He’s not that guy anymore. Over his last 13 outings Pineda is a dreadful 4-8. He has a horrible 5.09 ERA. His WHIP is 1.37, which is admittedly damn hard to do when you walk a mere 13 batters in 13 outings. He’s also being pounded by the long ball allowing 11 homers over his last 12 starts. He’s pretty useless right now. Sorry to break it to you.

Justin Verlander damn near threw a no-hitter. Kudos. He’s also been on one hell of a run. He’s completely locked in right now having allowed two runs (one earned) over the course of his last four outings. Building on that, he’s allowed one or fewer earned runs in six of his last seven starts. That’s about as well as he’s ever pitched. He has only two wins to show for his work, and three loses, but that belies the point – he’s back. OK, I can’t say he’s “back” after seven starts, but I can say that he’s pitching out of his mind right now and, honestly, looks like the old Verlander. Justin has an 8.48 K/9 mark over the seven starts with a 1.38 BB/9 rate, 0.35 HR/9 and 0.79 BB/9. He obviously cannot keep up the ratios or the ball in the park so frequently, but he’s rolling, dominating and has to make his owners feel good that he’s the guy from three years ago, and not the pitcher we’ve seen the last two and a half years. 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 8 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).