Doug Fister isn’t a target in pretty much every format. At the same time were you aware that he has allowed three or fewer runs in four of five starts or that he’s permitted just six runs while tossing 3-straight quality outings? He’s still walked 10 batters in those three games so there is work to do, but at least he’s starting to look like a passable streaming option in mixed leagues.

Rich Hill has made six starts for the Athletics this season. That is the higher start total than he has posted in the big leagues since 2009. Read that again. It’s been six years since he made six starts in the big leagues. He’s also thrown 32 big league innings this season which is already a 3-year high. In fact, the last time he threw 60-innings in a big league season was waaaaayyy back in 2007. Read that again. In two of his last three outings he’s walked four guys pushing his BB/9 rate up to 3.66. Before you think that’s all there is note the following two points. (1) His career mark is 4.14 per nine. (2) From 2012-15 his BB/9 rate was 4.95. The walk number will continue to rise. So many question marks are prevalent with the 36 year old. Selling now is likely the best thing you can do.

Sonny Gray should be fine. I explain why in this week’s Mailbag article.

Did you catch the A.J. Griffin Player Profile?

Jon Lester improved to 3-1 with 5.2 scoreless innings against the Pirates Wednesday. He dropped his ERA to 1.58 in the outing.

Steven Matz is balling. He threw up 7.2 shutout innings against the Braves Wednesday as he struck out eight and didn’t walk a single batter. The effort dropped his ERA to 2.83 and his WHIP to 1.19. That’s 4-straight victories for Matz who has allowed a total of two earned runs over four starts. Like I said… balling.

Juan Nicasio fell to 3-3 Wednesday as he allowed four runs (one earned) over 4.1 innings against the Cubs. It took Nicasio 102 pitches to get 13 outings. That’s just terrible. He’s been passable with a 3.16 ERA and 1.34 WHIP but that 4.31 BB/9 rate is flat out concerning.

Jake Peavy looks like he might be through. He allowed seven more runs Wednesday to push his ERA up to 9.00 and his WHIP to 1.90. He and Matt Cain (0-3, 7.00 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, .318 BAA) have been dreadful and the Giants are nearly to the point that they have to make some serious decisions as rolling those two players out there consistently is harming their chance to win ballgames.

Don’t let Martin Perez fool you with his ERA. It’s not doom and gloom with Shawn Tolleson. Jeff Samardzija continues to go deep in games for the Giants. See the Big 3 Video that tells the story.

Marcus Stroman improved to 4-0 Sunday as he allowed one run over eight innings against the Rays. Stroman also struck out nine batters in the outing, the first time he’s punched out more than five batters this season. Going back to last year and looking at his last 10 outings we find that Stroman is undefeated at 8-0. He’s also posted a 2.96 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP, wildly impressive numbers, in that time. Alas, he’s been unable to find the strikeout ball since he’s struck out just 5.91 batters per nine, and that’s a mild concern, but the guy can get outs on the ground and certainly keeps his club in the ball game. Impressive.

The MAY 1st RANKINGS are out. That's 650 players ranked. Check out the updates and what our experts think of players moving forward.

THE DREAM IS LONG DEAD

Justin Verlander had another poor outing last night. That prompted a series of questions about whether or not he had lost it or if I thought he would star again soon. My response was --- have you been paying attention for the last three years? Seriously, have you? I not only warned you in his preseason Player Profile, like I do every season, but it’s patently obvious he is no longer anything other than a league average fantasy arm. Check out the numbers folks, they are dire. Over his last 92 starts…

Verlander is 35-35

Verlander has a 4.00 ERA

Verlander has a 1.30 WHIP

Folks the LEAGUE AVERAGE arm is 33-3 with a 3.99 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Read that again to let it sink in.

Verlander is slightly better than the league average with a 7.93 K/9 rate, the league is at 7.30 per nine the last three plus years. Verlander is also slightly better than the league average with a 2.81 BB/9 rate (the league is at 3.05).

The facts are the facts folks.

Time you admit to yourself the new reality with Verlander… the Verlander you remember and love is never coming back.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).