Andrew Cashner returned from the DL to allow three runs over six innings against the Giants. He only struck out one while walking four however as it continues to be a struggle for him. Take out his first two outings this season and his ERA drops to 3.98 though that is hardly enough to offset his pathetic 5.40 K/9 rate and 4.26 BB/9 mark. He simply has to pitch better. Talent isn’t the issue, but for now he cannot be trusted at all in mixed leagues.
Nathan Eovaldi upped his record to 5-2 after he won his 4th straight outing for the Yankees. That run of success has dropped his ERA down to 3.95, a league average number, though his WHIP now sits at 1.15. Perhaps most intriguing piece of data is that he’s finally striking batters out. Last season, despite throwing 95 mph, he struck out a mere 7.06 batters per nine innings. That’s a career best by the way. This season the mark has climbed even higher to 8.23. Unfortunately for those hoping that he can sustain that rate, the swinging strike mark doesn’t suggest he can’t. The mark is a career best 9.0 percent, but that’s a league average number and it’s only 0.6 percent above his career rate. Improvement is there, easy to see it is, but he’s never shown any appreciable level of consistency at the big league level to this point.
Doug Fister has thrown five quality starts in his last six outings only failing to make it 6-for-6 because he lasted just 5.2 innings in his last start (two runs allowed). In fact, only once this season has he allowed more than three runs as he’s settled in to given the Astros solid work start after start. Over his last seven outings he might only be 3-2 but he has a 3.27 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, solid numbers indeed. Alas, he has struck out just 22 batters in 44 innings, a pathetic 4.50 K/9 mark is the result there, and the walks are far too high at 3.27 per nine. He’s merely a streaming option in mixed leagues, but at least the results are pretty stable.
Nate Karns has made nine starts for the Mariners. He’s last more than 6.0 innings just three times and only one has he made it through seven innings as the clubs is very careful not to let him extend his pitch count because of the fear that an inflated count will lead to a loss of production. No matter how many innings he’s throwing he’s looked pretty sharp over his last six outings: 8.33 strikeouts per nine, 2.78 walks per nine, 2.78 ERA, 1.12 WHIP with a 1.21 GB/FB ratio. Let’s pull back for a second. Karns has thrown 222 big league innings and in that time he’s gone 12-8 with 220 punchouts, a 3.89 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He still walks too many guys to believe he can help anyone out in WHIP, but he does strike batters out and if he can keep the ball in the park just a bit more his ERA should be better than league average as well. Solid, but far from sexy.
Corey Kluber isn’t in trouble folks. Can’t understand why folks still think he is. His ERA is down to 3.78, his WHIP is 1.11, and his K-rate is better than one batter per inning. He’s also walking just 2.16 batters per nine innings and his 1.65 GB/FB ratio is better than his career rate of 1.43. So I ask… why the concern?
Francisco Liriano has allowed four homers and 11 walks his last three starts, two of them failing to reach six innings by the way. People ask ‘what’s wrong’? My response – not much. This is who he is. Liriano, when on, is as good as there is. When he’s off a quality start looks like a great thing. Liriano still has 52 punchouts in 52.1 innings, so the strikeouts are there. Alas, Francisco is being bothered by the walks. While his 5.16 rate per nine would be a career worst, it would also be the third time in six years that he walked five per nine and it would also make a 4th time in six years the rate would be above 4.45. He’s a walk machine folks. The homer rate is absurd at 1.55 per nine, the mark the last two years has been identical at 0.72, and with a 53 percent ground ball rate we’re just talking sample size when it comes to the homers. He’ll be better, but I can’t say things will change significantly
Jake Odorizzi had a 3.35 ERA and 1.15 WHIP last year. He went 9-9 so not many seemed to care that much. He has a 3.46 ERA and 1.21 WHIP this year. He’s 2-2. Odorizzi had a 7.97 K/9 mark last season with a 2.44 BB/9 rate. This year he has a 7.41 K/9 and 2.63 BB/9. Pretty much the same again. He had a .271 BABIP last season. The mark is .271 this year. He had a 0.92 GB/FB ratio last year. The mark is 0.90 this year. I don’t know about you, but that would seem to suggest that Odorizzi has firmly established himself as he’s posted extremely consistent numbers over the course of 38 starts. The only obvious difference this year is the increase homer rate. For his career his HR/9 mark is 1.05. Last year the rate was 0.96. This year the number has jumped all the way up to 1.32. Some regression there is likely as the innings pile up. Far from a star, but a stable mid-rotation arm in mixed leagues is he.
Scott Kazmir may be striking out a lot, but don’t expect more. Do not believe in Dan Straily. Collin McHugh is starting to look like himself from last year. Check out the Video.
DFS DIAMONDS
*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.
CATCHER: Salvador Perez has nine hits in three games while scoring five times and driving in four runs. He’s produced five hits in 14 at-bats against Miguel Gonzalez as well.
FIRST BASE: Jose Abreu has six hits his last two games. He faces Danny Duffy whom he has hit .368 against with a homer in 19 at-bats.
SECOND BASE: Gordon Beckham has, remarkably, hit .310 with a .402 OBP this season. Wily Peralta has stood no chance against righties this season (.396/.444/.559).
THIRD BASE: Tyler Saladino is batting .324 in May. He’s also hitting .318 on the road. He takes on Danny Duffy who is making just his third start of the year.
SHORTSTOP: Alcides Escobar has five hits his last three games and is batting .298 at home this season. He is opposed by Miguel Gonzalez who has allowed righties to bat .308 with a .372 OBP in limited work this season.
OUTFIELD: Stephen Piscotty is batting .296 with a .349 OBP against righties (he faces Joe Ross). He’s also batting .360 in May with a .919 OPS and has gone .333/.413/.506 on the road.
OUTFIELD: Jayson Werth has hit .333 with a homer and a .931 OPS against Mike Leake over 27 plate appearances. Over his last 10 games he’s batting .333 with a .400 OBP and .352 wOBA.
OUTFIELD: Carlos Beltran is batting .284 with a .935 OPS in May. He’s also gone deep six times with 20 RBI in 23 games. He faces J.A. Happ whom he has hit .333 against with three homers and a 1.070 OPS over 30 plate appearances.
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 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).