Bartolo Colon doesn’t even need a hand that is 100 percent to get ‘er done as Colon allowed but a single run in seven innings against the Braves Sunday night. Over his last seven outings he’s allowed more than two runs... never. That’s rather remarkable ain’t it? All that pitching has dropped his ERA to 2.86 and his WHIP sits at 1.17 for the 43 year old. He just keeps getting it done. With so much uncertainty with the Mets’ rotation (see this Daily Trends piece) is it possible that Colon is the surest bet every give games?

Anthony DeSclafani has a great ERA of 1.52 but it’s not all great news with the hurler. Check out this Daily Dive video. Bud Norris and Sonny Gray are also mentioned in that video.

Danny Duffy has made nine starts for the Royals and in those nine trips to the hill he has a 3-1 record, 3.33 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. He’s also somehow punched out 58 batters in just 48.2 innings while walking a mere 11 batters. He’s not that good. Few are if we’re being honest. He is certainly not a strikeout an inning arm. He is certainly not a 2.16 BB/9 rate guy (career 3.62). I cannot sit here and say he isn’t pitching well. He is. I can say that he is pitching over his head, that’s he’s failed to last more than five innings twice in three outings, and that he’s allowed five homers in three games. Be careful.

Nathan Eovaldi won 14 games against three loses last season to get folks interested. He opened this season with a 3.71 ERA and a 6-2 record through 10 starts with an impressive 8.46 K/9 rate. The heat was finally being matched by some actual “pitching.” Well, not so much anymore. Over his last five starts Eovaldi has imploded going 0-3 with an 8.65 ERA and 1.81 WHIP. Those are hideous numbers. He also has seen his K/9 rate plummet to 5.88 per nine. Can I be honest with you? Good. He stinks. He’s a total d - - - tease (you fellas know what I’m talking about). Great stuff can lead to a tremendous start at any point, but he simply doesn’t know how to “pitch” and there are no signs he’s close to changing that.

Jaime Garcia has seen his fantasy line drop to 5-6 with a 4.09 ERA and 1.38 WHIP for the Cardinals. I’ve never been a fan; I simply won’t pay the price that is needed to roster a guy who I cannot count on throwing even 150-innings. This season though it’s been health and poor performance, and that’s a bit off for Jaime. His 2.97 BB/9 rate would be a 6-year high, and the WHIP would tie the worst mark of his career (his rookie season). His numbers in June are even more troubling as he has a 5.40 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Those are simply dreadful numbers. Can’t suggest that holding him is a must at this point – you can’t trust him to stay healthy and his performance is so lacking at the moment that the desire to believe should be limited.

Matt Shoemaker can’t keep this level of play up all season. Vincent Velasquez can’t go deep into games. Blake Snell is just a guy with a big arm. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO.

Jason Hammel is in his 11th big league season. In the previous 10 years he has never thrown 180-innings. Never. He’s not Garcia, but he’s close. He’s been a really solid pitcher the past two seasons, and he’s taken things up another notch this year; through 15 starts and 87.1 innings Hammel is 7-4 with a 2.58 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He’s accomplished that work with a 0.82 HR/9 mark which would be his first season under 1.17 in four years. He has a 2.78 BB/9 rate. That would be his first season over 2.25 in three years. His strikeout rate is way down. After marks of 8.06 and 9.07 the last two seasons the rate is down to 7.21 this season. His .246 BABIP would be a career best. The mark has never been lower than .272 in a season and his career mark is .300. He has a 4.31 SIERA. The last two years the mark was 3.50 and 3.45. He has a 4.33 xFIP. The mark has been 3.57 and 3.47 the last two years. If I owned Hammel I would be trying to sell him at this point since it’s likely that things are only going down from this point forward.

Last week in the Making Waves piece, I wrote that Daniel Mengden was a “back of the rotation” arm. Still saying that now. Mengden is 1-3 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over four starts, but it’s the surprising 26 punchouts in 25.2 innings that stands out. He’s not that guy. I would be very surprised if the strikeout rate was with a point of the 9.12 K/9 rate he currently owns (his 10.3 percent swinging strike rate is solid, but doesn’t stand out). The strikeouts are covering up a bit the 3.16 walk rate per nine. He also has a low .265 BABIP rate, an impossible to sustain 82.1 left on base percentage and both SIERA (3.89) and xFIP (3.72) point to the fact that his ERA is not indicative of his performance to date. Solid, but in the mold of Roark and Porcello, not Hamels and Lackey.

James Paxton has made six starts for the Mariners. He has one win. He has a 4.15 ERA. He has a 1.67 WHIP. I don’t know of another pitcher in baseball who has three more boring numbers than that who gets talked about more. Paxton has a 10.64 K/9 rate, I get the excitement, but really folks? Over his last three starts he’s been even worse with a 5.79 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 8.20 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9. He’s just not been very good folks. Sorry.

Justin Verlander has, over his last 102 starts since the start of the 2013 season, produced a 3.91 ERA. Since the start of the 2014 season he has a 4.14 ERA over 68 starts. He has a 4.30 ERA this season through 16 starts. I would suggest you read that again. Verlander is also 27-26 record with a 1.24 WHIP over his last 68 starts. I get that he’s Justin Verlander, but the fact is that he’s simply not as effective as you think he is. Over his last five starts, June, he has a 4.73 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Did you know that Verlander has also allowed six homers his last three outings or eight in his five June starts? The strikeouts are back, he has 107 in 104.2 games and that’s great, but really folks, he’s no different than Jeff Samardzija. Seriously.

 

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).