Tyler Anderson has made 14 quality starts for the Rockies with a 3.69 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 8.35 K/9 and 2.17 BB/9. Add in a 54 percent ground ball rate and this is a skill set I would be telling you all to target – IF he didn’t pitch in Colorado. As I wrote in An Ace In Colorado?, history proves, without question, that you cannot be a fantasy ace if you pitch for the Rockies. He’s been good at home with a 3.45 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, but it’s just a matter of time. It always is.

Gerrit Cole is still expected to start Monday. Normally that would seem like a crazy thing to do, needing to predict he would make his next start, but Cole has been a total mess of late (over his last four outings Cole has a 7.06 ERA and 1.89 WHIP. #Wowzahs). Alas, he still has a 47 percent ground ball rate, 7.48 K/9 and 2.91 BB/9 rates in the four starts. His overall performance does not suggest his ratios should be that high. He’s even giving up the big fly now with three homers allowed in two starts. Cole has to be looked at as nothing more than a depth arm at the moment in mixed leagues. Who would have thought?

Johnny Cueto had been struggling, but over his last two starts he’s walked one guy and allowed two runs over 13 frames. Only eight strikeouts in that time, but he’s pitching better after what has, overall, been a bit of a down second half for him (1-3, 3.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 1.49 HR/9).

Zach Davies rebounded from his beating at the hands of the Cubs (7 ER, 4 IP) and Reds (5 ER, 5 IP) to allow just one run over six innings against the Rockies. He’s allowed three or fewer earned runs seven of nine games, but he’s still permitted 13 earned runs his last 15 innings. I’d be more inclined to expect a limp to the finish line than a strong final kick.

Jerad Eickhoff has a 4.08 ERA with one quality start in five outings. Still he’s gone 3-0 in that time and he’s walked just four batters. However, the long ball has been bighting him with seven allowed his last four outings. That run has pushed his HR/9 rate up to 1.27 thanks to a 38.1 percent fly ball rate and 12.3 HR/FB. All those marks are up a wee bit, but none are in the danger zone.

 

Marco Estrada missed some time in July with a back situation and he returned to allow a total of six earned runs first three starts back. Alas, his last two outings the beat down is in full effect. In nine innings Estrada has allowed 15 hits, including five homers, on his way to 11 runs allowed. Yugly folks. This can happen at any point to Estrada given his extremely obnoxiously fly ball rate of 46.5 percent. All of a sudden his ERA is up to 3.47, and there could easily be more negative to come given the totality of his game (note that Estrada has a 4.31 SIERA and 4.58 xFIP). You should be very nervous if you own Estrada.

Dillon Gee is 5-7 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.48 WHIP this season. He keeps the walks at a reasonable level, 2.73 per nine, and he’s even pushed his K/9 rate up to 7.27, a 4-year best. Still, those numbers are pretty league average, and when you add in his homer propensity, a massive 19 allowed in a mere 99 innings, and you’ve got a guy who could torpedo your club at any point. He’s allowed just four runs his last two starts but be very cautious streaming him.

Kyle Hendricks, my predicted breakout star of the year on the hill, continues to rock and roll at an elite level. He’s been stupendous actually with a 2.19 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Those aren’t solid numbers, they aren’t all-star numbers, they are Cy Young level numbers. He’s been the same guy as last year in the strikeout (8.35 per nine last year to 7.99 this year) and walk columns (2.15 to 2.25) as well as the homers allowed (0.77 to 0.85 per nine) while his GB/FB ratio has actually undershot his career mark by a tenth of a point at 1.58. So how the growth in the ERA column in particular? A bit of luck actually. His 81.0 percent left on base rate is not a repeatable pace, and his SIERA (3.79) and xFIP (3.68) are actually worse than his numbers from last season (3.37 and 3.25). I’m a huge fan, and he has broken out as predicted, but it shouldn’t have been this good.

Hisashi Iwakuma has 14 victories. That’s more than Jose Fernandez (13) and Madison Bumgarner (12) to name just a couple of elite arms. Hisashi’s lost his last two decisions for the Mariners, even though he’s posted a quality start in each of the outings. Moreover, Hisashi has allowed more than three earned runs just one time in nine outings as his season long ERA has dipped from 4.43 to 3.81. As I’ve said since the preseason, you could do a lot worse that rostering his arm to round out your rotation.

Carlos Martinez allowed 10 runs over two starts on July 26th and 31st, and I was a bit nervous. The last three times out though – it’s been the same old CMart as he’s gone 2-0 for the Cardinals without allowing a homer while posting a 2.14 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Still hard to understand how he’s being that successful given a continued lack of punchouts – 6.86 per nine his last three and 7.33 for the season – while walking a league average number – 3.00 per nine the last three and 3.19 for the season. He certainly aids his case by generating copious amounts of grounders as his 56.1 percent season long rate is 6th in all of baseball. That covers up a lot of warts.

Tanner Roark has been great this season with a 13-7 record, 2.99 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He’s even tossed in 134 punchouts over 168.1 innings for the Nationals. It’s just two starts, but some cracks have been seen the last two starts as he’s allowed eight runs and three homers over 11.1 frames. He’s also walked six batters. It’s just two starts and might mean nothing, but it is something to keep an eye on as he has outperformed his ratios a good deal this season (xFIP 4.16 ERA, 4.29 SIERA).

Matt Moore was one out away from a no-hitter. Jake Ordorizzi has been exceptional his last 8 starts. Drew Pomeranz is settling in for the Red Sox, but his innings pitched could be a concern going forward. CHECK OUT THE DAILY DIVE VIDEO.

 

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).