Chase Anderson has allowed three or fewer runs in 14-straight starts. Over his last four outings he’s allowed just three runs and just five runs his last five starts. That’s some serious pitching. At the same time his HR/9 mark in the 14 outings is really high at 1.43 while his 3.65 walk rate per nine also speaks to the fact he’s playing with a bit of fire. Look over at that 87.8 left on base percentage and you come to the same conclusion. #OperatingOnBorrowedTime
Clay Buchholz is 8-10 with a 5.00 ERA this season, yet another in a long line of frustrating efforts from the righty. Check out his ERA’s the last seven years: 2.33, 3.48, 4.56, 1.74, 5.34, 3.26 and this year’s 5.00 mark. Good luck finding a pattern in there. Since returning to the rotation Clay has made four starts, three including just four earned runs in total, while the fourth was a six run in three inning beating as even when he’s pitching well he can’t avoid the blowup that has become his calling card.
Bartolo Colon knows how to pitch. Period. He’s won 14 games this season, the fourth year in a row in which he has done that. The only other pitcher in baseball who can match that run is Max Scherzer. In each of those four seasons the 43 year old righty of the Mets has thrown 184.1 innings or more and he still has a certain chance to reach 190 for a 4th straight season. He’s also working on a run of 5-straight quality starts with only one of the outings resulting in three earned runs allowed.
Jerad Eickhoff has walked 41 batters in 31 starts. Gotta love that. Jerad has a 1.19 WHIP. Gotta love that. Eickhoff has tossed 6-straight quality starts leading to a 3.11 ERA in that time. Gotta love that. Now the issue at hand – the homer. Jerad has allowed seven homers his last two starts. He’s allowed a 48 percent fly ball rate the last two outings, a huge up over his 39 percent rate for the season. Just a sample size issue in my eyes. An impressive first season.
Felix Hernandez has posted a 2.65 ERA in his career in 96 no-decisions. That is the lowest ERA of any of the 245 starting pitchers who have had at least 75 no-decisions since 1920. In two of his last three outings he’s allowed no runs. In three of his last five starts he’s allowed six runs. He’s been a nauseating bowl of vomit including up and down work. This man owns an 8.22 K/9 for his career but he’s gone six consecutive starts with five or fewer strike outs.
Ubaldo Jimenez is 7-12 with a 5.71 ERA. He’s been, as predicted, a mess this season. However, he’s pitching passably down the stretch. Banished to the bullpen, he made his return to the rotation August 25th. Over the six starts since that time he’s only 2-2, but he has a 2.85 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. He’s also somehow walked just 10 batters leading to an impressive 2.20 BB/9 rate. As we saw in his last outing the walks can come at any moment, he issued four in 5.1 innings, but he also permitted just two runs (non-earned). If you have big stones you can start him as he is pitching well the last month.
Corey Kluber, remember when you were pounding me with questions about him earlier this season? If you were smart enough to hold on to him that you are feeling great, though I know that tons of folks bailed and dealt him away (shame on you). Kluber is up to 18-9, tying the record he posted when he won the Cy Young award in 2014. Kluber also has a 9.55 K?9 rate, a third straight season at that level, and his 4.00 K/BB ratio is his 4th straight season at that level. He’s also posted a 1.05 WHIP this season, this after marks of 1.09 and 1.05 the past two seasons. Toss in 211 innings and you have, what he has been for years now, a fantasy ace.
Tom Koehler has a 3.09 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over his last 12 starts. That’s great work off the waiver-wire. He’s also struck out 62 batters leading to a 7.97 K/9 rate, another solid mark. Alas, the homers have been a problem as his 1.54 HR/9 mark is terrible over those 12 outings. He’s allowed five homers his last three starts, each of which being five or fewer innings. I’ve been riding the gravy train for a few months in a couple of leagues, but it seems like the train is running out of steam.
Chad Kuhl has been quite the find. I wrote about him in a recent Daily Trends article.
Ricky Nolasco did it again Thursday as he tossed seven shutout innings against the Astros to push his scoreless streak to 13 innings the last two starts. Over his last five starts he’s been “quality” four times leading to a 1.80 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. He’s also walked just six batters while allowing one big fly. All of that likely means he will be bombed in his next start. #LOL
Jeff Samardzija has allowed one run over his last 13.2 innings. Over his last nine outings he’s been in a pretty impressive groove with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP as he’s punched out 52 batters in 56.1 innings. He’s also kept the ball in the yard allowing just three homers in that timeframe and he’s walked just six batters his last four outings. #InAGroove
Max Scherzer will finish a 5th straight season with a K/9 rate of 10 (the mark is 11.06). The last pitcher, the only pitcher, to have reached that level of dominance is Randy Johnson (1997-2002).
Robert Stephenson has a bright future but he’s not there yet. In six starts he’s walked 13 men and allowed seven homers. The results are a 4.03 BB/9 rate and a 2.17 HR/9 mark. That’s led to a 5.59 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in a terribly disappointing start to his big league career.
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 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).