Jhoulys Chacin tossed 5.2 frames of shutout ball against the Yankees Sunday. This comes on the heels of allowing 11 runs over six innings of work his previous two outings. You cannot trust him, even in AL-only leagues. Can’t.

Jorge De La Rosa went eight innings in his last outing, the first time he has done that in 2016. The Cubs, a pretty good offense, produced just four hits while generating one walk. Alas, that’s five homers allowed his last three outings for JDLR, and his walk rate this season is over four per nine signaling dander. Since the All-Star break he has made eight starts going 3-1 with a 1.50 WHIP and 4.18 ERA. Those are poor numbers to say the least. Add in 24 strikeouts (4.56 per nine) and 21 walks in those eight starts and you have – junk.

Anthony DeSclafani has made 14 starts with a 3.27 ERA and 1.22 WHIP for the Reds this season. He’s also pushed his season long total in the K/BB ratio to 3.95, an excellent mark. Only twice in 14 games has he allowed more than three earned runs, including his last outing when he gave up four runs (the other game was five earned runs back on July 25th). He’s been stable, solid, effective. He’s not a world beater but he has the look of a guy who will round out fantasy rotations in mixed leagues for a long time.

Chad Green has made six starts for the Yankees this season. In those six games he’s averaged a whopping 11.10 strikeouts per nine. Be aware that he’s thrown a mere 30-innings in those six starts while allowing eight homers, an average of 2.40 per nine. He’s also been the owner of 1.30 WHIP with a 4.80 ERA. He’s not much more than a streaming option as those ratios don’t help out anyone.

Jason Hammel has been fantastic this season… that is until his last outing when he was bombed for 10 hits, including two homers, leading to 10 runs over 3.1 innings (luckily for his ERA four runs were unearned). No one is the universe is going to complain about a guy with a 13-6 record, 3.07 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Those are fantastic numbers. However, some concerns are certainly at hand not the least of which being that Hammel has never thrown 180-innings in a big league season. Was his last outing just one of those day’s guys have, or is it a sign that potentially Hammel is wearing down as the innings pile up (137.2)? Note that in a decade he’s only posted an ERA in the 3’s three times and never once below 3.43. His current mark, even with his latest beat down, is 3.07 (career 4.36).

David Price is finally starting to look like himself. Dylan Bundy is slowing down and it is something to keep an eye on going forward. Homer Bailey wishes he was still on the DL after the Dodgers rocked him Monday. CHECK OUT THE DAILY DIVE VIDEO.

Dallas Keuchel threw eight innings of two run ball at the Orioles Sunday. This is his second excellent outing in three trips to the hill (he shutout the Rangers over nine innings in his first start of August). Of course anyone that owns DK knows that the two starts sandwiched between those outings were six and seven runs allowed. Still, over his last nine outings he’s allowed two or fewer runs seven times leading to a 3.60 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 3.19 K/BB ratio. The last two months have been more like what was expected… other than those two outings of 13 runs in 10 innings which makes it impossible to fully believe he’s “back.”

Jose Quintana has won 10 games for the first time as he improved his record to 10-9. It’s remarkable how Quintana continues to pitch so well and not win games. Quintana has a 2.84 ERA and 1.12 WHIP on the year, the best marks of his career. In twenty-five starts this season Jose has allowed zero or one earned run 11 times and 0/1/2 earned runs 17 times. Pretty remarkable consistency really. One negative that has gone underreported. Quintana owns a 34.2 percent career fly ball rate, a completely league average number. This season the mark is 40.2 percent, a career worst. The extra fly balls haven’t resulted in a huge jump in homers as he’s permitted an 8.5 percent HR/FB ratio, an exact match for his career rate.  

Drew Smyly pulled a – Drew Smyly – the last time he took the hill Sunday as he allowed four runs over 6.2 innings. He was taken deep twice, his continual bugaboo, as he walked just one and struck out seven. Over his last six outings he’s still gone 4-0 with a 2.79 ERA and 0.93 WHIP, but the most recent hiccup brings back the fact that the long ball will continue to be an issue for Smyly who simply allows too many fly balls. His HR/FB rate is only 12.9 percent, a bit elevated but nothing crazy. The homers are the result of his insane 48.9 percent fly ball rate. That’s just absurd, even for a guy who owns a 44.0 percent mark for his career. Hate to say it’s as simple as the fly ball, but it certainly seems like it might be.

Ryan Vogelsong has made four starts in August for the Pirates and though he has only one victory with just 6.46 strikeouts per nine – he’s pitched well. The 39 year old righty has a 2.28 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and isn’t beating himself with 2.43 walks per nine. He’s no great shakes, but he’s making a difference in NL-only leagues and is currently someone you could consider starting in a mixed league in solid matchups.

 

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).