#2xSP: 5.9-5.15

I’ve been asked a couple times in the last few weeks and I finally got around to figuring it out, so here we have it — the current results WITH quality starts included:

10-6 record
3.33 ERA
8.2 K/9
3.0 K/BB
1.26 WHIP
12 quality starts

This was a tougher week to find guys to recommend. A lot of the guys I liked on Tuesday starts — Adam Conley, Juan Nicasio and even maybe Colin Rea — early in my research were busted by off days later in the week. Anyway, here are this week’s recs (with opponents’ team wRC+ in parentheses), so hit me with your questions and qualms in the comments below:

RHP Jose Berrios – 38.8% ESPN – v. BAL (112), @CLE (100)

I realize we’re still in the midst of the Berrios hype train, so if he’s not available in your league — and given the comments I read on Twitter from fantasy owners, I think he still could be — my next pick was going to be Dan Straily, who gets the Pirates at home and the Phillies on the road for the Reds next week.

The stuff has been good for Berrios — 13 strikeouts in 9.1 innings — but the command has been spotty. It was probably somehow more true in his first start where he walked two batters than it was when he walked five Astros last time out, as his since-demoted catcher John Ryan Murphy was actually ejected in the middle of a plate appearance for arguing how badly the strike zone was being called that night. Opposing starter Dallas Keuchel seemed to agree. Anyway, Berrios showed he had a sense of humor on the next pitch, as he threw an identical curveball for a called third strike with new catcher Kurt Suzuki back there.

This’ll be a big week for the young righty, as both of these offenses are solid. If it was the O’s in Camden Yards I might have skipped him altogether, but at home I think he’s got a fighting chance to get a win/quality start.

RHP Tyler Chatwood – 14.9% ESPN – v. ARI (96), v. NYM (107)

Chatwood has been sneaky good this year — 2.15 ERA, 27-8 K/BB ratio in 37.2 innings — and he’s in a rare spot where you almost root for two road starts in the same week. Chatwood has three scoreless starts spanning 21.1 innings over his last four, and the lone straggled was a three-run dud against the Dodgers in four innings. Still, over that stretch he’s got a 1.07 ERA and has held opposing batters to a .515 OPS. I’m not totally sure what’s gotten into him — the 51.8 percent groundball rate is surely nice — but to me he looks like a sneaky two-start play next week.

RHP Matt Wisler – 4.6% ESPN – v. PHI (67), @KCR (88)

I like Wisler as a blue-light special with a couple easier matchups next week. He’s been up and down on his way to a 3.24 ERA for the season, and he’s still supported by the league’s worst offense, but I like that he’s been able to hold opposing batters to a .175 batting average and is coming off completely stymying the Mets: eight innings, one hit allowed, four strikeouts and two walks. There’s not a great ton of hope in his peripherals — 4.34 FIP — but I’m hoping to squeeze some value outta him just once here. We’ll see how it goes.





In addition to Rotographs, Warne writes about the Minnesota Twins for The Athletic and is a sportswriter for Sportradar U.S. in downtown Minneapolis. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Warne, or feel free to email him to do podcasts or for any old reason at brandon.r.warne@gmail-dot-com

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