#2xSP: 9.26-10.2

Alright, we’re back for the final edition of #2xSP for this season. Like most years, we’ve had some ups and downs, but it’s been markedly better than last year, and I’m not only pleased with how season four went with regards to season three, but I’m also excited for next year.

If you have some ideas to implement for next season, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Here’s what we’re working with so far this season:

44-45 record
3.93 ERA
8.2 K/9
2.9 K/BB
1.33 WHIP
61 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Chad Kuhl – 12.7% ESPN – v. CHC (106), @STL (104)

I don’t love the matchups, but Kuhl has been pretty solid this season and I didn’t love a lot of the other pitchers going on Monday and Tuesday. This isn’t the first time Kuhl has faced the Cubs and Cardinals in succession, as he did so between two starts on Aug. 30 and Sept. 5. He pitched fine against the Cubs — three earned in five innings — but the Cardinals tousled him up a bit for three earned runs in just two innings. Still, his success this season hasn’t been over that small of a sampling. Over his last nine starts, he’s got a 3.10 ERA, .641 OPS against (.218 BAA) and solid 37-12 K/BB ratio in 49.1 innings. He gets plenty of grounders (46.3 percent), doesn’t walk too many batters (2.4 BB/9) and has a slider with a 17.8 percent whiff rate. Maybe it’s the foundation of something?

LHP Sean Manaea – 11.4% ESPN – @LAA (99), @SEA (106)

Manaea started off brutally — 7.03 ERA through six starts, 5.24 through 12 and so on — but has really picked up steam as the season has worn on, and incidentally, people have stopped paying attention to his A’s. His last three starts haven’t all been that pretty, but he has zero earned runs total over that stretch, and since opening July with an ERA threatening 6.00, he’s managed to slash it by nearly two runs. The turning point was a July 10 start at Houston, where he tossed seven shutout innings, scattering five hits with six strikeouts and nary a walk. From that start on, he’s been amazing: 2.51 ERA, .634 OPS against and 67-15 K/BB ratio in 71.2 innings. That’s fringe ace numbers over the span of a not-insignificant stretch of time. This kid’s gonna be gooooood.

RHP Jerad Eickhoff – 33.3% ESPN – @ATL (86), v. NYM (95)

With every start Eickhoff makes, the haul for Hamels gets that much more impressive. He’s got a respectable 3.75 ERA this season, and he’s also got a chance to go over 200 innings if he can get 12.2 more before the end of the season. The home run numbers may be a little iffy (29), but he’s got the respectable ERA, and has completed six innings in 22 of 31 starts. In fact, he’s failed to complete five innings just once all year — against the Braves back on May 11. He’ll get a chance for revenge against an offense that has been quite a bit better down the stretch, despite the deep hole it dug earlier this season.