Chase Anderson has been an interesting arm through two months. He posted a 2.10 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in five April starts with 20% K and 8% BB rates before sputtering to open May. In his first four starts of the month, he went more than five innings just once and it was only 5.3 IP at the Padres. The opposition ran him up to a 7.71 ERA and 2.09 WHIP in 18.7 IP with 18% K and 11% BB rates. He has bounced back from that lull with two major gems, including a long no-hit bid against the Diamondbacks on May 27th (14 scoreless IP, 18 K, 4 H, and 4 BB in the two starts).

Add it all up and he’s got a 3.30 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 23% K rate, and 0.7 HR9 – all career-bests – in 62.7 innings of work. What’s going on with Anderson and should we buy into him as a reliable arm? Here is what I found:

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6/4/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

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Strategy Section:

OWNED BUT DO YOU START? (7:20)

• Gio Gonzalez at LAD, TEX
• Jose Quintana at TB, at CLE
• Masahiro Tanaka BOS, BAL
• Robbie Ray SD, MIL

SHALLOW (14:25)

• Adam Wainwright at CIN, PHI (15:02)
• Sean Manaea TOR, at TB (17:05)
• Antonio Senzatela CLE, at CHC (18:40)
• Drew Pomeranz at NYY, DET (18:34)
• JA Happ at OAK, at SEA (18:14)

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Chat transcript is below!

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6/1/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

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Leading Off: Question of the Day

• Trading Trout: Jeff’s Piece
  • What would you take for Mike Trout in a non-keeper roto lg?

Notable Transactions/Rumors/Articles/Game Play

May Standouts: Hitters

• Justin Bour 11 HR, 201 wRC+
• Brett Gardner 9 HR, 184 wRC+
• Zack Cozart 6 HR, 164 wRC+
• Tommy Pham 5 HR, 4 SB, 157 wRC+

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Maybe it’s unfair to do a “what’s wrong with this guy?” piece on a guy the night after he goes 7 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 5 K, but I don’t think a strong outing against KC does much the quell the concerns those have with Justin Verlander. I decided to write this up last night after watching the outing and learned quickly this morning that I wasn’t the only one still concerned as I received this text:

I pay people to address me as that in texts and real life conversations. LOL, just kidding, I don’t have real life conversations. On the year, Verlander has a 4.50 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 21% K, 10% BB, 9% SwStr, and 1.2 HR in 68 IP. I dug into the numbers and here are the findings:

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5/25/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

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Leading Off: A Follow Up

• An addendum to the Buy Low Hitters show

Strategy Section: SP ERA Leaders

• Alex Wood
• Ervin Santana
• Zack Godley
• Mike Leake
• Derek Holland
• Jason Vargas
• Michael Fulmer

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We decided to push the waiver wire pod this weekend for the holiday, but I wanted to write up a little something about pitchers to keep an eye on tonight.

TWO-START ARMS

Shallow:

• Matt Moore – v. WAS, at PHI
• Jeremy Hellickson – at MIA, v. SF
• Jordan Montgomery – at BAL, at TOR
• Chris Tillman – v. NYY, v. BOS

Moore has been rounding into form a bit over his last four starts with a 3.28 ERA and 21 Ks in 24.7 IP, but he does have a 1.49 WHIP and I might be careful with that Washington start. Hellickson has a 1.7 K:BB and 1.6 HR/9 so I just can’t see starting him anywhere right now. I like Montgomery, but he’s been markedly worse on the road with a 16% K rate and 1.3 K:BB, compared to 27% and 3.4 at home. I’d probably start Tillman if I have him, but I’m not sure I’d seek him out on a waiver wire.

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Sonny Gray | 3.34 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 23% K, and 7% BB in 29.7 IP

Gray has only made five starts, but he’s looking as sharp as ever. He missed all of April, but he certainly looks health right now. His velocity is at a career-best 93.4 mph (94 w/the four-seamer; 93 w/the sinker). Here’s what else I’ve seen in the stats and video of his last two starts:

• He’s using the sinker more than ever and working both fastball iterations down in the zone at a career-high clip, too.
• His fastballs are down in the lower third of the zone 52% of the time and they are fueling a career-best 59% groundball rate.
• The slider has always been a weapon, but it’s been a plus-plus monster and generated 9 of his 11 strikeouts on Wednesday.

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Chat transcript is below. Lots of Dinelson Lamet questions, so be sure to check out Jeff’s Quick Look at him, too.

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5/25/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer
• @enosarris
• @jasoncollette

Leading Off: Question of the Day

• Which surging vet do you trust most: Jason Vargas, Ervin Santana, or Mike Leake? (4:10)

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