Boxscore Bits: June 10th, 2022

A few thoughts on the pitchers from Thursday’s games:

FOR STARTERS

Business As Usual: Nothing actionable

• Shane McClanahan, Shohei Ohtani, Max Fried, Logan Webb (just 3 Ks, but that has sadly been the norm)

Notable Gems: The standouts who merit some extra attention

• Miles Mikolas – 8-inning complete game with a season-high 9 Ks! It’s essentially Business as Usual for Mikolas, but I wanted to spotlight the strikeout spike. He now has a 9% or better SwStr rate in his last five outings after a 7% mark in his first six. With a 9-10% rate, he can post a 20-22% K rate which isn’t elite but would be a career high.
• Tyler Mahle – Three straight gems at home! I was at the point where he was an auto-sit at home with a career ERA over 5.00 there, but he is going off right now. He has allowed just 4 ER in 18.7 IP with 24 Ks and 7 BB (1.02 WHIP). He has allowed just 2 homers, too, which is good for a 0.96 HR/9, well below his 2.0 career HR/9 at home.
• JT Brubaker – There are flashes from Brubaker including this gem on Thursday and his last 2 starts at the end of May (11.7 scoreless IP). He gets at STL next week which is no better than a deep league stream right now. He needs to cut the walks or hits (preferably both, but at least one would certainly help the WHIP) because we know the wins won’t be there on Pittsburgh so we need useful ratios to go with his strong K upside (23% K, 11% SwStr).
• Trevor Rogers – The WHIP was a bit high (1.40), but this was a gem, especially given the season Rogers is having so far. We’ll take the 3.60 ERA, 5 Ks, and win! The changeup was the best it’s been all year generating 7 swings-and-misses and resulting in 3 Ks. He gets a trip to PHI next week. I’d take a shot in 15s for sure, it’s team-dependent 12s and below where I’m leaning sit if I have a viable option.
• Zach Davies – Back-to-back quality starts and his 5.3 IP/3 ER v. LAD before that wasn’t too bad, either. He gets a visit from CIN next week which is streamble in 12s or deeper depending on your situation.
• Austin Gomber – Great outing, but I’m not sure anyone was starting him after 17 ER in his last 6.3 IP. He had been pretty good before that, but those kinds of outings sting and he dropped two in a row.

Decent Enough: Mostly biz as usual but with some commentary

• Corbin Burnes – Saved by 2 of his 3 runs being unearned as the Phils ran him up for 113 pitches in just 4.3 IP. As bad starts go, we got off easy especially with the 8 Ks softening the blow.
• Dylan Cease – Similar to Burnes where he allowed 6 unearned runs and had 110 pitches in just 4.7 IP. He even matched Burnes’ 8 Ks, but since he didn’t allow any earned runs, they were bonus as opposed to necessary to soften a bad start. I considered giving him a gem since it was 4.7 IP/0 ER, butttt that’d be a bit misleading in terms of how well he pitched. He survived against the Dodgers.
• Nick Pivetta – He had been rolling (1.79 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 20% K-BB in 45.3 IP) so a lot of people likely used him for this start, especially with the Angels on their losing streak. It wasn’t great but the 11 Ks definitely salvaged it.
• Zach Eflin – Meh. Eflin only allowed 1 ER, but it was 4 IP with just 2 Ks. Didn’t hurt you.

Duds: The worst of the day from fantasy relevant arms

• Gerrit Cole – A career high 5 HRs saddled Cole with the worst start of his career by Game Score at 14. Just an out-and-out nightmare start. The velo and spin were fine and he didn’t leave with any injury so I think it’s one of those we just eat and move on. I didn’t get to see this so perhaps someone who did can illuminate whether or not we should be concerned. I’m still starting him v. TB next week.
• Stephen Strasburg – Sitting at just 90.3 mph, Strasburg looked rough in his season debut. He did string three scoreless innings together in between the 3-run 1st and 4-run 5th, but that’s not enough to generate any excitement. He did have 5 Ks, but just a 7% SwStr rate in 83 pitches. He gets a 2-step next week, but it’s v. ATL and PHI. Good luck!
• Tyler Anderson – The overall struggles of the White Sox probably obfuscate the fact that they are the best offense against lefties by wRC+ with a 133 mark (ATL in 2nd at 125). Anderson’s scoreless innings streak did reach 28 before the White Sox got to him for 4 ER in 3 IP with just 2 Ks. This is just a blip and I’m easily starting Anderson next week even with a matchup v. LAA.
• Konnor Pilkington – Things have gone from bad to worse for Pilk streamers. He was originally slated for a 2-step v. TEX & OAK but then got moved all the way to Thursday. He then put up a pretty bland outing and now has at COL on the slate next week! Even if they push him back, it would still be at LAD.
• Jordan Lyles – That’s now 3 straight duds (8.16 ERA) which should be enough to snap people back to reality with him after some early stream appeal in deep leagues.

FRIDAY FAAB

Heading to the weekend, I’ll give a few names to consider in FAAB for the weekend. I will try to give a name or two for many league sizes:

Shallow

• Garrett Cooper | MIA, 1B/OF (34% Y!, 15% ESPN) – Cooper has 12 multi-hit games in his last 15, posting a .460/.500/.683 line with 2 HR, 14 RBI, and 9 R in 70 PA. He is now up to a 147 wRC+ on the season and has been a great hitter throughout his career (123 wRC+) with injury usually being his primary roadblock to a full-scale breakout. He might finally be having it at 31 years old. The Marlins have him batting 2nd consistently, too.

Medium

• Graham Ashcraft | CIN, P (43% OC, 31% Y!, 16% ESPN) – The 14% K rate will keep some away, but I’m drawn in by the 98 mph sinker, 61% GB rate, and 6% BB rate. He has also shown double-digit SwStr rates in his last two starts (12%, 13%), suggesting more Ks could be coming as he settles in as a big leaguer. His start at STL on Sunday will likely play a big role in his FAAB price this weekend. Unless it’s a total meltdown, I’ll still have some interest with a start v. MIL next week.

Deep

• Jack Suwinski | OF, PIT (36% ME, 3% Y!, 1% ESPN) – Suwinski has another couple homers this week, pushing his total to 8 in his first 128 PA. He does have too many Ks (27%) and a poor OBP (.289), but this is why he’s on the wire! The 23-year-old outfielder has a .244 ISO and his .235 AVG isn’t too bad given the context of batting averages today, plus he’s chipped in 2 SBs! If he pushes that .263 BABIP up some, then we could see a boost in AVG as well. Suwinski has batted 3rd in three of his last five games and no lower than 6th in six games this month.

OC = NFBC Online Championship (12-tms)

ME = NFBC Main Event (15-tms)

DRAFTKINGS GAME

• I do a few DraftKings games throughout the week and I’ve got a $5 gm setup for Friday if you’re interested, click here to play!