Stream, Stream, Stream: 2x SP 7.7-7.13

First a look at the running totals through half of week 13:

25-14 record
3.93 ERA
7.4 K/9
2.7 K/BB
1.27 WHIP

On a side note, this is the last #2xSP before the All Star break. So I hope you enjoy the festivities — played in my home city of Minneapolis — and we’ll see you again in a couple weeks.

Here’s a look at this week’s recs, with team wOBA in parentheses:

Jake Odorizzi – 7.8% ESPN/16% Y!/57% own, 33% start CBS – v. KCR (.306), v. TOR (.334)

It didn’t start out so nice for Odorizzi this season. At the end of each month so far this season, here’s how his ERAs have laid out: 6.85, 5.13, 4.14. That steady climb is something that has Odorizzi still unowned in far too many leagues, and this week, you should reap the benefits. It’s been about a month since Odorizzi had a truly ugly start — June 5 v. MIA: four earned in five innings, but eight strikeouts and no walks — and since then he’s 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and an opponents’ line of .186/.252/.310. The 24-year-old has really been able to hold it down to a single blow-up a month, and not letting it linger past that single start. It’s been a rough year for the last place Rays, but Odorizzi should qualify as a bright spot.

Mike Leake – 33.4% ESPN/42% Y!/76% own, 55% start CBS – v. CHC (.297), v. PIT (.321)

A nice thing for Leake this season has been a strikeout spike (6.9 per nine is a career high), which has taken him right onto the cusp of league average in that regard. That pairs nicely with Leake’s always-strong groundball rates, which this year have also peaked at a solid 54.2 percent (11th among 93 qualified starters). The only real change repertoire-wise for Leake has been dumping the cutter and change a bit for more sinkers and sliders. The sinker carries a 62.4 percent groundball rate, while the slider has been by far his best swing-and-miss offering (22.0 percent). This is a good time for a career evolution, as Leake is free agent-eligible after next season.

Jarred Cosart – 5.2% ESPN/12% Y!/49% own, 34% start CBS – @TEX (.310), v. BOS (.307)

Cosart was roughed up last time out — six earned in 5.2 innings versus the Mariners — but prior to that had been on a streak of 12 straight starts of three earned runs or less. That amounts to a 7-3 record, 2.70 ERA, and .254/.318/.332 opponents’ line in that time frame. The 47-27 K/BB rate in that time frame (5.5 K/9) still isn’t all that encouraging, but it’s still a step up from last year’s sub 1:1 K/BB rate. As long as he keeps pumping gas (93.7 on his beloved cut fastball) and limiting the walks (down from 5.3 per nine last year to 3.7 this year), his evolution should be a fun one to watch.