Week nine is in the books and there was no No-Hitter, no No-No, no games where baseballs were not hit. Is it too early to presume we’re trending back to normalcy!? Probably not but we’ll see what happens. Also, my prediction of Yusei Kikuchi throwing a No-No never came to fruition, hell, he did not even end up making two starts last week, but ya’ win some ya’ lose some. He still had a quality start and should be rostered in all leagues at this point. If only the Mariners could play the Mariners it might have happened. This week’s No-No prediction comes from a young buck by the name of Dylan Cease, we shall speak on him later.
A few noteworthy news items are, Noah Syndergaard being shut down for six weeks due to elbow inflammation. If you were stashing him you can drop him for the time being. Also, the long-awaited return of Framber Valdez to the mound happened and he looked good. He’s still building his pitch count up but I’m expecting a return to the pitcher he was last season very soon. Other Astros Related news, Jake Odorizzi made his return Saturday, one day after Valdez. He also had an encouraging start. If you Have room to roster him he’s worth a shot. Also, Corey Kluber will be making an extended trip to the IL.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the men and women who have served this country and those who currently serve this country. This weekend is in your honor. With that said let’s play ball!
THE MUST STARTS
1. Tyler Glasnow TB: (6/1 @ NYY)(6/6 @ TEX)
– I thought about Trevor Bauer here. Ultimately the Texas matchup was the tie-breaker.
2. Trevor Bauer LAD: (5/31 vs STL)(6/6 @ ATL)
– Opponents are hitting .145, need I say more.
3. Shane Bieber CLE: (vs CHW)(@ BAL)
– Not exactly sure what the tribe has planned with back-to-back double headers, Bieber could start one of them Monday. If that doesn’t happen he’ll go Tuesday. In any event, I believe he’ll get 2 starts this week. And after what he did to the Tigers last week, a start against the Orioles has me salivating.
4. Corbin Burnes MIL: (5/31 vs DET)(6/6 vs ARI)
– Burnes walked an uncharacteristic 3 batters in his last start. Maybe he’s coming back to earth a bit but he’s still a stud. A 0.65 WHIP blows my mind whenever I see it. Also, these matchups are tasty too boot.
5. Carlos Rodon CHW: (5/31 @ CLE)(6/5 @ DET)
– Enough can’t be said about the season Rodon is having. He’s been lights out and he’s coming off two back-to-back 10+ strikeouts performances. These matchups can not get any better.
6. Joe Musgrove SD: (5/31 @ CHC)(6/5 vs NYM)
– Musgrove ran some deep counts in his last outing but he still pitched extremely effectively in 4.2 IP. I love these matchups for him this week.
7. Jose Berrios MIN: (5/31 @ BAL)(6/5 @ KC)
– We know who Berrios is at this point. His numbers this year fall right in line with his career numbers. Two great matchups this week make this an easy play.
8. Jack Flaherty STL: (5/31 @ LAD)(6/6 @ CIN)
– He’s having an excellent year. And although his last start was his shortest outing of the year, there is nothing to worry about and he should get back on track this week, even with a matchup against Trevor Bauer and the Dodgers Monday.
9. Dylan Cease CHW: (6/1 @ CLE)(6/6 @ DET)
– He tied the season-high for swinging strikes in his last start. Also, He’s averaging the highest RPM’s on his fastball and his slider. Higher than any other pitcher on BOTH pitches. This could blow up in my face, but with these delectable matchups, I’m all in on Cease this week.
10. Michael Pineda MIN: (6/1 @ BAL)(6/6 @ KC)
– Pineda has outproduced my expectation for him this year. I didn’t think he’d be bad by any stretch of the imagination, that’s just how much he’s surprised me. These matchups leave little doubt in my mind to expect anything different from him this week.
11. Marcus Stroman NYM: (6/1 @ ARI)(6/6 @ SD)
– Stroman has a strong floor, I expect that floor to be evident in this week’s matchups. 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 K’s sounds right.
12. Sonny Gray CIN: (6/1 vs PHI)(6/6 @ STL)
– Hey Sonny Gray, got his first win, hip hip hooray! I must say, He’s looked good in the month of May. Okay, I got that out of the way. I couldn’t help myself, Seriously I have no issues with these matchups, the Phillies are injury-riddled and strike out a ton and the Cards do not strike any fear into me at all. I’m starting him without question.
13. Rich Hill TB: (5/31 @ NYY)(6/5 @ TEX)
– He’s not over the Hill just yet. The vet had his best start of the season and what was probably the best start of his career (though I don’t care to look). He went 8 innings allowing 2 ER’s and a whopping 13 K’s. Though I don’t love the Yankees matchup, I do love the Texas matchup and that’s enough to have him in the must-start category.
THE QUESTIONABLES
14. Stephen Strasburg WAS: (6/1 @ ATL)(6/6 @ PHI)
– In his return from the IL last week, Strasburg’s MPH on his Fastball was down over 3 MPH from where it was in 2019. This can be forgiven, given the fact he’s been injured most of the year but it’s something to keep an eye on. Regardless I’d like to see him get on track before he can be started. I’m sitting him this week.
15. Domingo German NYY: (6/1 vs TB)(6/6 vs BOS)
– German has had himself a really good month of May. In 5 starts his line is 30 IP, 8 ER, 6 BB, 28 K’s, 0.93 WHIP, and opponents batted a measly .206 against him. These are two tough matchups but both are at home and German is riding a hot streak so I’m starting him.
16. Kyle Hendricks CHC: (6/1 vs SD)(6/6 @ SF)
– Hendricks April/May splits are wildly different, May being the better of the two months. With that said, even though I don’t really care for the matchups all that much I’m still starting him while he’s hot.
17. Luis Garcia HOU: (6/1 vs BOS)(6/6 @ TOR)
– The kid has been really impressive so far in his rookie season. In his last start against the Dodgers, he got his first quality start. That’s no small feat for a guy just getting his beak wet in the majors. Given the matchups, if you want to start him in points leagues only that’s understandable, but I’m rolling the dice on the young buck and starting him in all leagues.
18. Vince Velasquez PHI:(5/31 @ CIN)(6/6 vs WAS)
– I’m really not sure how Velasquez is doing it, or what the reasons are behind his success but the man is pitching well. I’ve heard rumblings that he’s stopped shaking off the catcher and is letting them finally start calling the game, is that the reason? I’m not sure but these are two decent matchups and again I’m riding the hot hand and starting him.
19. James Kaprielian OAK: (5/31@ SEA)(6/6 @ COL)
– The rookie has had a really solid start to his career. His best start being his last against Seattle where he went 7 shutout innings with 2 hits but only 4 strikeouts. He gets Seattle again on Monday which has a lot of potential, but the at Coors field start scares me a bit. Again I’ll roll the dice because he hasn’t looked bad yet. I’m starting him.
POINTS LEAGUES ONLY
20. Mike Minor KC: (5/31 vs PIT)(6/6 vs MIN)
21. Merrill Kelly ARI: (5/31 vs NYM)(6/5 @ MIL)
22. German Marquez COL: (6/1 vs TEX)(6/6 vs OAK)
23. Johnny Cueto SF: (5/31 vs LAA)(6/6 vs CHC)
24. Garrett Richards BOS: (5/31 @ HOU)(6/5 @ NYY)
25. Nick Pivetta BOS: (6/1 @ HOU)(6/6 @ NYY)
26. Dane Dunning TEX: (6/1 @ COL)(6/6 @ TB)
NO THANK YOU
John Gant STL: (6/1 @ LAD)(6/6 vs CIN), Joe Ross WAS: (5/31 @ ATL)(6/6 @ PHI), Trevor Williams CHC:(5/31 vs SD)(6/5 @ SF), Logan Gilbert SEA: (5/31 vs OAK)(6/5 @ LAA), Jose Urena DET: (5/31 @ MIL)(6/6 CHW), Chris Flexen SEA: (6/1 vs OAK)(6/6 @ LAA), Drew Smyly ATL: (6/1 vs WAS)(6/6 vs LAD), Matt Peacock ARI: (6/1 vs NYM)(6/6 @ MIL), Jorge Lopez BAL: (5/31 vs MIN)(6/5 vs CLE), Will Crowe PIT: (5/31 @ KC)(6/6 vs MIA), Jeff Hoffman CIN: (5/31 vs PHI)(6/5 @ STL)
