Super Duper!
Mitch Haniger, OF, Oh God: *Vomits uncontrollably* *Still* Replacement: Who does this white bread Garrett Cooper (7.2%) kid think he is anyway? Well dating back to May 15th he has 28 hits, 19 runs, 5 HRs, 16 RBI in 86 ABs. He’s firmly entrenched as the Marlins #2 hitter right now and is really making the most of it. He’s not some spring chicken either — he’s a 28-year-old career minor leaguer who has always had a solid hit tool hitting .305 AVG/.371 OBP across 1,640 minor league ABs. He has 15-20 HR power, absolutely no speed (think: negative stolen bases somehow,) but he’s a great fill-in option who isn’t going to kill your ratios.
Robinson Cano, 2B, Quad: The 36-year-old Cano might finally be breaking down. He came back from his last DL stint, played one game, and got hurt again. Father time makes fools of us all. Cano was struggling to the tune of a .238/.284/.366 slash line before getting hurt and hurt again so I don’t believe he’ll have much value for the rest of the year. Replacement: With Addison Russell out of action himself David Bote (5.4%) has been getting a good chunk of his starts and is making the most of them. In his last 51 ABs he has 19 hits, 9 runs, 4 HRs, 15 RBI and 1 SB. Bote is performing better than Russell so maybe he deserves to stay starting over Russell.
Kevin Gausman, SP, Foot: I always think plantar fasciitis is just warts, but obviously it’s not. This foot arch injury sucks and will linger and take a long time to heal. But you better watch out, you better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why: Dallas Keuchel’s coming to town! Woah-oh! Replacement: Dakota Hudson (16.4%) had some really weird opening starts in April. His first five starts he couldn’t pitch out of the 5th inning and had a lot of crooked numbers in his ledger. Since May, however, he’s made 7 starts and 6 of them have been of the quality variety. He has a 26:18 K/BB ratio in those 41+ innings, but is somehow still keeping runners from touching home so we have to give him some credit. The 3.70 ERA/5.02 FIP different makes me very nervous, but maybe that was from that awkward April? As of tonight’s game he’s again thrown 5 innings allowing only 1 ER with 5 baserunners and only 4 Ks.
Domingo German, SP, Hip: The new Severino said this injury was bothering him for three starts and I’d say it showed. First 55.1 innings: 2.60 ERA. Last 14.2 innings: 8.59 ERA. Early reports are that the MRI “looked good.” I’d expect a cautious approach and not expect to see German for 2-3 weeks. Replacement: Pablo Lopez (11.5%.) We all ran for the hills after Lopez allowed 10 hits, 10 runs, 3 HRs in 3 innings against the Mets back on May 10th. However, he showed a lot of guts facing off against them a week later and shutting them out allowing only 1 hit, 2 BBs and notching 7 Ks. Good on him for making adjustments. His next start was another bit of a stinker pitching only 3.2 innings and allowing 4 ERs to the Nationals. However — his last three starts? Three straight impressive six-inning performances allowing only 14 base runners, 2 ERs and tallying 19 Ks. Sure one game was against the San Francisco Giants, but two of them were against playoff contenders the Brewers and Braves.
Jordan Lyles, SP, Hamstring: I have a feeling Lyles has been nursing this injury since mid-May. In his first 8 starts, he threw 47.2 innings and only allowed 10 ERs with 52 Ks. In his four most recent starts he’s thrown 18.2 innings and allowed 16 ERs. This isn’t a tear or sprain or strain or anything crazy so he might just take a week or two off to recover and hopefully be back at it. Replacement: Anibal Sanchez (12.6%) makes the cut again. Look, I don’t want to believe in a guy whose ERA from 2015 – 2017 was convenient to type but awful to own 5.67. But after last season’s 2.83 you have to take notice. In April of this season, Anibal was looking more like his 2015-2017 self allowing 21 ERs in 32 innings. In the 6 starts he’s made since then he’s thrown 27.2 innings and only allowed 5 ERs. I guess he found that 2018 mojo again.
Caleb Smith, SP, Hip: The dreaded “no timetable.” Smith has been one of the most pleasant surprises this year throwing 66 innings with a 3.41 ERA and 11.2 K/9. He’s only thrown more than 5 innings in 6 of his 12 starts so longevity has been a problem, but he’s been giving you quality in those short games even if they weren’t technically quality games. Replacement: Trevor Richards (18.6%) was a popular deep sleeper heading into 2019, but he started the year with a resounding “meh.” Nine starts, 48+ innings, 44 Ks, 4.44 ERA. Like I said, “meh.” Well he’s started cooking a bit in his last 4 starts: 24+ innings, 24 Ks, 1.09 ERA. Not too shabby.
