When Chuck conceived his son Daniel Norris, he was working on set in Asia with Mrs. Norris still living in the US! Â Wait, did that make any sense… Â I’ll leave the Chuck Norris jokes to the frat boy posters…
Traded to the Tigers along with another nice upside pitcher Matt Boyd, Detroit got some pretty good arms for a rental and they wasted no time throwing Norris right into the rotation. Â And that’s with 12 walks over his last 21 AAA innings! Â But throw caution to the wind, don’t look both ways before crossing, run with the scissors and see what ya got, amiright?!
I had Norris all the way to 61 right before the season, getting a little too rookie nookie and slack-jawed at his Minor League stats.  He wasn’t awful through 5 appearances with the Blue Jays pitching his way to a 3.86 ERA, but he was a little too wild and his pitch counts got out of hand.  So with the move to a better ballpark and to a team ready to unleash him right away, I decided to break down his debut with the Tigers to see how he looked:
First Inning: Norris’s first pitch is 90 MPH fastball taken by Manny Machado that hits the edge as he semi-bluffs bunt to get up 0-1.  Another fastball out there gets the call 0-2 then a high heater at 92 gets Machado swinging for a 3-pitch, all fastball K to start the day.  Wow.  Newly acquired Gerardo Parra takes 91 just outside, 91 again is outside, 88 MPH I think little cutter on the inside edge gets Parra to swing through it 2-1, fastball is fouled off, Norris’s first off-speed is a hanging curveball way high, then 90 MPH gets Parra to swing through it for back-to-back Ks.  Neither looked absolutely overpowering though, just well-placed 2-strike heaters.  Then the first pitch to Adam Jones is a 92 MPH fastball on the outer edge, he rolls it over to third and it’s a pretty quick inning.  Nice start!
Second Inning: Chris Davis opens the second taking a fastball high, 1-0. Â Norris gets 3 runs of support and can settle in taking a lead. Â 89 is just high, 91 is high, and ruh roh. Â Norris needs a Scooby Snack. Â 89 paints the outside corner, 89 again in the lower half is fouled back, and Norris fights it back to full. Â Payoff pitch is 89 again fouled off – not loving seeing 89 MPH instead of 91-92 in the first. Â Then Norris throws another fastball and 89 is at Davis’s chin for a bad leadoff walk. Â Yikes. Â 88 is high and tight to Matt Wieters, then 90 a little high is fisted off the hands to center for a bloop single. Â Unlucky hit there. Â So runners at first and second with no outs, and J.J. Hardy tries to bunt the first pitch and Norris makes a Sportscenter Top-10 play Supermanning it for the first out:
I know I’ve only GIFfed pitches to this point, but I couldn’t help it! Â Then the first pitch to Jimmy Paredes is a 92 MPH fastball on the outside edge that is chopped to short for an inning-ending double-play. Â Runners at first and second with no outs, to 3 outs in 2 pitches! Â Plus got that velo up – sure for only one pitch, but nice to see. Â Norris needs to make a diving play every inning!
Third Inning: Still up 3-0, Norris is high to Jonathan Schoop, then Norris’s best change-up so far is grounded pretty routinely to third, but Nick Castellanos boots it for a leadoff error.  Then in the weirdest scoring decision I’ve ever heard, they give Schoop an infield single.  That’s preposterous and I could see that getting amended in the next round of score sheet changes MLB does every week.  Anyway, tough-luck runner at first and Nolan Reimold takes 92 in the zone, 92 just off the edge is slapped foul, then 0-2 is a nice 84 MPH change-up that gets a very weak squib off Reimold’s bat and they get the leadoff runner for the first out:
Back to the top and Machado takes a hanging curveball outside, and Norris hasn’t found that bender yet. Â Then one of Norris’s best fastballs is 92 on the low outside edge that is flied to right for an easy second out:
Sure not strikeouts, but those were two of his best pitches just GIFfed. Â Every time I say that it sounds dirty… Â Anyway Parra takes a breaking ball just high – almost looked like a slider and was his best one on the day – then 1-0 is 92 on the hands, and somehow Parra is able to turn enough on it for a hard hit to first, but Alex Avila makes a nice play like it was a fastball in the dirt and steps on the bag for the third out. Â That was the first hard contact so far!
Fourth Inning: Norris opens the 4th with by far his best breaking ball, dropping this 83 MPH beaut in there to Jones for strike one:
Fastball outside gets a check-swing foul, 0-2. Â Another good curveball out there at 77 MPH is tipped foul, and curve again dropping all the way down to 75 MPH is flied weakly to center for the first out. Â And wow, 92 on the hands absolutely blows Davis away for strike one, then Norris is just outside at 93. Â Ever since that dive on the Hardy bunt, Norris has looked pretty dominant. Â Curve stays barely high 2-1, then I absolutely jinxed him – Norris tries a heater on the hands again; this one at 90 MPH and right down the middle, and it’s launched to right center for a mammoth HR. Â I knew Norris gave up a homer going back and breaking this start down, but I didn’t know when! Â Can you jinx something in retrospect? Â Hah, Wieters takes a hanging change outside, 91 MPH is just inside, 2-0 is a gorgeous change-up dropping in there 2-1, then another good change gets a routine grounder to third, and Castellanos doesn’t boot this one for the second out. Â Hardy takes a nice 93 MPH fastball in there for strike one, then 93 again is off the edge and Hardy lifts it to right for an easy flyout to end the inning. Â Gotta keep that velo at 93 and on the edges, Norris, none of this 90 MPH right down the middle shizz!
Fifth Inning:Â Now with a 6-1 lead, Norris is outside to Paredes, 88 MPH is way high, and ruh roh – looking like the beginning of the 2nd. Â 87 MPH is in there – maybe a cutter but some lower velo here, then 81 is high 3-1. Â 89 blows Paredes away, deception getting em right now, then 88 high and tight gets Paredes swinging and he loses his bat as it helicopters into the Tigers dugout:
Yikes! Â Not a big velocity pitch, but Norris had Paredes swinging out of his shoes. Â Curveball to Schoop is outside, again curve is high and outside, 91 in the zone fouled off, then 85 MPH change-up on the outside edge is a routine bouncer to short for the second out. Â Then oh man – another great change-up gets Remiold well in front for a swinging first strike, fastball at 92 outside – nice to see velo back up – 91 on the outside edge is swung through and missed, one of Norris’s best curves at 75 goes low and inside sweeping through the zone but it’s taken, 2-2 is a low heater, then 3-2 is a change-up that sneaks into the inside corner for strike three called. Â Reimold didn’t like it, but it’s Norris’s 4th K.
Sixth Inning: Hanging curveball to Machado starts the 6th with a ball well high, then a hanging curve or change-up at 82 at the letters is popped out in the infield for a quick first out. Â Fastball that looked good to me is outside to Parra, then heater again on the hands is another pop to short for two quick outs. Â 92 MPH is high to Jones, 92 again blows Jones away in the zone, then 93 gets a lazy pop to second for three infield pop outs on 7 pitches to get through the sixth. Â Wow.
Seventh Inning: 67th pitch is 92 MPH a tad high and outside to Davis, Norris misses again outside, fastball fouled back, 2-1 hanging curve stays high, and man that pitch just hasn’t been there. Â Then 91 on the hands gets a mile high pop up to right for another easy out (it was in the sun that made it a little iffy for J.D. Martinez, but he has it just fine). Â Yikes, another bad hanging curve to Wieters 1-0, change-up that looked good to me is called inside I guess 2-0, then fastball on the hands is yet another pop out to short, two down. Â 5 straight pop ups. Â 93 is outside to Hardy – man good to see the velo still there late – a great 92 MPH fastball paints the outside corner, 1-1 curveball barely misses outsdie, finally a good one, then a 2-1 cutter gets one of the weirder ground outs you’ll see as it dies a mere inch or two in front of the plate for an easy third out.
Eighth Inning: Norris is back out there at 80 pitches and there’s a little slider that gets into the zone for strike one which is good to see a breaking ball in there to Paredes, fastball popped back just out of play, then 92 at the eyes is swung through and missed for Norris’s 5th K.  91 is well high to Schoop, then an 86 MPH change is chopped perfectly between third and short for a single.  That wasn’t hit too hard, but Norris is still going to get taken out, with a pretty impressive debut win for his new club.
Final Line:  W  7.1 IP  84 Pitches (50 Strikes)  1 ER  4 Hits  1 Walk  5 K  Gamescore: 70  Gamescore+: 72.6
Final Analysis: Wait, who had efficiency issues again?! Â Norris mowed through the Orioles lineup needing only 84 pitches to get 22 outs, and really only had two hard hit balls all game. Â Even with the mediocre Ks, the weakly inducecd contact and lack of walks gave Norris a favorable Gamescore+.
I really wish Norris’s fastball was more consistent, as it usually sat 91-92, topped out at 93, but fell into the 89 range as well. Â That Davis homer was absolutely murdered on a 90 MPH fastball right down the middle, after he was hitting 92-93 the previous few. Â Fangraphs has his avg fastball at 91.3, but with a little seasoning, I could see Norris getting his delivery a little more repeatable and climb to 92ish. Â His main off-speed is a fantastic circle-change, that had great sink and movement. Â Usually I hate seeing a guy avg 91.3 on fastballs and 85.1 on change-ups – you like to see something closer to 10 MPH of differentiation – but Norris’s change is dynamic enough to work at that speed. Â But he really struggled with the off-speed. Â He hung virtually every slider, which I couldn’t even tell if it was a hanging slider or curveball. Â The curve had some nice looping sink at times, but was equally as inefficient. Â Norris was able to get though with nice fastball deception – just look at that last GIF – and his change-up working.
So what to make of Norris? Â On the one hand, he just threw 7.1 innings while only giving up two hard-hit balls – a homer to Davis and one sharp groundout. Â On the other hand, we saw some really inconsistent fastball velocity, nearly unusuable breaking stuff, and he’s only 22. Â I saw enough to have him crack into the ranks, but I’m not losing a quality starter or burning a streaming spot to solely hold Norris in standard leagues. Â But there’s some big upside here for dynasties as he moves into a much better pitcher’s park.
JB’s Updated Top 100 SP
(rankings for ROS based on 12-team Roto, green for risers, red for fallers)
Dropped Out: A.J. Burnett, PIT (admitted he might’ve thrown his final pitch), C.J. Wilson, LAA (also with elbow issues that could cost him the year), Mike Bolsinger, LAD (send to AAA… Yikes…), Drew Pomeranz, OAK (returning to bullpen)
- David Price’s career HR rate at home (mostly TB, a little DET) is 0.71 per/9, while 0.94 per/9 in virtually the same innings on the road. Â He’s had about a league average HR rate through his career in great pitcher’s parks, and while I’m certainly not panicking, he goes down a smidgen.
- Certainly no start-to-start concern for Carlos Martinez, but as we wind down to the final two months here, an innings limit concern doth linger.
- Yikes, Noah Syndergaard couldn’t be any better. Â But even with the Mets pushing for a playoff spot, there’s no way they let him throw over 200 innings combined in AAA/Majors. Â In redraft, he might be my favorite sell-high just because they’re going to skip him here and there.
- Man, I dunno how I went from a high Jason Hammel rater, to too low a month or so ago in a few comments, to too high after his minor hamstring tweak. Â Wasn’t dominant or anything last time out, but looked fine!
- Love the move for the two new Dodgers. Â Man, I cannot flip flop more than on a pitcher like Alex Wood… Â Maybe his move to the other side of the rubber had one bump in it before really working last time out, and now gets a big O to help get some wins. Â Not going too high though.
- Uh oh! Â Brewers bias alert… Â Jimmy Nelson has looked phenomenal his last two starts. Â I added where I could. Â Coincidentally, he ended up at 52 – his number and my lucky number! Â Go Jimmy!
- I was surprised I didn’t get more flack for keeping Justin Verlander in the ranks when he finally got off the DL, but I’m not buying these last two games as much as I’ve seen other rankers. Â Worth a flier though.
- Let’s do this Luis Severino! Â Awesome numbers in AAA and with Pineda hurt, has got a chance to stick – maybe until the end. Â Very excited.
- With C.J. Wilson possibly done, it assures Matt Shoemaker will stay in the rotation, and he’s pitched better.  I had him out the past few weeks thinking he’d lose his spot, but it’s looking good now.
Thoughts on Chuck Norris’s son? Â And what do you think of the ranks? Â Hopefully I didn’t miss any other pitchers changing teams, it was a nuts deadline! Â Happy final two months of pitching, Razzball Nation!
So Norris can now go from living in a van down by a river to living in a van down by Lake Superior because that’s life in Detroit? Suuu-per.
@Clint: Haha, I’m sure he’s doing a little better with the $$ than that, eh!
@JB Gilpin:
You didn’t read this story about him early in the preseason? Kinda remarkable even though it just reminds me of Chris Farley’s Matt Foley character for obvious reasons.
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12420393/top-blue-jays-prospect-daniel-norris-lives-own-code
@Clint: Hah no I didn’t see that one! I’m reading it now, this is fan-friggin tastic!
@Clint: Quite an article, what a unique guy. Amazed he is still allowed to live that lifestyle by the Jays FA and still play and get paid for professional sports. Good on them.
@Swfcdan: Hopefully the Tigers let him do his thang too!
Just the guy I was looking for. Need something to pass the day till 5 pm, thanks for the entry.
Then pops up capps news. I have him in a daily lineups league with K/9 where he is very valuable. I need to drop Morrow or Burnett. 5×5 roto dynasty (30 mlb.20 milb) we keep everyone.
Who you dropping? Burnett or Morrow?
Thanks for the help
@John: Yo thanks for reading! Yeah just saw the Capps news too, bummer, had him in a few leagues. Ugh, no faith in either. I guess Burnett, I think he’s done. Any time!
I’m in a H2H Dynasty points league with deep rosters. I’m rebuilding for next year. The teams competing this year want my Crush Davis. I’m looking at 3 SPs. How do you rank these 3, this time next year – Urias, McCullers and Gioliot?
Thanks!
@alex seber: Dynasty I think I go that order. Especially with rebuilding, Urias is my #1. Giolitto is very close to McCullers, but I think since McCullers is up now and doing pretty well, he gets a slight edge. Any time!
@JB Gilpin: McCullers should be nowhere near those guys! He has started to get found out now, Giolito and Urias are absolute stud blue chip prospects. Who cares if McCullers is up earlier, you’re looking at the long run and they both have true ace like potential. I actually prefer Giolito the most, he has a much better body build for a long acelike career. Park factor is also in the other two favour, though its a smaller issue.
Don’t normally question your responses ever man just thought this one was friggin nuts! :)
@Swfcdan: weren’t you on a Mike post a couple of weeks ago trumping up the very opposite of this, that “proximity is often trumping factor”? i do agree giolito a lot more valuable than cullers cullers cullers though.
@What’s a Drexl?: Nice Pod (or maybe just Grey writing) reference! I’ve just been really impressed by McCullers, I don’t think giolitto wins anyone the title next year, McCullers could help some
@alex seber: Urias..Urias…Urias
@Swfcdan: @alex seber: Well, “long run” I think should include next year also. Joe Ross should take Fisters spot thennnn, ya know when does Giolitto help? 2017 for sure? And he’s had some injury things.
Question away! Without good debate we don’t ever rethink things! I think McCullers having one bad game getting chased before 1 innings doesn’t mean “he’s getting found out” either. Was absolutely fine the 6 starts before that
Hey JB/Razzball Nation –
I posted last week about shoring up my pitching going into the playoffs – here’s the staff:
SP – Arietta, Fiers, Degrom, Jaime, Gausman, Peavy, Taijuan, C-Mart, Severino (picked up)
RP – Holland, Britton, Carson Smith
DL – Chase Anderson, Weaver
You said you wouldn’t be too concerned about the staff going forward, but of course with C-Mart’s impending shut down, I’d be losing one of my most consistent starters.
I sent out feelers on a C-Mart and 2nd Round Pick (actually 10th round due to keeper rules) for Greinke, and got an affirmative. Should I pull the trigger?
@NickfromtheRoc: Should’ve mentioned H2H 5×5. Standard categories….
@alex seber: Urias..Urias…[email protected]NickfromtheRoc: take it
@NickfromtheRoc: Whoa, not much to shore up with Arrieta/deGrom/CMart! But yeah, CMart scaling back innings hurts.
I think I have to do that one! So you keep 8? Cmart is probably your 7th or 8th, but I think greinke should be that for you another 5 years as well
@JB Gilpin: Awesome – thanks guys! Keeper rules are 7 plus a rookie in year of first appearance, so C-Mart would be a fringe keeper. Appreciate everyone being so willing to help out….
@NickfromtheRoc: What we do in Razzball nation!
@NickfromtheRoc: take Greinke
Is Daniel Norris the illegitimate love child of Daniel LaRusso and Chuck Norris?
@Scott: I was thinkin Daniel boone with that beard he’s sporting!
@JB Gilpin: Fo’reals!
My SP is a 10 team H2H keeper
Kluber
Cole
Arrieta
Hammell
Syndergaard
T Ross
Corbin
Have a bid in on Severino, but should I sell on Syndergaard (great keeper) to grab someone like Price? Like you mentioned, worried about the innings limit for the playoffs. Thanks!
@Bocephus: Yeah if you’re goin in for now, I certainly would. Price has to be ahead of Syndergaard next year too, so i think it helps short and medium term
OK to trade away Daniel Norris to get a similar priced Quintana in a keeper league?
@Nelson: Sure I would do that! Quintana much better now, and I don’t know if Norris projects to be a full ace
Imagine if Latos’ wife had married Patrick Corbin instead.
@Scott: Hah, she’d be Dallas Corbin! I don’t know if it’s backwards that she’d get the right multi-pass…
@JB Gilpin: alas, Grey missed another cable run of 5th element lately.
@Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey: DAMMIT GREY! I’m texting him every time here on out…
someone is offering me hanley, and I have johnny peralta right now for SS, should I try to make a trade with him by giving him peralta and an additional pitcher.
how high should I go on my pitcher to get hanley or should I just keep prelate
my pitchers are fires, quintana, nelson, hendricks, shoemaker, jon gray, and henry Owens that I am willing to give up from who i think is best to worst.. also he loves keepers and young players so I could try to give him those guys
@Paul: Man I can’t buy COL guys. Totally fine going for Peralta/Gray for Hanely – always good to know your leaguemates like that! I’ve used that to help my main team a ton
@Paul: Hanley actually hasn’t been good since May. With the Red Sox tanking do you think he’s going to turn it on all of a sudden?
@Zeus: Yeah I think his upside is worth the gamble, even with Hanley having some dings and not playing as well, numbers for the two are similar and I think they keep playing him to give him LF experience if they’re sticking with that
Okay….okay….This CMART innings limit stuff has me officially spooked….great….how can you innings limit a guy you need if you want to go to the WS? Skip starts? 5ip per game?
So would you try to move him and pick up Jimmy Nelson who won’t be available for long in 14 team h2h? I love CMART but…
It didn’t work out for the Nats…didn’t make the WS that year limiting Stras and he STILL ends up being injury prone after….
@greg: Ugh yeah it’s not encouraging for sure. Skip starts I think is the most likely scenario, plus rarely have him go over 100 pitches.
H2H, so playoffs coming up, yeah I’d try to move if you can get good value and Nelson looks great lately.
Hah yeah it didn’t, a little different for Stras though since he was off TJ vs a guy never throwing this many in his career
Always enjoy the rankings JB. Glad you profiled Norris, was wondering how he “really”did cant always just go by stat lines lol. Surprised Gausman didnt get moved up after 2 solid starts…whats your synopsis on him ROS?
I’ve been hit yet again by the injury bug…the hits just keep coming. Freeman is back DTD and lost Kipnis for at least 2 weeks. Betts wont be back for a week and it seems Stanton and Springer are healing slowly as possible. I need a 2nd baseman as no one is eligible on my roster. Here’s my roster:
5×5 12 Team HTH w/ OBP
Bats
C McCann
1BFreeman(DTD)
2B Kipnis(DL)
3B Santana
SS Aybar
OF Pollock
OF Calhoun
OF Cepesedes
OF Eaton
Util 1B/C Grandal
Util Soler
Util Sano
Bench SS Alexi Ramirez
Bench 1B/3B Olivera
DL Betts (DL7)
DL Springer
DL Stanton
Staff
P Kluber
P Cole
P Bauer
P Salazar
P T. Walker
SP Odorizzi
SP Corbin
RP Chapman
RP Britton
Bench RP Melancon
Bench RP Miller
Bench SP Lackey
Ok so Alexi has been hotter than Aybar lately so my most obvious drops imo are Aybar and Olivera. I could add Semien, Jace or Phillips to fill in at 2nd. I like Semien because he can cover 2nd, SS, and 3rd but he’s been the least productive lately. Jace 2B/SS has had 2 big games back to back but he’s so streaky and had been pretty cold in July, finally Phillips doesnt offer their multi-positional eligibility and is also very streaky. My intial thoughts were to cut Aybar for Semien and possibly drop Olivera for Gausman( call me crazy but I think you may have to move him up quite a bit before too long). But what says you? Is Gausman wworth the spot based on my current staff and whos the right add/drop on O?
@Eric B: Yeah he didn’t look too sharp, why watching as much as you can can help! It’s impossible to watch everyone… And speaking to that, haven’t seen gausman lately, but worried a dud is coming due to inconsistency this year. Maybe he has to be the one next week!
Ugh Freeman to DL… Luckily Betts is probably soon. I think with injuries you can’t afford an Olivera stash. Aybar can go too. I’d nab Phillips and probably Gausman too for the upside, losing Aybar and Olivera
@JB Gilpin: Thanks buddy, listened to your latest pod cast with Grey. Pretty funny stuff, although I noticed I definitely have more of a Carolina /Southern accent than you do lol. Guess that’s why you’re on podcasts and I’m behind a keyboard lol.
Dropped Olivera for Gausman after listening to the pod cast. Alexi has finally come to life, hopefully he doesnt nose dive as soon as I drop Aybar. The injuries are freaking killing me, I’m still in 1st but it hasnt been easy. I am still a little torn on the 2nd base fill-in. Jace has been red hot, I’d scoop Semien up in a heartbeat if it was the Semien of April and May, DeShields heated up for a few games and then went back to obscurity. Alex Guerrero is also out there but I imagine he goes back to playing sparingly when Turner gets healthy. So Phillips probably makes the most sense, Freeman right back on the DL sucks but at least Santana and Yasmani have 1B eligibility.
@Eric B: Haha thanks for lisetning man! Ya my parents are from oklahoma and michigan, not exactly a southern background ha.
Ya Phillips is my guy, Jace is close though. Hopefully Freeman can be back in 15
@JB Gilpin: OK JB so when I first started this chain Freeman was just day to day. Now that he’s on the DL and Betts isnt back from the 7 day yet I’m one bat short even after adding Phillips. So do I roll one bat short and wait for Betts? I also have no bench bat even when Betts returns so I kinda feel like I need one. Only thing is I’d have to drop Gausman (who I just added at Olivera’s expense) to add a bat)Semien has shown some life, hit a HR and had 3 RBI last night. There’s him, Jace, Avisial and Maybin on the wire. Whats the move my fellow Carolinian?
5×5 12 Team HTH w/ OBP
Bats
C McCann
1BFreeman(DL)
2B Kipnis(DL)
3B Santana
SS Alexi Ramirez
OF Pollock
OF Calhoun
OF Cepesedes
OF Eaton
Util 1B/C Grandal
Util Soler
Util Sano
DL Betts (DL7)
DL Springer
DL Stanton
Staff
P Kluber
P Cole
P Bauer
P Salazar
P T. Walker
SP Odorizzi
SP Corbin
RP Chapman
RP Britton
Bench RP Melancon
Bench RP Miller
Bench SP Lackey
Bench Gausman
@Eric B: Yikes, yeah injury crushing you… As did effin Corbin yesterday for both of us… Luckily they yanked him before it got uglier. I’d indeed have to lose Gausman and play matchups between Jace and Semien. Braves get MadBum tonight, I’d get Semien!
@JB Gilpin: Ha, yeah Jace vs Madbum is no bueno.Thanks for the advice as always!
General consensus is that Ross is leaving the Nats rotation once Stras comes back. But, if you’re a team trying to win the division, how the hell do you send him down and keep Fister in the rotation? Fister has been pretty horrible (by nearly all metrics) this season.
Sincerely,
Disgruntled Joe Ross Owner
@BambooLounge: Yeah that consensus seems loud, but I kept Ross in a decent spot hoping they go 6 man. Totally agree Fister needs to be axed, but I doubt they will
@JB Gilpin: They shocked us all. Does Ross move up next week? He’s looked pretty good, but the innings cap has me a bit worried of course.
@BambooLounge: Wow, yeah shocking indeed! Ross is going wayyyyyyy up. Innings cap is a little bit of a concern, but if they are that worried, you’d imagine they would just go 6 man instead of demoting Fister. I think Ross goes close to the duration – huge move up next week
Hey JB,
After the McCullers drubbing and subsequent demotion, could you give any insight on where you would rerank him (if its changed at all)?
Thanks!
@J: In retrospect I should’ve dropped him further with an innings limit concern as it was… I do think he’s back up soon. But he does take a massive hit. Probably 70s
Jaime Garcia 56? When healthy, he’s consistently solid. Doesn’t go deep into games and isn’t great at Ks, but Whip always great and never gets blown up. Too low.
@Brian: He’s only reliable to start 10 games per year, if anything he’s ranked too high.
@Brian: @Fungazi: Hah, I think he’s just right in the middle! “When healthy” is the tough one. even though we only have 2 months yet, he’s had two injuries already this year and I don’t know if he makes it to the finish line
@JB Gilpin: and one of them was something as simple as running the bases, and for the next 8 days STL pulled their usually b.s. about how he wouldn’t need a DL stint, and then missed about a month. pitcher version of tulo. has anybody noticed that only reason this year that tulo hasn’t been hurt yet is he’s getting off as many days as if he’s a catcher? i finally own him somewhere, and it’s like at least 2 days a week.
@What’s a Drexl?: Hah yeah that groin saga was crazy…
Interesting point on Tulo, I’ve actually neve rowned him in any league I think for his career, until getting him on two this year. Although one league is a joke and I stashed Correa a week or two before callup, so either way my SS is fine! I should probably trade, but I’m running too far away with it to care…
Tell me something about this kid Tyler Duffy of the Twins. In deeper leagues a 2 start v Tex and Clev both in Minny. Sneaky play? Any pedigree? Facing the Jays in Toronto this week. Baptism under fire. If he pitches half way decent @ Toronto, he’ll be the next hot WW pickup next week. Ok to stash?
@Chucky: Won’t lie, pretty off my radar and only knew the name. Looking at his numbers, not great Ks in AAA and seems to be a little lucky stranding runners, keeping his ERA down in AA/AAA. As a righty, don’t like the TEX start. I’d have to wait and see what he looks like at TOR before nabbing him this early.
I like seeing your rankings and analysis. I have built a couple of nice pitching staffs in my redraft leagues but have been a little less confident in my keeper league. 15 team roto and we must keep two pitchers. I have Arrieta (#10) which is an obvious choice but then I will eventually need to choose between bipolars Corrasco (#23) and Salazar (#26). Should I be shopping for a better option or do you think your rankings pass over to next year?
Thank you for all your time and work!
I own the both of them and theyre both 500 pitchers as far as Im concerned. When theyre on their game they dominate. Unfortunately that’s not even the case when theyre on the plus side of 500. If you can trade those two for a #1, Id do it. Theyre still young, throw hard and either or both could be the next Chris Archer.
@Sport: Thanks so much man! Yikes, every CLE pitcher has been mad frustrating this year! I’d probably try to shop. Right now I’d have to take Salazar for a keeper league, but mad close. Especially if you’re not in the running for a title, I would def shop both of them to make a better SP keeper.
@Chucky: Hah yup they could! Or turn into, I dunno, Ricky Nolasco – a rankings darling who had some great unhittable stretches early on for the Marlins
Is Pinada droppable in 10 team redrafts? His periphs are so good but his results have been so bad. And now this. Blah
@VanBurenOG: Yup for sure! I kept him just barely in the ranks because it looks like he could be back within 3-4 weeks and I think *could* be good enough when back in that stretch to be meaningful, but def droppable if no DL room
@JB Gilpin: thanks man! Your rankings are the best!
@VanBurenOG: Thanks so much!
What’s good JB? I was big on Norris in the pre-season, drafted him late and hung onto him for a couple cups of coffee, but meh. His boxscore on Sunday looked good, as you said, but I’m not touching him (outside for spot starts) in shallow leagues for the rest of 2015. I think he’ll be in the Top-50 equation come 2016 though.
I ask you about my SP staff every week, so let’s not change anything. 10-Teamer…I got Sale, Lester, Carrasco, Zimmerman, Samardzija, Salazar, Corbin and a streamer slot. I got another owner who needs steals on the hook for Cespedes. I give up Revere and one of my SP for Cespedes. Just haven’t figured out which one. Samardzija probably? Thanks as always.
@Peter Nincompoop: Yup me either. Really inconsistent, in both FB velo and breaking stuff.
Haha, consistency is king! Yeah I think I like that deal! Samard is so frustrating. Maybe I would do it with Zimmermann too, but I don’t think I’d give any one else up, even though I don’t have Corbin too high in the ranks. His rank has a slight fear of early shut down built in
Is it time to drop samardzjia? Could pick up latos or just a streamer spot. He’s really not helping me that much. His only positive trait is that he throws deep into games so once in a while he’ll have a really solid game but he’s usually a 7 IP 4 k 4 ER kinda guy.
@Vogt or Die: Ugh, yes very close. H2H Pts, I might keep him, but any other format ya give me Latos! I’ve got it ranked that way as well :)
Don’t be scared of the Rogers homerdome, Price is a stud!
No pitchy Q this week instead a strat one. Been offered Donaldson ($32) for Crawford ($3) and a prospect in my keeper. Obviously a buyer/seller type deal, would like to do it as I have MI depth anyway and it’s for use at Utility (yeah built a nice lineup!) but takes me an agonising $3 over my cap argh. Now I could drop Latos/Wood and make the deal (borderline in a 10 teamer, dont really need em), but that would leave me a player short. Can’t find an additional swap that dumps some salary, would you consider doing this? Has any team ever won shorthanded (this aint hockey) haha.
@Swfcdan: Not scared! And he’s def still a stud, 11 is still a stud for me.
Hah, yeah teams can win shorthanded all the time! I love the phrase “flags fly forever” and this is Brandan Crawford right, not prospect JP? Either way I think I have to do it, and be fine losing Wood who I don’t trust this year
@JB Gilpin: Oh yeah Brandon, having a mega year for a SS. So you’d be happy losing Wood (ay!) and upgrading from B Craw to J Don for Util? I do love the Don this year, and he could be in for a sick sick ending to the season (homering pretty much every day right now haha, have him on my other team and have a massive man crush).
@Swfcdan: Yup that’s a big upgrade! Don’t love losing Wood, but it’s certainly worth that upgrade. Lose Wood to gain some wood looking at your O!
@JB Gilpin: Yeah obviously Crawford could also be a great keeper if you are a believer which Iam (could be $9 through ’17) so im giving away keeper value too. But goddamn I am tempted to do it, though Wood was beter last night apart from bullpen idiocies. Gah cant decide!
@JB Gilpin: Did it and swapped Cole ($6 through ’16) for Keuchel ($1!) to get me under the cap. With their respective contracts I prefer Keuchel to Cole anyway, and it’s tomato tomahto this year. Love it! You down with it too?
My O now (ok 10 teamer but still):
Martin
Tex
Wong
Donaldson
Tulo
Crush
Cano
Blackman
Cain
Cruz
Juptown
Hunter Pants
Prince
Can I say cargando (loaded)!
@Swfcdan: While Crawford is a great keeper, you’re getting an elite Donaldson! Glad you did it. Whoa, nice cap move there! Looking awesome man – CARGANDO!
When are we going to start dropping Felix in the rankings? I’ve watched a decent amount of his starts and he is just NOT the same. Seems to have started after he had ankle issues at the early part of the season. Maybe I’m just expecting too much, but I feel there is something else going on, maybe health-wise. Just a hunch based on a non-expert’s observations…
@The Lurve Guru: Hmmmm, interesting. He had that 7 ER back to back games then bounced back for a while. Also last start was in Colorado, which is always tough. The ARI game he gave up two homers to Wellington Castillo… Meh, seems fluky. One more blowup and maybe he’ll fall a few, but the few times I’ve seen him he’s looked like vintage Felix. Def keeping it under some extra monitoring for pointing it out!
@The Lurve Guru: he has innings where he just walks a bunch of dudes, something is not right, no matter what city that’s done in.
@goodfold2: @The Lurve Guru: His walk rate is up over the past two seasons, but still isn’t *bad*. He got away with higher walk rates earlier in his career. Although I do see he’s throwing a lot less sliders and more curveballs. Not sure the takeaway there, I don’t think curveballs stress your elbow any less than a slider, but I’m no doctor – I’M JUST A POOL MAN
jinxing something after the fact makes exactly as much sense as any other type of jinxing.
@goodfold2: Hah touche!