Whats happenin’ all. I’m back again after a call to the pen. I’m steppin’ in, as I hold the pen. Lets go, lets get it. Lets begin… Friday was quite the night in honor of Jackie Robinson. There was so much I could have led off with here, Mets walking off to sweep Yankees, Slam Diego unloading on the Rockies, Gyorko store restocked, my bae Zac Gallen set a record (we’ll get to that), and Franmil ate a lot of BBQ. I love baseball. Like I said, a lot of great things to talk about but a certain rookie pitcher gave me the feels tonight in all the right ways…
Sixto Sánchez, 100mph Fastball, 99mph Two Seamer and 90mph Changeup.
Reported: Bullying. pic.twitter.com/cxD8dJitrl
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 28, 2020
Sixto Sanchez, or as I will now refer to him henceforth, The Sanchize, had himself a really good night that left me all kinds of hyped. That changeup is a widowmaker (90 mph, i.e. harder than Grienke’s FB, and it follows the same path as his 100 fastball… WUT). With a final line of 7 IP, 6 hits, 0 BB!!, and 10 Ks of shutout ball he was in control of everything—except the 2 innings he left behind. Too bad it wasn’t a doubleheader complete game. 10 Ks with zero walks was so impressive to watch the bite on his pitches. The 6 hits were scattered singles that amounted to nothing. Oh and he can also do this to you…
This is just a Sixto Sánchez stan account at this point. pic.twitter.com/PmJVYBsesK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 29, 2020
That’s just not fair. And he can locate just about every pitch. Woo, is it getting hot in here or just me… Anywho here’s what else I saw on Friday night:
Jon Berti – 2-4, CS. Woah, he can actually get thrown out? I’m shocked.
Ryan Yarbrough – 6.2 IP, 4 hits, 5 Ks. Yarb pitched a good game too with his 89 mph fastball that sat moreso around 87. Looks like he’s getting his groove back but he got pulled because of a pulled groin. So hopefully he doesn’t miss his next start because of prolonged exposure.
Diego Castillo – 1 IP, 2 runners, K, and SV. That makes 2 saves for him now, I give you the closer heir apparent in Tampa, until it changes again.
Austin Meadows – 2-4, BB, run. I’m sure he and the rest of the lineup were thrilled to see the bullpen. It probably looked like slow motion after getting beatdown by The Sanchize for 7 innings.
Manuel Margot – 2-3, BB, SB. Besides Haggerty here’s another cheap source of steals that’s available almost everywhere. Though, guessing Cash’s preferred outfield on a given day is a fool’s errand.
Zac Gallen – 7 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks. He does it again, and robbed of a win again by a crappy bullpen. That makes 22 starts in a row now to begin his career allowing 3 ER or less, the most of any rookie ever in the MLB (and he hasn’t allowed more than 2 this season). That’s some amazing consistency. And now he’s just 4 away from matching DeGrom to tie the overall MLB record of 26 starts. That’s so impressive and insanely valuable. Yet wasted on the Dbacks.
Ketel Marte – 2-3, 2 runs, hitting .318 on the season. Someone needs to put the Ketel back on the stove. As I said in the Top OF post, he’s regressed vs breaking balls hitting less than .200 off them, which was his breakthrough last season and also a major source of his power. As a result, his power metrics across the board are down.
Starling Marte – 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBIs. Marte bro #2 has also been experiencing a power shortage. Sounds like they need to go back to the castle and grab the fire flower.
Christian Walker – 1-3, 1 run, 2 RBIs. What’s crazy is him, Marte Bros, and David Peralta (1-4, RBI) are all hitting .300+ in the middle of the lineup but they can’t win games. Reason: Robbie Ray is their #2 pitcher. Ouch.
Evan Longoria – 2-4, HR (4). Hitting .391 in the last 7 days. Hot Schmotato alert.
Brandon Belt – 1-3, run, BB. Ditto.
Corbin Burnes – 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 BB, 10 Ks. Against the Pirates. Yeah, they are pretty bad. He shouted “Your welcome!” to his ungrateful teammates as he departed the mound on the way to the bench. His command looked pretty good, keep an eye on him for his next start.
Jedd Gyorko – 2-4, 2 HR (5) as he bullied the Bucs on Yeli’s day off. What a Gyork! The Brewers have been pretty bad so far offensively, but this may be the series they need to find some rhythm.
Ryan Braun – 1-3, HR (2). he’s missed a lot of games on the IL (big surprise) but now that he’s healthy (maybe), he could add some depth to the lineup and help extend rallies.
Jacob Nottingham – 1-3, 2 runs, HR, 2 RBIs. He really went ham on them. Whether its pirates or thieves, they’re all the same to the sheriff. “I’ll cut your heart out with spoon!” he boasted as he rounded the bases.
Max Scherzer – 6 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 11 Ks. Solid start by Mad Max. You wanna guess what his ERA is? no higher. 3.86, yep, I know. Grey warned you not to be careless with the “top” pitchers this season. Sad Sax. There’s comfort in the truth… I’m never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm.
Juan Soto – 1-5, HR (9), 2 RBIs. Hitting .368 since joining the season late. Now that’s refreshing.
Trea Turner – 3-5, 1 run, 3 RBIs, CS. Son of a #$%@&wla6lw230rhf. Rostering him has been so frustrating this year. Salt in the wound when you chose him over Tatis because you wanted the boost to steals. Not only is Tatis leading league, he’s got more steals than Treat right now. grrrrr.
Howie Kendrick – 2-4, HR (2). Hitting .353 in the last week. Now that’s back in the lineup, he’s picked up where he left off.
Alex Verdugo – 1-5, hitting .287 on the season. He’s like the only one giving 100% on the Red Sox and he’s fun to watch. Though, Mitch Moreland (1-3) has been doing a pretty good Just Dong impersonation this season.
Michael Conforto – 3-7, 2 run, hitting .330 on the season. He was in my post on players that start fast. This is now 3 years that he’s started the first month of the season with a high average etc. I think it’s his thing.
Pete Alonso – 1-7, HR (6), 3 RBIs, hitting .222. He was showing some signs before the COVID break. Hopefully this a small sign of things to come.
Dominic Smith – 3-5, HR (7), 2 runs, 2 RBIs, hitting .333… So what are the chances that Dom finishes the season above Pete Alonso on the Player Rater? 5-1? 3-1? Yeesh. 2020 has been so fun huh? bleh.
Michael Wacha – game 1: 3 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 Ks. The joke’s on you if you thought you could stream him against the Quad A Yankees. Wacha, wacha, wacha.
David Peterson – game 2: 4 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 Ks as he returned from the IL. Eh, not the best showing. I don’t want to mess with him until gives a good start. Which might have to wait until next season.
Amed Rosario – pinch-hit walkoff HR (3) How magical was that? Giving Mets fans that little bit of hope just to crush it in the next series.
Luke Voit – 3-7, 2 runs. Hitting .321 on the season. And your top hitter on the Yankees this year is…
Clint Frazier – 2-5, 2B, 2 runs, HR (3), 3 RBIs, hitting .314 on the season. Well, maybe the Joker makes up for lost time. I was asked about him and Tauchman yesterday. I think of the 2, he’s the more intriguing at the moment and has gone on these crazy hot streaks before. Ride the red lightning and put on a happy face.
Danny Duffy – 5.2 IP, 7 hits, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 Ks. ERA at 4.11, hmmm. He keeps sitting just at that point that you debate whether he’s usable or not. But he’s on the Royals. Good for real baseball and the Royals might consider trading him to the White Sox, wouldn’t that be fun.
Jorge Soler – 2-4, HR (8), 2 RBIs. Soler flare! Whats funny is that he is just quietly going about his business again this year and will probably end about the same, and we’ll look back that we didn’t notice it as much, except me right now.
Whit Merrifield – 1-5, HR (6). Oh, so that’s what he does now. Hit bombs. Who’s running this simulation anyway? That makes 5. 6. 7. Grace? GRAAAAAAAAAACE!?
Eloy Jimenez – 2-4, HR (11), 2 runs, 2 RBIs, hitting .322 on the season. E-joy!
Luis Robert – 2-4, HR (8), and Yoan Moncada (2-4, run, RBI) and Yasmani Grandal (2-5, HR(4))… who didn’t go 2-4 on the Good Sox, Friday?
Alex Colome – 1.1 IP, K, BS, W. His first blown save this season and a .79 ERA.
Andrew McCutchen – 2-5, HR(3), 2 RBIs. Cutch has caught fire recently. Schmotato alert!
Jean Segura – 1-4, HR(4), 2 RBIs. And J.T. Realmuto (1-5, 2 runs) also contributed.
Scott Kingery – pinch-hit HR(1), 3 RBIs, for the walk-off with 2 outs. And he’s done absolutely nothing the whole season so far. So of course Girardi sends him to pinch-hit and he comes through big time.
Zach Wheeler – 5.2 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks, with a 2.58 ERA. He’s pitched great and been great, but was robbed of the win by the bullpen.
Austin Riley – 2-5, HR(5). He’s been very meh this season despite hopes to the contrary.
Mark Melancon – .2 IP, L. He’s the one that gave up the Kingery bomb after coming in for a non-save situation. No crowd cheering, and no save, is not a closer’s natural habitat.
John Means – 4 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks. He might be a possible streamer down the stretch as he gets stretched out more. ha.
Hanser Alberto – 4-5, 1 run, 1 RBI. Hitting .331 on season. yep.
Renato Nunez – 1-3, BB, HR(7). He cooled off a little bit like Anthony Santander (0-5), but looks to be coming out of it and likely the better bet to finish higher in the end.
Hyun-Jin Ryu – 6 IP, 8 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 Ks. He’s something to watch. You want to see what an actual pitcher looks like. It’s him. Aside from the first 3 starts when he was in extended Spring Training trying to get his footing, he’s been really good and even in Buffalo. Probably one of only like 5 guys I’d trust right now to pitch there.
Randal Grichuk – 2-5, HR(9), 2 RBIs, Vlad Gurrero Jr (2-4, HR(5)) and Teoscar Hernandez (1-3, HR(12)) all went yard in this one. Grichuk with another Friday walk-off. I shall now dub these the Bleu Bash Bros.
Andrew Heaney – 7.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1o Ks. Ohhhhhh hiiiii, look who decided to show up. Hey bro, coulda used your help before we got buried in the division. I’m not bitter, I swear.
Ty Buttrey – 1.1 IP, 1 ER, SV. You don’t have to be an A$$. He gave up that 1 run just to spite me.
Mike Trout – 2-3, BB, HR(11). Where have I heard this name before…
Shohei Ohtani – 1-3, BB, run, SB. They have been practicing with him in the field some and Maddon said he looks like a Gazelle of something. 1-way Shohei in the future? Maybe. I don’t think they are quite ready to give up on the unicorn dream just yet.
Kyle Lewis – 1-4, the hits just keep coming.
Sam Haggerty – 1-4, RBI. Woah no SB? What a bum! For realz though, if you need steals go grab him.
Zach Davies – 5.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 BB, 6 Ks. He can’t be stopped. So smooth and that changeup is the real deal. He’s throwing it a good amount more (don’t have numbers on hand) and has dialed back the 4-seamer in favor of his cutter. And he’s a lot higher in the pitcher rankings than you think he is. Plus, he pitches on a good team that is winning.
Manny Machado – 3-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI. Now hitting .308 on the season. Is there anyone else on the planet hotter than him right now? I think not. I clambered on behalf of him most of the offseason, and it’s coming true. As they win, so goes him… Ugh, I’m getting tired. Can I just say that every Padre had a good night? Yep, I think I will (except Grisham, sad face). And shockingly, they scored 10 runs without a single HR. Like I said, shocking.
Kyle Freeland – 4.1 IP ,11 hits, 4 ER, 2 Ks. Phewwww! I benched or dropped him for this start. He had been dodging runs like nobody’s business, and I had tempted fate (aka Coors Field) long enough.
Raimel Tapia – 2-5, 3B. Hey, he did play after all and continues to hit.
Matt Kemp – 1-4, HR(3). I’m speechless, he and Sam Hilliard (0-3) were in the lineup at the same time. Now if only Sam would get slammin’.
Triston McKenzie – 4 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 Ks. Not nearly as efficient or unhittable as his first start, but still showed some pretty good stuff and the magical “pitch-ability”. I still like him going forward assuming he stays up while Plesac goes on another adventure with Bill and Ted while broadcasting it via TikTok.
Francisco Lindor – 2-4, 3 runs, SB. Something else shocking. Lindor finally stole his first base of the season. Its not like thats why we drafted him right? No! Put the gun down.
Carlos Santana – 2-3, HR(4) 4 runs, 2 RBIs. He’s been missing some power this year. Too much of that black magic woman.
Franmil Reyes – 3-4, HR(7), 3 runs, 5 RBIs, hitting .307 on the season. It took him forever to get going but now its finally paying off. Just like getting the right sear on a vending machine steak. Segue high five!
Brad Miller – 2-3, hitting .340. He’s been a nice AVG boost lately as well.
Mike Minor – 6 IP, 4 hits, 3 BB, 6 Ks. Okay, so nobody saw that one coming against the Dodgers. What’s going on in that new park of theirs?
Derek Dietrich – 1-4, HR(2). This could be a Schmotato alert. When he hits a HR, they usually come in bunches.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 2-4, 1 run, SB. That’s 6 steals for him. Oh 2020 you rascal.
Dustin May – 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks. Move over Carrot Top, Sixto is my new boo. He actually gets Ks with his whiffle ball gas.
Corey Seager – 2-3, BB, 1 run, 1 RBI. Hitting .312 on the season. It’s real, and it’s fantastic.
Tyler Mahle – 6.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 Ks as replaced Miley. Hello there. That is impressive. Not sure who he might face next, but its certainly worth a look. Raisel Iglesias also got a clean 2 out SV.
Jesse Winker – 2-4, HR(9) 2 runs. continued his assault on pitching with his buddy Eugenio Suarez (2-3, HR(7), 3 RBIs), who has finally decided to join us this season. And Freddy Galvis (2-4, HR) came to play too, now at 2B with Garcia called up.
Kyle Hendricks – 6 IP, 10 hits, 5 ER, 6 Ks. Was absolutely shelled… and castles made of sand crumble into the sea.
Anthony Rizzo – 1-4, HR(6) HR to the Rizzo! (did I do that right?)
Kyle Schwarber – 2-4, HR(7), and Joe Buck rejoiced along with Jason Heyward (HR) and Willson Contreras (HR)
And that’s the way it was.
If you want more Coolwhip to top-off your baseball experience, fantasy or otherwise, you can follow me on Twitter: @CoolwhipRB.
