There was some speculation that the Mets were considering moving Noah Syndergaard (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks) to the bullpen and bringing up Steven Matz. The NY Post seemed to believe the Mets were talking about it, at least. It could be that a NY Post reporter, hiding in their usual spot inside a Mets equipment broom closet with a Solo cup pressed to the door, overheard, “Hey, should we move Noah to the bullpen and bring up Matz?” “Maybe, but I’m the front office intern and you’re the ticket taker from Gate 3C so I’m not sure our opinion matters.” “Or is that Matzers?” Then they laughed, and the NY Post reporter shot off an article detailing the discussion, but left off the sources. More respected Mets journalists thought Syndergaard wouldn’t go to the bullpen, and Dillon Gee would be designated for assignment. Gee, guess who was right. Right now, Matz has a 2.30 ERA and 9.3 K/9 in Triple-A in 78 1/3 IP. Those numbers are great, fabulous, adjective, but they get better. He’s pitching in the PCL, which is like hitting in an anti-gravity chamber with an aluminum bat. What makes Matz so damn desirable is he can strikeout out hitters and has good control. That’s the one-two punch of “Let me put hearts on my Trapper Keeper.” The Mets are saying Matz will come up around July 1st, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s called up for this weekend, so I’d stash him right now. Or if you have a DeLorean, stash him yesterday. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
David Wright – Mets said Wright could be back around the All-Star break. Mets GM Sandy Alderson said, “Realistically I’m looking at probably the All-Star break as a realistic possibility.” Continuing on to say, “He’s probably likely maybe realistically a possible possibility. And you can hold me to that.”
Jose Bautista – 2-for-4 and two solo homers, his 12th and 13th. For trading Joey Bats for Effin Stressbird, Stressbird owes me so much I can’t even close my fantasy baseball ledger.
Mark Buehrle – 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks in Metco, ERA at 4.01. On a sorta related note, this could be a potential preview of the World Series. Be pretty cool to see the Blue Jays vs. the Mets in October, if for nothing else, than to see the Mets juggle starters that will all be about 75 innings over their limit. “Jeurys Familia (1 1/3 IP, 1 ER and the blown save yesterday) will be starting Game 1 on this crisp night in Queens, after only throwing 170 relief innings this year.”
Brett Cecil – 2/3 IP, 2 ER and his 2nd blown save to go with his 4 saves. Elias Sports Bureau says that Cecil will pass Mariano Rivera’s all-time save record in 2089. I have Roberto Osuna stashed where I can, because he should be the closer, whether he will be is another question.
Kyle Schwarber – Will be called up to DH in the Cubs’ interleague serieses (serii?) from Wednesday to Sunday. Schwarber makes me garble like a racoon that just drank a Mad Dog 20/20. He so pretty with catcher eligibility and humma wubba sexy raw power. Prospect Mike said this offseason, “Baseball America tagged Schwarber as the best pure hitter and best power hitter of the 2014 draft class and Grey the biggest dope.” Wait, Baseball America said that about me? Unfortch, Schwarber will be sent back down on Monday no matter what he does, says Epstein. I believe him, plus the last big-name catcher prospect with a plus-hit tool was Swihart, so, well, yeah.
Paul Goldschmidt – 3-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 18th homer, hitting .366. Au Shizz!
Yasmany Tomas – 1-for-5 and his 3rd homer as he DH’d. “So, you’re saying I can hit and not field? This is better than the gold-leafed Cuban sandwich Fidel used to have the poorest of the poor make me for dinner!” That’s Yasmany before the game.
Ender Inciarte – Seemed to strain his hamstring trying to beat out–So, does Peter O’Brien come up? Prospect Mike, please respond to my DM. Thanking you in advance.
Robbie Ray – 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 1.09. In Triple-A, he had a 12.3 K/9 and a 5.8 BB/9. In the majors, he has around a 6 K/9 and 2 BB/9. Robbie Ray, you are as confusing as Mark Harris marrying Martha Raye. I don’t know what to make of Ray, but in deeper leagues, you need to grab him now and ask questions later.
Jose Altuve – Sat out again yesterday with a tweaked hamstring, but expects to play today. Prospect Mike mentioned on this week’s podcast that he’s concerned about Altuve since he uses his legs for his value. I agree, Altuve’s legs are important unless he’s playing the part of the Head Detective.
Corey Dickerson – Didn’t start another game yesterday. Okay, Grey’s done updating ya’ll on Dickerson. He’s going to miss multiple games this year; deal with it or sell low. Damn, Grey’s sexy when he’s forceful, but not so much when he speaks in third person. Dah!
Trevor Rosenthal – Didn’t pitch yesterday for the save (Kevin Siegrist got the 1-2-3 save) because Rosenthal was tight. I know how he feels, whenever a restaurant check comes, I get tight too. I’d stash Siegrist just in case “tight” becomes “forearm tightness” which becomes “feels good after his Tommy John surgery.”
John Lackey – 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.59. This start was vs. the Twins at home, and I streamed him. Before the game even finished, I already dropped Lackey. You need to be that cold and calculating and other German character traits.
Yadier Molina – 3-for-4 and his 1st homer. It worked! All the Molina brothers went on a hunger strike until Molina homered. Luckily, they didn’t start the strike until before the 4th inning. Okay, technically, they only went hungry for sixteen minutes.
Mark Reynolds – 1-for-3 and his 5th homer. Worth a grab since Mini Donkey has been known to show flashes of power in spurts (thankfully, I’m not saying that about Semien).
Trevor May – 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks. Was a tough matchup in Busch (again, thankfully not saying for Semien), but I like May and I’d give him a whirl for his next home start. If that one doesn’t work, then we, uh, may not want May.
James Paxton – Cleared to throw next week, then he’ll need rehab, then it’ll be the All-Star break, then someone will comment, “Hey, Grey, can you give me some mustache products that you use in August when it’s humid?” Then Paxton will return. What? My Magic Eight Ball is very specific.
Hisashi Iwakuma – Will make a rehab start on Saturday in Low-A Everett. Leading him to the game will be a college-aged sherpa. Everett and Everest have a student exchange program.
Taijuan Walker – 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks. Okay, I’ve seen enough. Grab him!
Logan Morrison – 3-for-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI and his 3rd steal as he bats leadoff, and Austin Jackson (2-for-5, 2 RBIs) hits 2nd. Jackson’s hitting, so I’m not sure this is a size of a man muscles-type thing, but Morrison hitting leadoff, and being sent for steals, is one of the more bizarre reasons that McClendon shouldn’t be fired, but his head should be donated to science.
Carlos Gomez – Scratched yesterday with leg tightness. 2015 has been the year of the CarGo as overseen by Ziggy Sobotka.
Yordano Ventura – Cleared to spar on Friday. Excuse me, start.
Lorenzo Cain – 2-for-5, 2 RBIs and his 5th homer. Get hot, you bastage, get hot!
Matt Wieters – 1-for-3, 3 RBIs and his 2nd homer. “D’Arnaud or Wieters? The answer teeters like a daffodil seen through a fractured prism.” That was Maya Angelou when she used to answer catcher questions on her blog, but applies here.
Wei-Yin Chen – 8 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.89. I’ve been more than happy with Chen, and have started him every week, without pause, in one weekly league where I own him, but, and this but is the size of Kevin Smith’s, this start was home vs. the Phils. My kingdom for every one of my pitchers starting at home against the Phils.
George Springer – 3-for-4, 3 runs and two homers (9, 10), hitting .269. Took you long enough to make me look bizzonkers for asking if you want to draft Springer or Joc in 2016. Both are cutting their fantasy chops on Rockies pitching this year. If only Arenado (1-for-4, 1 RBI) could hit vs. Rockies pitching. Sigh.
Colby Rasmus – 1-for-3, 3 RBIs and his 9th homer, after having a big game on Sunday. Hot schmotato alert!
Carlos Correa – 3-for-4, 1 run. Fly, Icarlos, fly!
Christian Bethancourt – Optioned to the minors. At least we think it was Bethancourt, but you never know with the Braavos.
A.J. Pierzynski – 2-for-4, 1 RBI as he officially becomes the Braves number one catcher. First bit of good news if you drafted A.J. Pierzynski thinking you were getting a Pollock.
Williams Perez – 6 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.29. I keep looking at Williams and thinking I’m seeing double. No, fo’reallies, I keep looking at him, wondering if I should pick him up, but roofies and danger and risk and reward and, well, obviously I haven’t yet. According to the Stream-o-Nator, his next start still isn’t great, but it’s about as good as I’ve seen him on there. In the bigger picture, he gives up a ton of walks and he’s been crazy lucky. I still can’t recommend him outside of streamers.
Juan Uribe – 2-for-4, 1 run. Yesterday, I said he was on the brink of hot schmotato’ing, and he continues to roast.
Xander Bogaerts – 1-for-4 and his 3rd homer. It makes me laugh that I actually own this guy and he only has three homers and no real speed (4 SBs). Low, soft laughter that easily could be confused with whimpering.
Mookie Betts – 3-for-4, 1 RBI. Keep asking about dropping him. It’s up to you, guys and five girl readers!
Wil Myers – Went back to the DL. Wrist injury that bothered him all of last year + a DL stint earlier this year that didn’t help him heal = Vincent van Gogh. Dah, math was close. Should’ve been “could lose his year.” In related news, Will Venable, welcome to Team Albright!
Tyson Ross – 5 IP, 4 ER, 12 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA up to 4.02. You mean, Bud Black wasn’t the problem? Strange! Yeah, in shallower leagues, I think it’s time to look elsewhere. Ross is just so bleh start after start that you can likely find better in most shallower mixed leagues. Sure, there will be times to stream him and when he looks decent, but he is not an every start guy at this point.
Jesse Hahn – 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.62. I promise you, if I had streamed him, he would’ve exploded for seven runs. I don’t know how to answer for my sins, but they are mine. Whoa, I think subliminally I just channeled Jim Bakker.
Stephen Vogt – 3-for-5, 5 RBIs and his 12th homer, hitting .281. If you own Vogt, leave him at catcher the whole year and think about how else to fix your team. Vogt is not the problem.
Brett Lawrie – 3-for-5, 2 RBIs, and has two homers in the last ten games. He’s was also hitting around .150 for the week going into yesterday, because Lawrie can’t do everything good or bad. He needs to be mediocre.
Anibal Sanchez – 9 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA down to 4.65, and now has 16 2/3 scoreless innings. Orel Hershiser doesn’t need to remove his glasses with consternation, but Anibal looks like he’s figured something out. Don’t love his next start, but he’s definitely worth grabbing if he was dropped while things were pear-shaped.
J.D. Martinez – 2-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 13th homer, and third game in a row with a homer. He’s like John Nash jotting gobbledygook on a window. He’s like Justine Bateman with Skippy and Nick at her every beck and call. He’s like me landing a Z on a triple letter and a triple word. It’s called being in the Zone.
Anthony Gose – 1-for-4, 1 run and 2 steals (10, 11), and has three steals in two games. The apprenticeship with The King of SAGNOF, Rajai, has finally ended? It’s about time.
Carlos Rodon – 3 2/3 IP, 7 ER. Pretty cool dungeon you have here, sketchy person I’ve never met before. Could you hold my Evian while I pee in that hole in the ground? *cut to five hours later* Whoa, did I fall asleep? Hey, why is my liver in a ice bucket? AHHHH!!! ROOFIE!!!
Francisco Liriano – 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners (2 hits), 12 Ks, ERA at 2.94. This start came against the White Sux, so what did you expect? Liriano is in hashtag beast mode and the White Sux are in hashtag least mode.
Yovani Gallardo – 7 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.16, and his peripherals don’t scream correction. Yet — again with some stank — YET! I don’t trust him. I flinch like a beat dog when I just look at him.
Rougned Odor – 3-for-3, 2 RBIs as he was recalled from the minors, where he was hitting .355 with five homers in 29 games. The problem with the MI slot is no one is that good, and no one is that bad comparatively. It’s like the catcher slot. Sure, you can grab him, but just remember Odor and your fantasy baseball obsession has never led to compliments before.
Yasmani Grandal – 1-for-3 and his 8th homer, hitting .272. Yadda yadda Yasmani. On a related note, the Dodgers were in an AL park with a DH yesterday, and Alex Guerrero didn’t even get a pinch hit appearance. Lucky Mattingly already divorced his wife or his managing could’ve been used against his mental state.
Mark Teixeira – 1-for-4 and his 18th homer. This was a special homecoming of sorts for Te(i)x in Miami. In attendance was both his shuffleboard and Mah Jong clubs.
Masahiro Tanaka – 7 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.49. I wonder if it’s easier to pitch in the warm weather with a torn tendon. Seriously, I have no idea, but he has been much better.
Jose Fernandez – Slated to debut on July 2nd as he’s moved his rehab to Triple-A. What seems to be happening is Fernandez looks ready to go, but the Marlins keep flipping thru the Tommy John Surgery Rehab Handbook and it says he shouldn’t be ready until July.
Tom Koehler – 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.76. I was thisclose to streaming him in this start, but, alas, my nads are lilliputian. The Stream-o-Nator doesn’t like his next start, and I tend to agree.
Derek Dietrich – 2-for-3, 2 runs and his 1st homer. It’s the star of the silver screen, Dietrich, and, for some reason, I just heard Belle & Sebastian when I wrote that. Need to shake out of that indie rock, and ask myself, get Dietrich or Dietrich tryin’? Dietrich should be platooning at 3rd base, and has some power for an NL-Only league.
Adeiny Hechavarria – 2-for-4, 1 RBI, hitting .300. This blew my mind, and I’m not sure if it says how good Adeiny has been or how bad shortstops have been, but, on our Player Rater, Adeiny has been the 8th best shortstop. Zoinks!
Stephen Strasburg – Will make one rehab start on Wednesday and could return next Monday. You have three and a half months to make things right, Effin Stressbird, stop failing me.
Gio Gonzalez – 3 1/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA up to 4.82. At least I think it went up, but he’s been such garbage, I have no idea. In deep leagues, you need to work with what you have, but in shallower leagues, you can’t keep running guys like Gio out there, especially when he’s running like a Geo.
Erasmo Ramirez – 6 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA down to 4.45, but four decent games in a row, and the Mariners giving up a prospect that haunts them like Erasmo fits the storybook ending. He’s still very risky, but I’d absolutely grab him at this point. Remember, he was a crush of mine at one point last year, because he does have great stuff.
Logan Forsythe – 3-for-5, 2 RBIs and his 5th steal. He started to cool off, and I was thinking about moving on, but I had Forsythe and held.
Joey Butler – 2-for-4, 1 run and his 4th steal, hitting .344, and the hottest schmotato in the land. Due to the return of Myers, I dropped Butler. Thanks, Myers, for making me look stupid!
Grady Sizemore – Signed a minor league deal with the Rays and will report to Port Charlotte, the prudish sister city to Port Samantha.
Evan Longoria – Left yesterday’s game after being hit on the wrist. The same wrist that caused him to miss time earlier this year. Is he going out of his way to be a schmohawk? Cause it sure feels like he is. If Deadspin said there’s a rumor that one major league player wears Pampers while they’re playing, I’d guess Longoria. Does he need someone to swaddle his wrist in a blankie while reading to him a picture book? Because I don’t have time for the caterpillar to turn into a butterfly! Move your gee-dee effin wrist out of the way, Pampers boy!
