Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Greinke Domination
The Summer of Greinke keeps rolling along, with the Dodgers’ starter extending his streak to 43 2/3 scoreless innings after throwing eight shutout innings on Sunday. He went toe-to-toe with fellow NL Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer, beating the Nats to improve to 9-2 with a 1.30 ERA and 0.82 WHIP.
The streak is obviously unsustainable for the long term, but fantasy owners have still enjoyed six consecutive scoreless starts and wins in four consecutive outings. The question is just how much longer Greinke can keep up this level of performance, and what can we expect for the balance of the season?
Greinke is showing the best control of his career, with a 1.4 BB/9 and K/BB ratio of well above 5.00. His 11 strikeouts on Sunday also boosted his strikeout rate, though it’s unspectacular at 8.0 K/9. That’s an important note considering he’s allowed only 87 hits. Greinke’s opponent batting average on balls in play was .233 before Sunday’s game, showing him as the second luckiest starting pitcher in baseball behind Chris Young. Greinke has still helped himself by keeping the ball in the park and holding runners, but his ERA indicators such as FIP and SIERA show an expected ERA closer to 3.00.
Greinke deserves his props and should remain a quality pitcher the rest of the way, but this is as good a time as any to sell high on a pitcher with a career .305 BABIP who has had a sub-.280 BABIP just once prior to this season. Regardless of where and when this scoreless streak ends, the smart money is on Greinke’s rest-of-the-way ERA hovering closer to 3.00.
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Keuchel Extends AL Cy Young Lead
While there’s some debate regarding the frontrunner of the NL Cy Young at this point, there’s no debate in the AL. Houston ace Dallas Keuchel continues to fire on all cylinders, and had one of his best starts of the season on Sunday vs. Texas. Keuchel threw seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks, and striking out 13 batters. He’s now 12-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.
The lefty’s dominance has been fun to watch, with his K/9 increasing from 6.6 last season to 7.9 in 2015 following Sunday’s start. Of course, the most impressive part of Keuchel’s game is his superb groundball rate, with a groundout-to-flyout ratio near 3.00 for the second consecutive season. Keuchel allowed only 51 extra-base hits last season, and that number is on pace to be much lower this season, currently standing at only 25. Like the aforementioned Greinke, Keuchel has seen some luck with a sub-.260 BABIP this season, but his ERA indicators still show a sub-3.00 ERA pitcher. Keuchel will look to continue his dominance this week at Kansas City.
Saladino Steps Up
The White Sox have collectively had the second least production in baseball at third base , with their myriad of hot corners hitting only .229 with a .629 OPS. They’ve addressed the issue in recent days by installing Tyler Saladino. They’re apparently going all-in on Saladino after designating Conor Gillaspie on Sunday.
Saladino hit his first career home run in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game, and he batted second in the White Sox order. The 25-year-old is now hitting .308 in seven games, and he has a six-game hitting streak.
It’s hard to blame the White Sox for playing the hot hand given how anemic their offense has been all year, but fantasy owners should temper expectations based on Saladino’s minor league track record. He hit only .255-4-29 in 52 games at Triple-A Charlotte this season. His biggest strength is actually his speed, with 25 steals in 27 attempts in the minors this season and three consecutive seasons with 20-plus steals. While he did post an impressive .850 OPS last season at Triple-A, Saladino is a career .261 hitter with a .746 OPS. He’s spent most of his time at shortstop and projects as a utility infielder, though AL-only owners can certainly find some help in his speed as long as he’s playing.
American League Quick Hits: The Twins are hopeful Miguel Sano will be able to return in 3-5 days as he nurses a sprained right ankle … Chris Carter (ankle) is feeling better, but won’t start running until Tuesday. Jonathan Singleton continues to see regular at-bats in his absence … Nick Castellanos left Sunday’s game with a contusion to his cheek bone and hyper-extended ring finger … Justin Verlander continues to struggle, allowing seven runs in 3 2/3 innings on Sunday … Aaron Sanchez (lat) will be activated this week to serve as a reliever … Asdrubal Cabrera (hamstring) will resume baseball activities this week … The Yankees optioned Rob Refsnyder to Triple-A in order to make room for Carlos Beltran’s activation from the DL … Jason Vargas (elbow) will rejoin the Royals rotation on Tuesday … Nick Swisher (knee) will begin a rehab assignment at Low-A Lake County on Monday.
National League Quick Hits: Freddie Freeman’s timetable for a rehab assignment seems to have been pushed back after an MRI showed fluid in his injured right wrist. He took 30 swings at 50-75 intensity on Sunday … Arizona placed Chase Anderson on the 15-day DL with right triceps inflammation after a rough start on Saturday. Anderson’s ERA has ballooned to 4.37 after an excellent start to his season … Jaime Garcia (groin) will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday. Tim Cooney pitched well in Garcia’s rotation spot on Sunday … Jordan Walden (triceps) is hoping to begin a rehab assignment this week … Travis d’Arnaud (elbow) could begin a rehab assignment this week … The Cubs designated Edwin Jackson for assignment in only the third season of his four-year contract to make room for Rafael Soriano. The former closer could pitch in a setup role for the Cubs … Yasmani Grandal left Sunday’s game after taking a foul tip to the mask. X-rays were negative on his jaw, and he hopes to avoid the DL … Justin Upton was removed from Sunday’s game with a sore left oblique, but the injury is considered minor … Michael Cuddyer left Sunday’s 18-inning game with a sore left knee … Carlos Martinez’s next start will be pushed back after he threw four innings in relief during the Cardinals extra inning game on Sunday … Jordy Mercer is believed to have suffered a serious knee injury in Sunday’s game, and is headed back to Pittsburgh to have the injury examined … Ryan Zimmerman went 1-for-2 and played three innings at first base during his rehab game at Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday … Giants backup catcher Andrew Susac was placed on the 15-day DL with a sprained right thumb.
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