Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Two Gems
Follow @djshort and @Rotoworld_BB on Twitter.
Watching your team go through a rebuilding process can be painful. Often, it comes at the end of a successful period of time, so you watch some of your favorite players move on or retire as the losses stack up. It’s a challenging road to go down, with plenty of fits and starts, but there’s something satisfying about watching young talent emerge while dreaming of better days ahead. Phillies fans had one of those moments Thursday.
In his home debut at Citizens Bank Park, Vincent Velasquez turned in one of the most dominant performances in recent years by striking out 16 batters as part of a three-hit shutout against the Padres. He didn’t issue a single walk and threw 83 out of 113 pitches for strikes. He struck out nine of the final 12 batters he faced and was still touching the 95-97 mph range with his fastball in the ninth inning. Oh, and he even managed his first major league hit with a single in the third inning.
Sure, we’re talking about the Padres here, but this was a truly special performance. Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the 23-year-old Velasquez is the youngest pitcher since Mark Prior (2003) to strike out 16 batters in a game. He’s just the sixth pitcher in baseball history with at least 16 strikeouts in a nine-inning shutout without issuing a walk, joining Max Scherzer, Roger Clemens (twice), Randy Johnson, Kerry Wood, and Dwight Gooden. Some pretty nice company there.
Acquired from the Astros as part of the seven-player Ken Giles deal over the winter, Velasquez owns a perfect 0.00 ERA through his first two turns in the rotation to go along with a 25/3 K/BB ratio in 15 innings. Not to rub things in, but Giles has allowed five runs (including three home runs) over 3 2/3 innings so far this season. Sorry, Astros fans.
It’s hard to say how far the Phillies will push Velasquez after he logged just 88 2/3 innings last season between the majors and the minors. This year isn’t about winning for the Phillies, so probably not very far. But Velasquez has clearly shown that he can help in fantasy leagues for however long he might go. With Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff also in this rotation, the future is looking bright for Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, things keep getting worse for the Padres. They have now been shut out in five out of the 10 games they have played this season. That’s not a good ratio.
Editor’s Note: Don’t whiff on this special FanDuel offer: win your first contest or get your money back (up to $10) to keep playing. Try FanDuel now!
Garcia’s Greatness
Vincent Velasquez didn’t have the only dominant performance on the mound Thursday afternoon. In fact, Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia was even more stingy in his start against the Brewers, throwing a one-hitter as part of a 7-0 victory at Busch Stadium.
Garcia didn’t quite match Velasquez in the strikeout department, but he was still plenty good, whiffing a career-high 13 batters. He walked one batter and the lone hit was a single from Domingo Santana with two outs in the sixth inning. He induced 13 ground balls in the victory and needed 104 pitches to go the distance on his fourth career shutout and complete game. It was his first in either category since 2011.
If you go by Bill James’ Game Score metric, Garcia and Velasquez both check in at 97. This is the first time two outings with at least a Game Score of 97 (hat-tip to Christopher Kamka) have occurred on the same day since May 18, 2004, when Giants right-hander Jason Schmidt struck out 13 in a one-hitter against the Cubs and Diamondbacks left-hander Randy Johnson threw a perfect game against the Braves. We actually saw seven 97-plus Game Score starts last season, so pitching continues to be the story around MLB.
Garcia doesn’t get a ton of attention in fantasy circles, partially because he doesn’t have the big velocity and strikeout rate, but also because health has been an issue for him. The 29-year-old made just 16 starts between 2013-2014 due to shoulder issues and hasn’t thrown more than 129 2/3 innings in a season since 2011. It’s hard to count on him to make it through the entire year healthy, but he’ll churn out mixed league value as long as he’s active. He owns a 3.29 ERA for his career. Per our own Drew Silva, he has a 2.43 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over his last 144 2/3 regular season innings.
Rockie Road
Charlie Blackmon proved his 2014 breakout was the real deal last season, but the Rockies and fantasy owners will have to make do without him for a little while, as he landed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a case of turf toe in his left foot.
Blackmon was removed from Wednesday’s game in the eighth inning after suffering the injury on a slide into second base. He has dealt with the issue in the past, including a stint on the disabled list in April of 2012. Even if this trip to the disabled list is just a minimum stay, he’ll be sidelined until the end of April.
With Blackmon out of the lineup, Rockies manager Walt Weiss started Gerardo Parra in center field Thursday while putting DJ LeMahieu in the leadoff spot. Ben Paulsen has curiously been blocked by Mark Reynolds in the early part of the season at first base, but he made the start in left field Thursday. We’ll take whatever we can get in fantasy leagues, especially when the alternatives in the outfield are Brandon Barnes and Ryan Raburn.
NL Quick Hits: Bryce Harper slugged a grand slam Thursday versus the Braves for the 100th home run of his career … Buster Posey (foot) went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his return to action Thursday against the Rockies … Stephen Strasburg made it back from the flu Thursday and allowed two runs over 7 2/3 innings while striking out seven as the Nationals finished off a four-game sweep of the Braves … Jacob deGrom (lat) could hit the disabled list if he doesn’t feel improvement in a bullpen session Friday … Jeremy Hazelbaker continued his hot-hitting Thursday versus the Brewers by going 2-for-5 with his third homer … Sergio Romo was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a flexor strain in his elbow and won’t throw for at least two weeks … Randal Grichuk launched his first home run of the season in Thursday’s win over the Brewers and has driven in five runs over his last three games … Joe Panik sat out Thursday’s game with a sore hip, but is expected to return to action Friday … Jason Hammel fired six scoreless frames in Thursday’s win over the Reds … Justin Turner (hand) was held out of Thursday’s lineup, but said he’ll be ready to go Friday … Wily Peralta gave up five runs in five innings Thursday against the Cardinals and owns a 10.13 ERA through his first three turns in the starting rotation … Brandon Crawford left Thursday’s game with a hip flexor injury and is questionable for Friday … The Cubs plan to activate Javier Baez (thumb) on Friday … Zack Cozart (quad) expects to return Friday against the Cardinals … Mark Reynolds doubled twice and knocked in three runs in Thursday’s win over the Giants … Jonathan Villar (ankle) has missed back-to-back games, but is expected to return to action Friday … The Pirates signed veteran right-hander Justin Masterson to a minor league contract … Phillies Rule 5 pick left-hander Daniel Stumpf was suspended 80 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs … Enrique Hernandez went 2-for-3 with two RBI, a walk and a run scored in the Dodgers’ victory …
AL Quick Hits: Josh Donaldson slugged his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot, as part of a win over the Yankees on Thursday … Adam Jones (rib cage) was back in the Orioles’ lineup Thursday for the first time in a week and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts … Danny Salazar struck out nine batters over six scoreless innings Thursday in a win over the Rays … Marcus Stroman allowed two runs over eight innings in Thursday’s win over the Yankees … Jordan Zimmermann fired six scoreless innings in a win over the Pirates on Thursday … Brian McCann (foot) went 1-for-4 with a single in his return to the lineup Thursday … Rougned Odor went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in a win over the Orioles on Thursday … Ian Kennedy allowed just a solo homer to Jose Altuve and struck out seven batters over seven innings in a win over the Astros on Thursday … Mat Latos allowed just one run over six innings in a win over the Twins on Thursday … Nick Castellanos homered, doubled, and knocked in four runs versus the Pirates on Thursday … Pablo Sandoval was expected to undergo an MRI on his shoulder on Thursday … Because the 0-9 Twins need more bad news, Byron Buxton exited Thursday’s game against the White Sox after being hit on the left hand by a pitch. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative … Avisail Garcia homered, doubled, and scored two runs Thursday against the Twins … Rajai Davis went 3-for-5 with a home run, a walk, and two stolen bases in Thursday’s win over the Rays … The Red Sox are planning to activate Christian Vazquez (elbow) for Friday’s game against the Blue Jays … Logan Morrison was hitless in four at-bats Thursday against the Indians and is now batting just .069 (2-for-29) on the young season … Erasmo Ramirez could make a spot start against the White Sox on Saturday … The Twins signed veteran outfielder David Murphy to a minor league contract …
