Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!
We’ve got roughly 24 hours to go until the (non-waiver) MLB Trade Deadline hits!
Here’s hoping your favorite teams don’t unload too much talent and get little to nothing in their returns (Yes, I’m looking at you Blue Jays management).
Are your fantasy teams about to get a boost as one of your Top 100 Starting Pitchers lands on a contending team with a healthy increase in run support? Or are you one of those AL or NL-only managers feverishly updating the MLB trade tracker to make sure that you haven’t lost your rotation anchors in a cross-league deal?
We’ll get to some of the names that you may be pumped to see changing teams right around our dumper and jumper section that follows the list today.
But is there one name this week that stands out as a big mover over the past few weeks? I mean, he was one of the guys I outlined in the jumper section last week and in the It’s July 1st, Eh? article.
At the risk of re-using a pun that has likely been run through a few times in different places over the past couple of weeks, methinks it is time to address the ascension of a certain young Ray…
The Rise Of Taj Bradley over the past few weeks has been nothing short of amazing.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the 5th round selection (#150 overall – 2018) by the Rays has quickly developed into one of Tampa’s most lethal arms.
The 23-year-old came into the 2024 season as the Rays’ top prospect and has posted an impressive line through 14 starts.
81.1 IP, 55 H, 22 ER, 27 BB, 97 Ks, 2.43 ERA, 1.008 WHIP?
In the words of the ancient philosopher Shrekistotle…”That’ll do, Donkey. That’ll do.”
As good Taj has been all year, it’s his most recent stretch of nine starts that has shone brightest upon the eyes of us fantasy baseballers.
Over that time, Bradley has 5 wins, a 10.64 K%, a .224 BABIP, and a very impressive 0.49 HR/9 rate.
He throws 4 pitches but relies heavily on a 95 MPH heater with an equally powerful splitter.
How good are the two offerings? Have a look for yourselves.
Taj Bradley, 95mph Fastball and 91mph Splitter, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/Xl3OrF65hd
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 25, 2024
Good luck.
The 3 HRs allowed over those 55 innings are the biggest boon for those who roster Taj, with the 65 Ks coming in as a close second in the ‘thank goodness for those stats’ department.
Are his walks finally under control? Well, in a word, no. The 18 walks over that short stretch calculate out to a 2.95 BB/9, so the Rays budding ace still has some work to do on his command.
BUT…If he had enough innings to qualify for the MLB rate stats, that 2.95 BB/9 would have Taj nestled in just below Cole Ragans’ 2.91 BB/9. Yep. That’s good enough for a Top 50 SP ranking.
If you’re in a keeper league and looking to reload for the future, I’d be trying to package a few good pieces into a trade offer for Taj Bradley.
Allowing 5 ER in 55 innings is a recipe for ratio relief, that’s for sure. And if you’re an advanced metrics enthusiast? Well, Bradley’s FIP over that span checks in at a pretty outstanding 2.47.
I know I’m here for the Rise of Taj. But how far will he “rise” in our Top 100 Starting Pitcher rankings this week?
As always. before we get to the list, I need to plug a couple of things for y’all first. If you want to check the spot I usually have open when flipping through my information on Sunday afternoons, you’re looking for that Player Rater leaderboard. This is always a great resource to use if you’re doing research. A bit of this, and a splash of that goes into the prep work for our weekly Top 100 Starting Pitchers list.
Of course, if you’re one of those doubting-your-own-gut-instinct fantasy managers, or simply want to use a great resource that will point you in the right direction every week, The Streamonator is here to help you answer those burning questions.
If you haven’t signed up for it, this should be your go-to reference for the entire season. It will save you a lot of time researching and often includes those “Oh, I never thought about that” solutions. The Razzball subscriptions are well worth the price of admission. If you’re serious about improving throughout the season, check the link, yo.
| RANK
(LAST WEEK) |
Name | TEAM | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | He was as close to dropping out of this spot as he has been, but 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 7 Ks last Tuesday at MIN was enough to show me that the back spasms are gone. |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | Tigers | He was another one that I highlighted in the July 1st Top 100 SP piece, and I’ve been tempted more than once to move him up to the gilded throne. Detroit can’t be serious about trading him…right? |
| 3 | Corbin Burnes | Orioles | A QS in his no-decision last Thursday with 5 Ks would be acceptable if it was on the road against a contender and not Miami. He’ll need to take it to the Blue Jays this week to hold his place here. |
| 4 | Chris Sale | Braves | It might seem a bit lazy (ahem, energetically challenged) to just rank these guys where they were last week, but a lot of our Top 10 had good weeks last week and there’s no glaring reason(s) to shuffle it up. |
| 5 | George Kirby | Mariners | 1 BB and 7 Ks in 7 innings last week. He has 14 walks in 130.2 IP. Ridiculous. |
| 6 | Paul Skenes | Pirates | 8.1 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 8 Ks should be enough to get an SP the win. Pirates offense replied, “Arr Ya Sure?” The first loss of the season doesn’t change that he’s destined to pick up the NL ROY and will likely get some Cy Young votes too. |
| 7 | Grayson Rodriguez | Orioles | A 5 inning no-decision against the Padres with just 2 Ks should be enough to move him down this week, but the others below him didn’t exactly do much more to justify a move of a couple of spots. |
| 8 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | Ticker shock last Tuesday when he gave up 6 runs, but just one was earned thanks to a couple of errors (Josh Rojas). One BB and 8 Ks in 6.2 IP. |
| 9 | Tyler Glasnow | Dodgers | Could flip him and Ragans here based on the 4 BBs and 4 Ks in a loss to SFG last Wednesday but we’ll chalk that up to being out with back tightness for almost 3 weeks before we make any significant changes. |
| 10 | Cole Ragans | Royals | See Glasnow. Ragans was cruising yesterday through 5 innings with 7 Ks and just one walk. A 2-RBI Nico Hoerner double just made the cruise a bit more difficult, though. |
| 11 (17) | Luis Castillo | Mariners | Let’s move Castillo up here for this week. Of Nola, Imanaga, Houck, and Cole below this spot, Castillo’s 6-inning shutout with 2 BBs and 7 Ks was the most impressive. 4 QS in a row. |
| 12 | Garrett Crochet | White Sox | More below. |
| 13 | Aaron Nola | Phillies | He got worked over at PIT on July 19th, but the rebound at MIN was solid. I expect Philly to load up at the deadline too, so he should get even more run support than he already does. |
| 14 | Shoto Imanaga | Cubs | 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 0 BB, and 3 Ks at KC on Saturday wasn’t great. Looking to bounce back against STL this week and post another 10 Ks like he did in his game against Arizona last Sunday. |
| 15 (11) | Tanner Houck | Red Sox | OK, fine! Even though his most recent start was rough…and AT COL…we can move him a bit lower this week. I expected a bounce back against Rodon and NYY at home last night but finished the edit before that game ended. (Edit: He gave up 3 ER in 6 IP and took the loss). |
| 16 (20) | Dylan Cease | Padres | I nearly made Cease the lede this week. 30 Ks in his last 3 games over 22 shutout innings, and a no-hitter at WSH last week is a good way to move yourself up the list. |
| 17 (18) | Pablo Lopez | Twins | 8 total walks over his last 8 GS. He has 5 total earned runs allowed in his last 3 games, and 19 Ks in 19 IP. That’s good enough to move him ahead of the others in this pocket. |
| 18 (27) | Jack Flaherty | Tigers | More below. |
| 19 (32) | Luis Gil | Yankees | More below. |
| 20 (15) | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | The Mets caught him for 6 ER and 3 HR last Wednesday. He’s given up 4+ ER in half of his starts since June 25th. He should still be here in the Top 20, though. |
| 21 (28) | Michael King | Padres | Full disclosure, I do have King in a few leagues this year. But if anyone wants to argue his placement just outside the Top 20? Here are the cold hard facts. Since May 27th, he’s allowed more than 2 ER just once in 11 GS. The 144 Ks in 124.1 IP may even make some think that he’s too low here. |
| 22 (26) | Max Scherzer | Rangers | He’s not out of the woods quite yet, but 6 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 9 Ks are encouraging…even if it was against the White Sux. |
| 23 | Tanner Bibee | Guardians | Left his last start with a knee cramp. Pitching well lately and could move up quickly if he keeps it up. |
| 24 (29) | Taj Bradley | Rays | See above. It’s all outlined up top but the strikeouts are just as unreal as the scoreless innings. |
| 25 (16) | Joe Ryan | Twins | Ryan and Gray were both candidates for that late-teens section…until I saw their last starts. The strikeouts are still there with Ryan, but he’s given up a handful of earned runs in 5 of his last 6 starts. |
| 26 (32) | Blake Snell | Giants | More below. |
| 27 (24) | Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | Looking at his season numbers, Gallen hasn’t been all that disappointing. The lack of consistency with the earned runs allowed is, though. |
| 28 (22) | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | Moved him up to 22 last week after having him at 27. 5 BB and 3 ER in 5.1 IP with just 4 Ks against Miami was enough to push him back here. |
| 29 (25) | Seth Lugo | Royals | He gave up a half dozen earned runs at home VS CHC on Saturday. And he struck out two. I guess the good news is he only walked two as well, but…he’s headed down. |
| 30 (35) | Bailey Ober | Twins | An 8-inning one-hit shutout with 11 Ks at DET yesterday makes it 7 straight QS. Up we go! |
| 31 (39) | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | Another CG, this time on Saturday as the Jays hosted TEX. 3 ER, 7 baserunners and 8 Ks make me think he shouldn’t be much lower than the low-30s at the very worst. |
| 32 (21) | Ranger Suarez | Phillies | Uh oh. Placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday with lower back soreness. |
| 33 (19) | Sonny Gray | Cardinals | 21 earned runs in his last 5 games. Like with Ryan, the strikeouts are still there but so are the hits allowed. |
| 34 (36) | Nick Lodolo | Reds | Still rolling with more strikeouts than innings pitched. The .219 BAA and other ratios are good too. |
| 35 (33) | Ronel Blanco | Astros | The ratios and consistent strikeout totals keep him here. |
| 36 (34) | Mitch Keller | Pirates | Keller was off to a good start yesterday at the time of writing. 2.1 IP, 0 H, 2 BBs, and 3 Ks in Arizona. |
| 37 (30) | Max Fried | Braves | MRI was encouraging but Fried’s elbow issues aren’t a great sign. Cropped up when warming up for the All-Star appearance. Ouch. Literally. |
| 38 (31) | Logan Webb | Giants | 15 ER in his last 16 IP is tougher to stomach when it’s accompanied by a 7.65 K/9. |
| 39 (40) | Hunter Greene | Reds | This is still too low for a guy who hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his last 5 starts. 7 shutout innings of 2 hit baseball yesterday and he got tagged with a loss. Smh. |
| 40 (37) | Reynaldo Lopez | Braves | Removed from yesterday’s start after 3 IP. Forearm tightness. He won’t drop much until we get the results from the tests. |
| 41 (44) | Bryce Miller | Mariners | Beat the White Sux yesterday in Chicago. Gave up zero walks for the third straight start. Was one AL West Miller who did not break his hand on a piece of workout equipment. Yep. He checks all the boxes this week. |
| 42 | Justin Steele | Cubs | Steady if underwhelming. A decent bounce back from the rough start on July 19th vs ARI. |
| 43 | Jose Berrios | Blue Jays | Berrios followed up a series of starts with 3+ ER allowed with a gem at home against TEX yesterday. 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks keep him here. The question is: “Will the Jays also keep him here?” I assume he survives the trade deadline. |
| 44 (47) | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | We knew he would be on a pitch count for his first start of the year. 4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks in 72 pitches was a pretty good return. |
| 45 (41) | Gavin Stone | Dodgers | Stone was roughed up at home vs LAD Friday night. I still love the upside, but growing pains from a 25-year-old rookie SP are usually expected. |
| 46 (45) | Framber Valdez | Astros | 10 Ks in 6.1 scoreless IP against the LAD Friday night was a nice flash of how dominant Framber can be when it’s all clicking. |
| 47 (46) | Justin Verlander | Astros | On Sunday the report was that he threw 50 pitches and felt good. Would you want to bet against a healthy Verlander on a contending team? I sure wouldn’t. Due back July 31st. |
| 48 (51) | Zach Eflin | Rays | More below. |
| 49 (NR) | Robbie Ray | Giants | Last week I slotted Kershaw and Springs into this section because they were due back from injury. I whiffed on Ray as I thought he was still a week or two away from activation. 5 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks was a nice way to remind me that he should have been in here, if not higher. |
| 50 | Jeffrey Springs | Rays | He stays at 50 this week as he was activated from the 60-day IL yesterday. He threw 135 innings in his last full season (2022), and posted a 9.58 K/9 and a 2.06 BB/9 in 25 starts. If Tampa takes the training wheels off and lets him start (without an opener) he should have a solid second half. |
| 51 (57) | Shane Baz | Rays | More below. |
| 52 | Nathan Eovaldi | Rangers | 10 strikeouts in 7 innings is a good way to help people forget about the 6 ER against BAL two weeks ago. |
| 53 | Matt Waldron | Padres | Does he get more leeway because he’s a knuckleballer with a cool backstory? Perhaps. But I’d still take him ahead of most others below him on the list. |
| 54 (48) | Kutter Crawford | Red Sox | From 54 to 48 and back to 54. 11 ER and 8 HR allowed in his last two starts is not a good way to follow up back-to-back shutouts. Oof. |
| 55 (44) | Nick Pivetta | Red Sox | The Red Sox starters got pretty roughed up last week and Pivetta was no exception. The ratios took a beating with 7 ER in 2.2 IP at Colorado. |
| 56 | Christopher Sanchez | Phillies | Tough 3-1 loss against Cleveland at home. The K totals have been down over his past few starts, but the upside is still there and his offensive support is among the best in the biz. |
| 57 (66) | Hunter Brown | Astros | if we could just ignore one rotten egg 7 ER game at MIN on July 6th, Brown has been awesome in his last 9 starts. Allowed more than one earned run just once (twice including the implosion). |
| 58 (54) | Jared Jones | Pirates | Shut down until after the All-Star break. Well, what if I told you that it’s now after the All-Star break? The good news is he has started to throw bullpens. |
| 59 (55) | Nestor Cortes | Yankees | I want to dump him another 10-15 spots, but I know that the moment I do he’ll rip off 3 QS with a half dozen strikeouts. |
| 60 (58) | Erick Fedde | White Sox | He could/should be in our “pumped” section, but more so because White Sox fans will be pumped to get anything of value for this SP. |
| 61 (59) | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | There have been trade whispers around Bassitt this week, too. The Jays say they want to reload instead of rebuild and that Bassitt, Gausman, and Berrios are not available. I guess we’ll see. |
| 62 (61) | Carlos Rodon | Yankees | His last two starts have been good. His strikeout totals in those two games were great. I just don’t trust him to have a good game at Fenway. Was scheduled to pitch the ‘late’ game last night. |
| 63 | Brady Singer | Royals | More below. |
| 64 | Brayan Bello | Red Sox | What?! How did Bello survive the trip to Colorado unscathed? Well…probably because he didn’t pitch there. |
| 65 (60) | Brandon Pfaadt | Diamondbacks | FOUR solid starts in a row and I was all set to move him up when he gave up a PFAADT 5-spot in 6 innings against PIT on Saturday. Ugh. |
| 66 (65) | Bryan Woo | Mariners | Let’s just agree that there’s confusion whenever there are earned runs in a sentence with Bryan Woo. Why? Because more often than not the ER means Emergency Room. Woo was cruising through 4 innings Saturday when he was removed because of a hamstring injury. |
| 67 (71) | Gavin Williams | Guardians | Three earned runs wouldn’t usually make me happy, but in Williams’ case, it was more about him going 6 innings and striking out 9 while throwing 105 pitches. All good steps towards relevance in the second half. |
| 68 | Ryan Pepiot | Rays | IL’ed with a right knee infection? Did he kneel into a sewer or something? At least it isn’t an arm injury. |
| 69 | Jake Irvin | Nationals | Beat STL in STL in 5.2 innings. 5 baserunners, 2 ER, 5 Ks keep him here this week. |
| 70 (63) | MacKenzie Gore | Nationals | More below. |
| 71 (72) | Yariel Rodriguez | Blue Jays | He only had one win to show from his last 5 GS (one of which was limited to 1 inning because of rain). The Jays should be clearing out some room in their rotation, so Yariel will have a lot of leeway for the rest of 2024. 5 ER in his last 23.1 IP. |
| 72 (67) | Jon Gray | Rangers | He had a great outing Tuesday against CWS but was removed while warming up in Toronto yesterday with a sore groin. Ouch. |
| 73 (78) | Luis Severino | Mets | I thought the Mets would be sellers but at the time of writing, they’re sitting in a tie with ARI for the last wildcard spot. Severino will likely stay and I wouldn’t be surprised to see NYM load up a bit more for a playoff push. |
| 74 (82) | Jameson Taillon | Cubs | More below. |
| 75 (73) | Michael Wacha | Royals | A couple of 3 ER games around 7 shutout innings against…you guessed it. The White Sox. |
| 76 (74) | Ben Lively | Guardians | A tight little 6-inning, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6K outing at PHI helps him hold on here. |
| 77 (75) | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Dodgers | Was officially placed on the 60-day IL on Monday. Now officially won’t be back until the end of August at the earliest. |
| 78 (79) | Andrew Abbott | Reds | He’s thrown a shutout in every other start. Gave up 4 ER last week, so by that rationale, he should be good against SFG this week! |
| 79 (90) | Tyler Anderson | Angels | Another Sp that should be on the move. Can you guess where he is on the Player Rater? I’ll give you a hint. It’s a lot higher than 79. 18 strikeouts in his last two starts (total). |
| 80 | James Paxton | Dodgers | More below. Newest Red Sox SP (at the time of writing). |
| 81 (76) | Clarke Schmidt | Yankees | He’s getting passed by active arms here. Throwing again and is due back in mid-August. |
| 82 (87) | Jose Soriano | Angels | I watched some of his Saturday start at OAK, and he looked better than his 2.2 innings, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 2 Ks would suggest. The 98 MPH FB was flying and the sinker was … uh … sinking. Spotting them consistently is the next hurdle he needs to overcome. |
| 83 (86) | Dean Kremer | Orioles | 6 innings and 4 runs on Friday VS SD isn’t great, but only one of those was earned. One walk and 7 Ks keep him afloat for now. |
| 84 (89) | Aaron Civale | Brewers | Friday’s start against MIA pretty much sums him up. 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 Ks. It might be too optimistic to think he drastically improves in MLW, but for now, he can stay in this pocket. |
| 85 (77) | Yusei Kikuchi | Blue Jays | More below. |
| 86 (85) | Reese Olson | Tigers | AJ Hinch said the shoulder strain is “mild”, so let’s keep him up here until we hear differently. |
| 87 (93) | Javier Assad | Cubs | 6 innings with 3 ER, 1 BB, and 5 Ks was good enough for a QS and a W yesterday at KC. |
| 88 (99) | Jose Quintana | Mets | We might need to get out the ‘memberberries’ for this one. ‘Member when Quintana was considered an untouchable SP in CHC? ‘Member when he was traded for Eloy Jimenez AND Dylan Cease? Yep. He hasn’t been as good as he was back then, but he has given up two or fewer runs in 6 of his last 7 starts. |
| 89 (NR) | Colin Rea | Brewers | It’s been a while since we’ve seen Rea, but he deserves a spot in here among the bottom feeders this week. Player Rater has him ranked at 47 and he has 9 wins with some decent ratios. That 6.87 K/9 keeps him from jumping too high. |
| 90 (81) | Charlie Morton | Braves | With every start, there’s either a group of Morton truthers who are happy or a group of Morton haters dancing with glee. After last week, it was the latter. |
| 91 (84) | Marcus Stroman | Yankees | I threw Stroman a bone last week and pushed him up into the 80s. The fact that he’s pitched more than 7 innings just once in his last 10 starts should tell you all that you need to know if you’re wondering if that was a good move. |
| 92 (89) | Zack Littell | Rays | He spun a 7-inning 3-hit shutout on Saturday against the Reds with 5 strikeouts. Yet another candidate to move out in “The Great Tampa Tidy Up” |
| 93 (NR) | Tobias Myers | Brewers | 15 GS and it’s finally time to start paying closer attention. Having ? of his starts qualify as quality starts isn’t ideal, but he’s given up just 3 ER in his last 3 starts (total) with 17 Ks in those 17.1 innings. |
| 94 | Andrew Heaney | Rangers | The shutout on July 21st helped him make the list. The 4 ER in 5 IP against the Jays on Friday night doesn’t help him move up, that’s for sure. |
| 95 (NR) | Sean Manaea | Mets | Manaea replaces Mikolas this Monday. And most of his metrics are more…uh…magnificent? Maybe not, but they’re better. |
| 96 (93) | Kyle Gibson | Cardinals | His numbers are similar to Manaea’s, but his 3.65 BB/9 is the worst of his career (if we don’t count 2020). |
| 97 (NR) | Spencer Schwellenbach | Braves | 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 Ks is a nice way to get yourself into the Top 100. (86th on the Player Rater). |
| 98 (83) | Edward Cabrera | Marlins | More below. |
| 99 (NR) | Drew Thorpe | White Sox | If we throw out Friday’s atomic meltdown, (3 HR and 8 ER in 0.2 IP), he’s thrown 5 QS in 8 games started and has given up a total of 5 ER in his last 5 games. |
| 100 (70) | Kodai Senga | Mets | More below. |
BIGGEST DUMPERS: With apologies to Cal Raleigh, these are some of the biggest dumpers (in value, not pants size).
MacKenzie Gore – Have you ever held out hope that a starting pitcher will be successful? Then, when they have some success, you think, “Here it is! It’s happening!” Well, when I think of MacKenzie Gore, I also think of the Charlie Brown football gif. You know which one.
I think I figured it out. MacKenzie Gore is the pitching version of Adalberto Mondesi. Just when you think he’s turned the corner, he goes on to disappoint you in ways you never believed to be possible. All hyperbole aside, at least Gore isn’t a frequent flyer on the IL plane. But don’t let that 10.31 K/9 fool you. Things are not good in Gore-town.
Yusei Kikuchi – This is his second “dumper” mention in two weeks. That’s not a good thing. Like I said with Erick Fedde above, Kikuchi should be traded by this time tomorrow. The problem, aside from three straight less-than-ideal outings, is that Kikuchi loves it in Toronto and the Jays seem to be happy to have him.
Yusei Kikuchi spoke with GM Ross Atkins a couple of days who, who told him there is a “pretty high likelihood” he will get traded.
He said tonight was an emotional moment for him as he left the mound and reached the #BlueJays dugout for what is likely the last time.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) July 27, 2024
It would probably be too big of a galaxy-brain move for Kikuchi to intentionally tank so he could stay, so I assume we see him in a LAD, HOU, or BAL uniform before Tuesday’s trade bell rings.
Edward Cabrera – Well gee effing dee it. Blame it on blind optimism or blame it on the overpowered version of his card in one of the old MLB The Show installments, but the potential versus reality of Edward Cabrera is at a crossroads. In four July starts, Cabrera has shown sky-high strikeout potential with 18 Ks in 17 innings. That’s the good. The bad? Pretty much everything else. In those same 17 innings, Cabrera has given up 6 home runs and walked 10 batters. He’s clinging to this Top 100 spot but seeing how bad his control has been, I wouldn’t be surprised if he slips out next week.
Kodai Senga – This is what I said last week: “Eligible to return this Friday. Rehab results weren’t great if you look at the numbers, but he said he’s feeling great.” Well, the good news is if you had him active for Friday’s start you got 5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 Ks. That’s pretty awesome. Until you realize it’s going to be his final line for the 2024 season. Was it that blasted shoulder injury again? Nope. But the right calf injury that landed him on the 60-day IL yesterday ended his season. Woof.
BIGGEST JUMPERS: Who’s got hops? These are some of the biggest jumpers in value this week.
Luis Gil – I was one of the doubters. After Gil gave up 16 ER in 3 starts through the end of June and early July, I assumed the regression fairies were just going to keep on picking him part until he was carried away by one of those New York rats down a Bronx alleyway. Well, over his last three games, Gil has thrown 17.2 innings and allowed just three earned runs (total). “Oh ya? What about his walks? That guy is wilder than the guy who did the first National Lampoon movie!”. An understandable inquiry, Mr. Smarmy Italicized Quote-provider. But Gil has walked just three batters to go with 22 strikeouts in his last 3 GS.
Blake Snell – He was in our jumpers section last week. What kind of follow-up did Snell give us for that nod of approval? How about a 6-inning, 2-hit shutout on Saturday? Oh, and he struck out 15 in that start, too. Wow. Snell has allowed just two earned runs (total) in his last 24 innings pitched. I had him in the 30s this week before flipping him with Sonny Gray.
Shane Baz – I mentioned a few weeks ago that I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rays move Zach Eflin and maybe Ryan Pepiot at the trade deadline to open up some room in the starting rotation for guys like Baz. Well, Eflin is in Baltimore now and Pepiot is on the 15-day Il with a right knee infection. Does Baz deserve a locked-in rotation spot for the rest of 2024? If the 6-inning, 2-hit, 7-strikeout game against the Reds on Friday doesn’t convince you, maybe have a peek at the clip here.
Shane Baz, K’ing the Side. pic.twitter.com/KDLYyJiHno
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 27, 2024
Brady Singer – True story alert! I was scrolling through two of my RCL leagues this week trying to find someone to drop so I could activate two different players. In each league, I’m over the IP projection, so I nearly dropped Singer (twice). Then I looked at his season numbers. Is he boring? Probably. Does boring matter if said player is having a productive season? Probably not.
BIGGEST PUMPERS: These players were traded (or could be dealt by the end of tomorrow’s deadline) and should ‘pump up’ the excitement levels of some fan bases.
Garret Crochet – Crochet got the ‘official’ vote of confidence last Thursday when CWS management said that as long as he’s on their roster, he’d be on a “normal workload as a starter” (according to Jon Heyman). Well, Crochet threw 64 pitches yesterday and was finished after just 3 IPs, 3 ERs, 1 BB, and 3 Ks. Big kudos to Crochet for publicly stating that he would need an extension worked out for him to pitch in October for a contender. At 111.1 innings, he’s already more than doubled his career high in a season, so it may be silly to expect him to be able to throw another 80+. I’d be surprised if he was still donning the White Sox come Wednesday morning.
Jack Flaherty – Another one of our ‘most likely to be moved’ candidates, I admit I was more than a bit skeptical when Flaherty said he was feeling good after some pain-killing injections and ready to return to action July 11th. In three starts since his activation from the IL, Flaherty has posted a 17.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, and 18Ks line. If I’m a Tigers fan, I’m praying that at least two contenders get involved in some last-minute bidding and Detroit’s GM can extract a healthy return for the pending FA.
Zach Eflin – Oh baby! The Orioles finally made a move for a good starting pitcher, and the Rays began the race to see which team could tear it all down more quickly – them or the Blue Jays. As for Eflin, the move to Baltimore should be a positive one for him as he’ll no longer have to be relied on to carry the load. I’ve mentioned the elite BB/9 for a few weeks now, and it should continue. With the exception of a 4 free-pass outing at NYY two weeks ago, Eflin hasn’t allowed more than one walk in any start since May 1st.
Nate Pearson – I snuck this one in just to bring some attention to how bizarre trade deadline moves can be each year. Pearson was expected to be the ‘next big thing’, both literally and figuratively, when the Jays drafted the 6’6” RHP 28th overall in the 2017 draft. In MLB’s 2020 Top Prospect list, Pearson was ranked 8th overall…ahead of Royce Lewis (9), and some guy named Bobby Witt Jr. (10). Ouch.
His inclusion here is more about the puzzling move when teams trade away highly regarded talent with team control, (Pearson has 3 more years on his current deal at $800K per season), than anything else. Could Pearson flop in Chicago? Sure. But the Cubs didn’t give much away in that deal anyway. If Chicago has more faith in the big righty than Toronto did, and they insert him into their rotation, Pearson could be a nice waiver wire add in those deeper leagues.
James Paxton – Speaking of Canada, (and apologies if I do that too much), the Dodgers DFA’ed Big Maple last week and asked around to see if anyone wanted to take on the 35-year-old lefty’s contract. Well, it was a bit of deja vu all over again as the Red Sox brought Paxton back for his second tour of duty in Beantown. Last year, Paxton threw fewer than 100 innings for the Red Sox (96 IP) and finished with 7 wins to show for it. His 8-2 record this year is likely more about the LAD giving him a lot of run support and much less about his career-low 6.45 K/9 and career-high 4.84 BB/9. Tread carefully.
Jameson Taillon – The Cubs are 5 games out of the wildcard, so this one is tough to gauge. On one hand, it makes sense for them to trade a 32-year-old arm who’s enjoying a career resurgence and has two years left on his current deal. On the other hand, if they want an arm to help them chase down a playoff spot, they’d likely be dealing for someone like Taillon. The 7.0 K/9 isn’t anything to get excited about, so I doubt the Cubs make the move as I don’t think many teams would give up much for him.
OOF – Which players slipped out of our Top 100 this week?
Christian Scott (88) – “…hopes to return later this season…” is often the kiss of death.
Mitchell Parker (91)
Miles Mikolas (95)
Jordan Hicks (97) – Looks like our prediction was true. Headed to the bullpen.
Ben Brown (100)
WHEE! Which Players vaulted into our Top 100 this week?
Robbie Ray (49)
Colin Rea (89)
Tobias Myers (93)
Sean Manaea (95)
Spencer Schwellenbach (98)
Drew Thorpe (99)
That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week, I’ll post the Top 100 Starting Pitchers with some write-ups on some of the arms that I think need a bit more attention than others
Then, I’ll try to keep cherry-picking names to highlight throughout the list as we progress through the season.
Drop some comments in the chat if you’re feeling extra fired up about some of the names I do (or don’t) have here. Have a great week!
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