Thursday, April 26, 2012
The daily grind 4-26
Posted by Brad Johnson at 5:43amThe Daily Grind provides daily match-up advice based on my every morning waiver wire search. I welcome advice to help make this column more effective. Ownership rates are from Yahoo!
Today's grind
Rick Porcello is your pitching pick of the day. He faces the Mariners. If you're desperate for pitching and need to reach deep, you can try Felix Doubront against the White Sox.
Speaking of Sox, Ryan Sweeney has been swinging a hot stick and will face righty perfectionist Philip Humber.
Rajai Davis will get the start against Brian Matusz while Chris Davis and Endy Chavez will face Drew Hutchinson.
Last but not least, Luke Scott has a match-up made in heaven: Jerome Williams. Anything less than a home run would be a disappointment.
Tomorrow's grind
Interesting crowd for tomorrow. Paul Maholm has been terrible, but so has the Phillies offense, making him worth a gamble in some formats. Same story with Mike Leake. He's had a rough season to date but he faces the Astros. Personally, I won't be taking the risk on either guy.
Jake Arrieta is 17 percent owned and will pitch against the Athletics tomorrow. That's definitely a match-up I'm buying on.
People foolishly dumped Danny Duffy after his last rough outing against a strong Tigers offense. Now he's only 15 percent owned and set to face the scuffling Twins. Buy him.
Marco Estrada draws a thin Cardinals lineup. He's volatile but can rack up strikeouts.
John Danks is scheduled to pitch against the Red Sox, which should mean that Marlon Byrd will start.
Eric Thames will face Blake Beaven.
John Mayberry Jr. should get the start against Maholm.
Reliever watch
Hector Santiago blew his second save of the season and is officially on shaky ground. Everyone outside of the organization thought Addison Reed was the obvious closer and he's been close to perfect this season. Santiago came out of nowhere this spring but now sports an ERA over 8.00. He needs to settle down immediately to retain his job. Matt Thornton could also enter the mix.
Grant Balfour also blew the save in the same game. His job remains secure for the time being.
Javy Guerra blew his second save of the season and recorded his second loss in as many days. I was saying he was pretty safe just yesterday, but back to back imolations kind of changes that dynamic. Especially when someone as talented as Kenley Jansen is sitting two feet away.
Yesterday’s results
Strong outing from Juan Nicasio, but he recorded a no decision: 6.2 IP, 5 K, 1.35 ERA, 1.50 WHIP
Jarrod Parker had a similar performance: 6.1 IP, 5 K, 1.42 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
Chris Sale got the no-decision with a strong performance: 8 IP, 5 K, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
Trevor Cahill was rougher around the edges. The Phillies got to him a bit: 5.1 IP, 3 K, 6.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP
It was a quiet double header yesterday as both lineups conserved their strength. Todd Helton was 1-for-4 with a double on the day. Marco Scutaro continued his slow start, going 2-for-8. Garrett Jones had a noisy day, though: 3-for-4 with a home run, one run, and two RBI.
Thames was 2-for-4.
Chris Heisey did not play. I warned you that I didn't have a firm grasp of the situation in Cincy.
I'm going to start arbitrarily marking my daily performances as wins, losses, or draws. I'm calling this one a win. Feel free to disagree below. Tomorrow, I'll have a count of my current record.
Follow Brad on Twitter @baseballAteam. Email him at pitchin432 AT Yahoo.com
Havent the Astros had a pretty good offensive performance thus far? I don’t think it’s quite as accurate as it used to be to think they are good opponents for streaming pitchers.