Jake Odorizzi (SP-TB) - Odorizzi was missing bats Tuesday against the Mariners, striking out nine hitters in 5.2 innings, but he also allowed five runs on eight hits with four walks and one Kyle Seager home run. Odorizzi saw his ERA jump from 3.47 to 3.79. Odorizzi's 74:27 K:BB in 78.1 innings is excellent, though it's worth noting that he's walked 10 in his last 16.2 innings over three starts, so hopefully we can see some improvement there next time out. With a 1.3 HR/9, Odorizzi is prone to the occasional long ball, but going forward, I'd expect him to be a solid mid-rotation type arm.
Chris Tillman (SP-BAL) - The Erik Bedard trade is the gift that keeps on giving for the Orioles. Tillman outpitched David Price Tuesday, allowing just one run on five hits over seven solid innings. He walked two and fanned seven and now sits with a 2.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP through 84.2 innings. Tillman possesses a solid 8.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, and this was his second solid start in a row after a pair of clunkers. Tillman is now 9-1 and at this rate, an All-Star game could be in his future. Now if the Orioles can find another starter or two to fit behind Tillman and Kevin Gausman, they'd be in business. Having Jake Arrietta back would help.
Miguel Gonzalez (SP-CHW) - Gonzalez one-upped James Shields Tuesday as the weak link in the Chicago rotation, allowing seven runs on eight hits over just 3.1 innings. The pounding took Gonzalez's ERA to 4.74 with a 1.53 WHIP. His career ERA sits at a decent 3.80 in over 600 innings, but with a 4.91 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 26 starts in Baltimore last year, he's merely a placeholder for a prospect like Carson Fullmer, who's not quite ready, sporting a 5.57 ERA in Double-A. With Mat Latos having been DFA'd, the next guy up may be ex-Boston and Texas farmhand / spot MLB starter, Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo came over in a nondescript trade with the Rangers last month, and in six starts since then for Triple-A Charlotte, Ranaudo has a 3.03 ERA and 24:2 K:BB in 35.2 innings. He could get a look soon.
Todd Frazier (3B-CHW) - Frazier was held out of the lineup Tuesday in favor of the great Tyler Saladino, but it wasn't injury-related. Frazier just hasn't been very good lately, entering Tuesday having hit .184 over his last 30 days and just .206/.301/.466 on the season. The .260 ISO is excellent and would represent a career-high if it holds, and his 11.4% BB% is far better than last year's 6.5% mark. Frazier is fanning 21.3% of the time, right in line with past performance. So what's wrong? Start with a .186 BABIP and dig deeper to find that he's just not hitting the ball as hard this year as in years past. Frazier will turn things around, but expecting more than .250 the rest of the way is foolish. From a DFS perspective, he's best used against RHP in away games.
Doug Fister (SP-HOU) - While guys like David Price and Zack Greinke were getting $200MM+ contracts this offseason, Fister received a modest "prove it" one-year $7 million deal, a pact that's working out quite well for the Astros so far. Tuesday, Fister held the Cardinals to a pair of runs over 7.1 solid innings to lower his ERA to 3.27. Both runs were solo homers, but despite a 1.2 HR/9 and mediocre 50:26 K:BB in 80 innings, Fister's ERA sits at a solid 3.26. Fister once averaged 90 mph with his fastball, but that's slowed to 86.5 mph this season. Fister has seen his control regress in the last couple years as well after posting a 1.3 BB/9 in 2014. That mark was 2.1 last year and 2.9 so far in 2016. All in all, he's probably a 4+ ERA guy the rest of the way.
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