44-year old .. yes, that's right, 44-year old Bartolo Colon had his first start for the Braves last night. Colon is looking to post his seventh consecutive season with a FIP below 4, which is dumbfounding to me. He impressed last night against his former team the Mets, going 6 innings with 6 Ks while allowing just 1 ER. I have no idea what to say about Colon; 44 year olds aren't effective major leaguers, but he's the exception. He's serviceable in NL-only leagues and back ends of rotations, and every so often he throws gems. How? I have no idea, but it's working as an innings workhouse. Despite last night, I don't anticipate him impressing fantasy owners with high strikeout numbers going forward.
Early season returns on Matt Wieters have been favorable, as he collected multiple hits last night, including a two RBI single in the 4th inning. After playing every game as an Oriole, I think a change of scenery could help Wieters. He's coming off an abysmal 2016, so the change to Washington can only help I would think. Looking deeper, he was a bit unfortunate last year with a .265 BABIP despite a strong 24.2% LD rate. He's a low tier catcher, but I'm confident that he'll return a wRC+ over 100 if he can stay healthy.
Last year, Dan Straily was an impressive 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA. Fantistics readers would know that he was highly fortunate, with a xFIP of 5.02 being more of an indication of his skill set. That dramatic fortune came crashing down in just his first start of the season yesterday, as Straily went just 3.1 innings while allowing 5 ER in his first game as a Marlin. Straily shouldn't be owned in any formats; don't fall for last year's respectable surface numbers.
Jameson Taillon threw a 7 inning 0 ER gem against the potent Red Sox offense (sans Mookie Betts), but took the No Decision anyway. Taillon benefitted from a great throw by Andrew McCutchen that caught Sandy Leon at the plate, but aside from that, he was lights out with six strikeouts and 65% GB%. For those hoping that Taillon was going to take a leap forward, this is a fantastic sign. His stock is going up.
Travis Shaw continued pounding the ball as he connected for his first home run (and 5th XBH) of the season. The move from Boston to Milwaukee is a net positive, and Shaw posted a 116 wRC+ two seasons ago. Obviously last year was a down year, but he has the skill set to be a serviceable 3B option going forward, particularly if he can continue to hit with this type of power.
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