Mick Abel (SP - PHI) - Abel returned to the Phillie rotation on Wednesday looking much less dominant than in his debut, but he still managed 5 1/3 innings of 1-run ball against Toronto, allowing 3 hits and striking out 2 without walking a man. It's certainly shocking to see Abel with all of his control issues go the first 11 1/3 innings of his MLB career without walking anyone, and I wouldn't expect that to continue. He also allowed a ton of hard contact (97.4 AVG EV) and didn't really miss any bats....honestly, the hard contact allowed was the only typical thing about the outing for him. With Aaron Nola now nursing a side injury in addition to the ankle, it's tempting to look at Abel for a likely 2-start week next week (Cubs and Blue Jays again). It's very risky, but I may very well try it myself in one format where I now have 8 pitchers on the IL at once. I wouldn't advise it unless you're pretty desperate though, as he's been fairly unsuccessful throughout his minor league time until this season, and even this year he's been more lucky than good.
Luis L Ortiz (SP - CLE) - Ortiz was excellent against the Yanks on Wednesday, going 5 2/3 shutout innings while allowing 3 hits and 3 walks with 7 K's. There was a decent amount of hard contact and control issues, which is par for the course for the 26 year old, but he's missing bats better than ever before and it's keeping him afloat. There is some risk here with that control (4.5 BB/9), but he appears to be trending in the right direction with only one semi-rough start in his last 5. It isn't the easiest of 2-start weeks next week with CIN and @SEA, but I think that I'm on board. Incidentally, his velocity, up last outing by roughly 0.5 mph, was up even further on Wednesday (1.3 mph). That's another small point in his favor for next week/current trend.
Merrill Kelly (SP - ARI) - Kelly bounced back in a big way from a couple of subpar outings, holding the Braves to 1 hit and 1 walk over 7 shutout innings, striking out 8 to move to 6-2 on the season. Kelly has been the best version that we've seen of him so far this year, combining his top-end BB rates and swinging strike rates with an increased GB rate to give you "better than your average streamer" performance. I'm still likely to sit him against the top handful of offenses, but even before tonight's start his xFIP was 3.48, which is much better than average. He's a "start mostly" guy for me, and because there's nothing really flashy here, he continues to be underrated by most. He has definitely benefitted from a lower BABIP than you'd expect given his mediocre EV allowed, but that is also offset somewhat in the luck department by the 67% strand rate. I've slowly come around on this guy over the past 3-4 years, and have him consistently knocking on the door (and sometimes inside) of the top-40 SP.
Wenceel Perez (OF - DET) - Perez has started in 7 of 8 games (and pinch-hit in the other since his activation from a lower back issue, and with 3 2B and 2 HR in just 28 PAs since his season debut, he's certainly started out hot. I think there's enough here for a speculative need-based add in deeper formats: he's 25 and is showing a bit more power in each of the past few seasons, he has a bit of speed, and there was solid contact ability forming a base before he's tried to add some power these past few years. There's more upside here than you'd think, especially when you factor in the quality of the Tiger offense (#4 in runs scored thus far).
Jeffrey Springs (SP - ATH) - Springs pitched in bulk relief on Wednesday against the Twins, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits over 6 2/3 innings, walking 2 and fanning 7. If you count that as a QS (I would), that's 4 in the last 5 for Springs, whose only blemish in that department came at the hands of a 6 walk, 2 inning outing against Toronto late last week. He's starting to interest me a bit, as despite the control issues he has managed to hold some potent offenses at bay (both the Dodgers and Phillies recently), and he's missing bats with more regularity again (15 swinging strikes on 106 pitches Wed.). The control is typically the last thing to return after TJ surgery, and it doesn't look like he's all the way back yet. He's a risky choice next week, but a 2-starter against the Angels and Royals isn't exactly frightening. I'm inclined to take the gamble.
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