Hey, look at that! We finally had a good night. Kyle Hendricks was solid enough, with 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), and 4 K. Mike Pelfrey, though, was a surprise to me. He went 8 IP allowing 8 H and 1 BB, with 7 K and no earned runs. Zero runs! Now that’s what I’m talking about. Hopefully this is the start of a good trend. Let’s see what we have for tomorrow’s streaming pitchers.
Streaming Pitchers: 6/9/2015
Nate Karns RHP TB (vs LAA)
Don’t look now but Karns may be a good pitcher. His curveball was identified by Eno Sarris from FanGraphs.com before the season started as potentially one of the best in the game. “All he would need is the rest of the arsenal to follow, and he’d be a solid pitcher,” one might think. Well, it’s starting to look like everything is taking shape. In the last calendar month, he’s been solid, with a 3.32 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, 7.48 K/9, 3.32 BB/9, and a 42.2 GB%. He gets another useful matchup in tomorrow’s game, with the Angels only hitting a 81 wRC+ on the road and a 95 wRC+ against righties.
Mike Foltynewicz RHP ATL (vs SD)
Ohhh, that fastball. He’s averaged 94.6 mph with it so far as a starter this season. That’s good for 9th amongst starters with at least 40 IP. He’s also used the pitch 74.1% of the time so far this season. Relying on the fastball, he’s had decent results so far, with a 9.7% swinging strike rate, that’s led to a 23.4% strikeout rate. Paired with decent control (8.2%), he’s shown the beginnings of a decent starter despite a fastball-heavy arsenal. The only problem is the lack of ground balls (33.9%) that has led to a somewhat inflated home run rate. That’s what a limited pitching arsenal can do to you though. Even with a fastball that touches high 90’s, if guys can wait and sit on the fastball, they can do some damage to it. Still, he’s got a chance to do some good with a good matchup. The Padres are hitting a 93 wRC+ on the road and a 91 wRC+ against righties. If you don’t mind the risk, he’s worth a shot.
