Jesse Chavez was flat-out dominant yesterday, throwing 7.0 IP, with just three hits, one run, one walk, and 11 strikeouts. He allowed one home run but was otherwise nearly untouchable. Jeff Locke was pretty solid too, going 6.0 IP with three hits, two runs, two walks and eight strikeouts. I don’t think you’ll see Chavez on these pages any longer, and if Locke keeps this up, he may follow suit. Now, on to tomorrow’s streaming pitchers!
Streaming Pitchers: 6/19/2015
Kyle Hendricks RHP CHC (@ MIN)
Kyle Hendricks has been super solid in his last two starts, with 11 strikeouts and no walks in 10 innings. The problem is that he has been a little homer prone lately, with 2 HR in those same 10 innings. His season long line is 7.73 K/9, 1.70 BB/9, and a 50% ground ball rate. His 10.8% HR/FB rate is dead-on average for a pitcher this season, making his FIP sit right with his xFIP at 3.45, which makes him look better than his 3.80 ERA would leave you to believe. He gets a pretty good matchup against the Twins at Minnesota. The Twins are hitting a 105 wRC+ at home, but a measly 84 wRC+ against righties. Target Field will help keep the ball in the park, making this a great matchup here.
Rubby de la Rosa RHP ARI (vs. SD)
Rubby de la Rosa has been interesting to say the least. Some say that he has the stuff to be a good pitcher. The fastball is fast (19th among qualified pitchers on the FanGraphs leader board), and Eno Sarris noted his slider amongst the most interesting pitchers in the majors this season. Those things would lead some to suggest a breakout is imminent. But before last Sunday’s start against the Giants, he’d had three straight starts where he was hurt bad by the home run ball. So before Sunday’s game, de la Rosa sat down with the pitching coach and bullpen coach to come up with a game plan, basically letting Welington Castillo call the game and get Rubby out of his own head. The result? A near complete game shutout of the San Francisco Giants. If you can stomach him pitching in his home park of Chase Field, which is a little homer prone, then he’s a good start here, as the Padres are hitting at an 88 wRC+ away from home and an 88 wRC+ against righties. This might be the start of the breakout, right here.
