Sandy Koufax once said, “Pitching is the art of instilling fear.” He of the career 75 FIP- was a master of instilling this fear. Today’s pitcher is a little different than the guys who toed the rubber in Koufax’s day. There are many different pitches and many different styles in guys’ arsenal now. It’s fun for me to look at pitching grips to see what guys come up with. Different guys have different skill sets, but there are so many ways to success. That’s what makes pitching so interesting to me. So, without further ado, here’s the streaming pitchers for July 8th!
Streaming Pitchers: 7/8/2015
Jake Peavy RHP SF (vs. NYM)
Jake Peavy has been around longer than I can remember. He’s been one of my favorite pitchers to watch, and I wish he had stuck around in Boston longer, because I think he’s the kind of pitcher and leader that we need. Unfortunately, all of that has been moot, since he has made all of three starts this season, sidelined after his first two starts with a back injury. He returned fairly strong, though, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing two runs on three hits and four walks, striking out four. If he can perform up to what he’s capable of, he’s a useful streaming pitcher, especially pitching half his games in AT&T Park. This is definitely one of those starts, pitching against the Mets, who have looked lost on offense for the most part for the last few weeks. Overall this season, they’ve hit a measly 73 wRC+ on the road, and a low 84 wRC+ against righties. Peavy’s competitiveness and desire to win should definitely push him to a great start here.
Charlie Morton RHP PIT (vs. SD)
Ground Chuck Alert! We’ve been over Charlie Morton several times before. He doesn’t strike out a lot of guys (4.89 K/9), but his control (2.35 BB/9) and amazing ability to induce ground balls (62.1%) has still made him a worthwhile pitcher to use, especially for streaming purposes. The home runs are a bit of a problem, so I looked to see if it had to do with his home park. There’s a definite difference in HR/FB rate between home (10.5%) and road (33.3%), but that’s not the only split that was interesting. His home K-BB rate is 10.5%, while on the road it’s at a -1.7% (not a typo). His home FIP and xFIP are 3.50 and 3.51, respectively, while on the road it’s 5.69 and 4.29. There’s a definite reason to keep using him, but you might want to stick to his starts in PNC Park. This will be a good one for him, as he gets to pitch against the Padres at home. They’ve hit at an 86 wRC+ on the road and an 87 wRC+ against righties. He’s got a chance to have a great start here, so I’d definitely give him a go. Have a happy Ground Chuck Day on Wednesday.
