STREAMER OF THE WEEK (57% Owned CBS, 10% ESPN, 39% Yahoo)
Anthony DeSclafani, SP CIN (SF, @ SF)
Anthony DeSclafani is currently carrying a 10.45 K/9, paired with a 27.7% strikeout rate, which are both career highs. His velocity is the highest of his career (94.2) and almost up 1 mph, while he has drastically decreased his hard-hit rate to 33.8%, which is down 8% from last season. But while his numbers indicate he is pitching to his peripherals (3.48 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 4.39 xFIP), his career stats show he is not pitching to his potential.
DeSclafani had 13 swinging strikes against the Mets on 05/01 (29% CSW), 5 of which came on the slider. His slider currently carries a 35.6% chase rate, but his career o-swing sits at 42.6%. His swinging strike rate on the slider is 10.4% this season, while his career rate is 17.3%.
When you pair the slider with a curveball that was rarely thrown in 2018 (3.7%), you have an effective pitch mix. Opposing batters are only hitting .154 against the hook. His curveball is currently inducing a 17.9% swinging strike rate and a 39.6% o-swing, but he is struggling to throw it in the zone this season (28.4%). His fastball is decent and not an elite offering by any means (-6.0 career pVAL). But if he can get his slider back around his career mark and continue the development of his curveball, something special could happen here. Two starts against the last place San Francisco Giants make him a safe start with a high floor
WEEK 5 RESULTS:
John Means, SP BAL
GAME 1: 5.0 IP 6 H 1 BB 4 ER 2 K (LOSS)
GAME 2: RAINED OUT
MUST START
Trevor Bauer (CHW, @OAK)
Jacob deGrom (@SD, MIA)
Gerrit Cole (KC, TEX)
Max Scherzer (@MIL, @LAD)
Jose Berrios (@TOR, DET)
Stephen Strasburg (@MIL, @LAD)
Blake Snell (ARI, NYY)
Caleb Smith (@CHC, @NYM)
SAFE START
Masahiro Tanaka (SEA, @TB)
Hyun-Jin Ryu (ATL, WSH)
Madison Bumgarner (@COL, CIN)
Walker Buehler (ATL, WSH)
Cole Hamels (MIA, MIL)
Jon Lester (MIA, MIL)
Max Fried (@LAD, @ARI)
Collin McHugh (KC, TEX)
Marcus Stroman (MIN, CHW)
Tyler Mahle (@OAK, @SF)
Kevin Gausman (@LAD, @ARI)
Griffin Canning (@DET, @BAL)
Anthony DeSclafani (SF, @SF)
RISKY START
Martin Perez (@TOR, DET)
Merrill Kelly (@TB, ATL)
Vince Velasquez (@STL, @KC)
C.C. Sabathia (SEA, @TB)
Aaron Sanchez (MIN, CHW)
Miles Mikolas (PHI, PIT)
Jakob Junis (@HOU, PHI)
Drew Pomeranz (@CIN, CIN)
John Means (BOS, LAA)
Jefry Rodriguez (CHW, @OAK)
Mike Fiers (CIN, CLE)
DON’T START
Marco Gonzales (@NYY, @BOS)
Felix Hernandez (@NYY, @BOS)
Jhoulys Chacin (WSH, @CHC)
Lucas Giolito (@CLE, @TOR)
Dakota Hudson (PHI, PIT)
Ivan Nova (@CLE, @TOR)
Sandy Alcantara (@CHC, @NYM)
Daniel Norris (LAA, @MIN)
Adrian Sampson (@PIT, @HOU)
Antonio Senzatela (SF, SD)
Taylor Clarke, ARI (@TB, ATL)
Steven Brault, PIT (TEX, @STL)
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