The weekend performance that piqued my interest the most was Cleveland Indians right-hander Shane Bieber's achievement Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles. Yes, the Orioles are terrible but 15 strikeouts with nary a walk in a shutout is rare territory for someone under the age of 24. In fact, Bieber is the fourth-youngest hurler to accomplish the feat, after the amazin' Met Dwight Gooden, Chicago's Kerry Wood -- with the best pitching performance I have seen, the 20-K one - and Philly's Vince Velasquez when he embarrassed the lowly San Diego Padres in April 2016 and created a world of expectations he has continually fallen short of reaching. Bieber has expectations and he is delivering.
Bieber was on my list of sleeper pitchers for a reason, so I gobbled him up in as many leagues as possible. It was clear early on when he was dominating in Double-A that his command of pitches was impeccable and he rarely walked hitters. I could not rank Bieber as a top-30 starting pitcher entering 2019, because others deserved it more, but I was thinking it. I wanted to see him tame left-handed hitters, who skewered him for a .909 OPS his rookie season. His other rookie numbers were better than it appeared, as his FIP, xFIP and SIERA showed someone who deserved a far better ERA, and I thought he would get strikeouts, though 15 in one game is a bit aberrant.
Consistency is clearly an issue, as it was disconcerting when the Chicago White Sox bashed four home runs off him earlier this week but hey, at least he did not walk anyone! Bieber more than doubled his game score from that performance on Sunday, from 45 to 92. Look no further than the ESPN Player Rater for proof of a valuable pitcher with a top-20 future as only 14 starting pitchers rank better. I would take Bieber over Domingo German, Caleb Smith and Jake Odorizzi, each currently ahead of him on the Rater. He induces ground balls, throws first-pitch strikes and handles lefties much better this season. It is all there! He is next scheduled to face the top offenses of the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox next, so we shall see.
Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara also shined on Sunday, as he needed a mere 89 pitches to embarrass the stunning New York Mets, who on Saturday/Sunday did not score and managed three base hits combined. Again, he did not face an offense performing well of late, but there is upside here if Alcantara can control the free passes. He did on Sunday. For the season, he is not. In addition, while I have a few shares of Alcantara and his teammate Pablo Lopez in leagues, they are Marlins. Wins will be tough. Lopez, by the way, went from allowing 10 runs to the Mets to permitting one hit over seven innings. I like Lopez over Alcantara.
Weekend takeaways
• There is no question I view the pitching prospects who debut far different than I do the hitting ones. This was a memorable week for hitter call-ups. Austin Riley looks incredible. Keston Hiura homered. Brendan Rodgers will be fine once the Denver games arrive this weekend. On the pitching side, it is dangerous. San Diego Padres lefty Nick Margevicius was no top prospect, but he thrived early on and then predictably struggled. Now he is in Double-A. I like Cal Quantrill more than most perhaps, but he has a rotation slot for now. He is not Chris Paddack, but who is? Houston's Forrest Whitley looks awful in the minors. There are other rookie pitchers doing well, like Detroit's Spencer Turnbull and Atlanta's Mike Soroka (leaving out old rookies like Yusei Kikuchi and Merrill Kelly), but all the FAAB bidding this weekend was on the bats and it would have been even with rookie pitchers to bid on.
• Willie Calhoun played in the big leagues for the Texas Rangers late in 2017 and early in 2018 and neither experience went well. He made 145 plate appearances and offered little defensive value. Certainly, he could not play second base. Calhoun is back and he is hitting. He plays left field. He has more plate discipline and the power is back. I do not see how Hunter Pence continues to get playing time, because the Rangers cannot sit Shin-Soo Choo or Nomar Mazara. Can they?
• There have been 1,798 home runs hit this season and 649 bases stolen, so why is Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jarrod Dyson still available in so many leagues? He is 12-for-13 in steals and only Adalberto Mondesi and Tim Anderson have more. Dyson has been leading off and scoring runs. You do not get power, but his 12 steals are more valuable than someone hitting 12 home runs. Dyson is 36th among all hitters on the season Player Rater.
• By the way, Mondesi is on pace for 128 runs batted in and 59 stolen bases. I saw considerable backlash when I said Mondesi is like Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner but with a lesser batting average, and ranked Mondesi in my top 75. Now? I think Mondesi might be a second-round pick in 2020 drafts, just like Turner.
• Good for San Francisco Giants reserve Pablo Sandoval, I guess, but there remains little fantasy utility here. Sandoval homered again Sunday, winning a game. He is, improbably, the lone Giant with a bWAR above 1, including pitchers, which says a lot more about his teammates than it does him. Catcher Buster Posey did come off the concussion list this weekend and he remains a top-10 catcher in fantasy, but after that, look elsewhere when it comes to Giants hitters. Sandoval just does not play enough and there is little reason to believe he would keep hitting like this if he did.
Health report
• All those watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN rather than some HBO show -- two TVs! -- might have missed Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez hurting his leg in some fashion, staying in the game and a few innings later leaving it with a heel contusion. He claims he will play Monday as the Cubs and first-place Philadelphia Phillies start a four-game set, but we shall see.
• I thought I saw Houston Astros outfielder George Springer reach for his side or back after a first-inning strikeout in Friday's win at Boston, but he homered later in the game. Glad I did not Tweet about it! Then he tripled Saturday. On Sunday, he struck out three times and left early with back stiffness. Perhaps Friday and Sunday are related. Regardless, Springer will sit Monday and while I would not bench him in weekly leagues unless further word of an injured list comes down, I would be concerned.
Closing time
• St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Jordan Hicks, also known as the hardest thrower in the sport, lost an extra-innings lead at Texas on Sunday and I think there is some possibility Carlos Martinez, the former top-20 starter, infringes on his save chances. It surely cannot be lefty Andrew Miller, who is just bad now. How do you allow a home run in a big spot to Danny Santana? Martinez will likely have more shoulder problems in the future, but this is something to watch because he saved games a season ago.
• Those grasping for saves from Boston Red Sox right-handers Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier got a jolt when Brandon Workman saved Sunday's win. Barnes set him up. Workman is having a terrific season, so perhaps he is in the saves mix moving forward. Manager Alex Cora sure is not saying and really, why should he? For our sakes? Please. I would still prefer to add Texas Rangers right-hander Jose Leclerc first, for he seems close to returning to the closer role there, but he is also one walk-filled outing away from losing it again.
W2W4
• The Chicago White Sox expect to have rookie sensation/disappointment Eloy Jimenez back in the lineup Monday after an injured list stint (hamstring). Jimenez, who we compared to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for hitting ability, made the Sox, did not hit right away and many a fantasy manager foolishly moved on. Now is the time to get him, even for a road series at Houston. The Astros start Brad Peacock, who can be a big strikeout option, but was not in his most recent outing at Detroit.
• Jake Arrieta has actually never faced the Cubs in his career. He was a longtime Cub and before that a bad Oriole, but this should be interesting. For fantasy purposes, Arrieta is not exactly shining. Even if he is bad, what can the Phillies do? They cannot demote him to the minors or the bullpen, so a Monday pounding hardly means Nick Pivetta is coming. Create an injury? Who knows? Yu Darvish is just as intriguing on the other side, with all his strikeouts and occasional control.
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