Fantasy managers certainly knew that White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito could help our fantasy teams before he tossed his exciting no-hitter against the embarrassing Pirates lineup on Tuesday night. Giolito was overall a clear top-20 starting pitcher in 2019, posting a 3.41 ERA with 228 strikeouts, and he earned himself a seventh-round slot in ESPN ADP this season. Everyone was already relying on the 25-year-old Chicago ace.
However, with 26 strikeouts against two walks, a mere three hits and nary a run allowed in his past two starts and 16 innings, one might wonder whether Giolito deserves attention in higher tiers of fantasy stardom.
Let us remember that Giolito,
The hard-throwing Giolito certainly did not face a powerhouse Pirates lineup on Tuesday night, but when he hits his spots, he is tough for anyone to hit. My lone issue with him is a bit of inconsistency, as even in his breakout 2019, Giolito was fantastic in May, June and August (2.20 ERA) and underwhelming in the other three months (5.42 ERA). Those in the top tier of aces seldom do that. Giolito is the No. 16 starter in Tristan H. Cockcroft's rankings. It feels a bit low, as we love the pitcher's hot streaks, but the Cardinals did get five runs off him 11 days ago too.
That is not to say that the top pitchers never have an off game, but let us not overreact to Giolito's dominance over an offense that entered play with a .229 batting average, as Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds -- well, all of them are struggling. Even Giolito realized something special was pending when he said, postgame, that he saw what was coming to the plate in the final two innings and, well, it was not the 1927 Yankees.
For now, I think it is reasonable to consider Giolito among the top 10 starting pitchers for fantasy, not because he no-hit the Pirates but because I see a top tier of starters (Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber) and then a group of right-handers who are relatively interchangeable. Giolito is hardly different from the likes of Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Aaron Nola and Mike Clevinger at this point, with Yu Darvish, Zack Greinke, Blake Snell, Chris Paddack and Lance Lynn -- yes, him -- right there as well. Perhaps it took a no-hitter to remind us that Giolito might find consistency now too.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are terrible, and perhaps the promotion of top prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes would not have altered the trajectory of Tuesday night, but honestly, what are they waiting for? Hayes is not likely to produce at the plate as we expected Dylan Carlson, Jo Adell and Alec Bohm would, but then again, Carlson and Adell are not doing much, and fantasy managers are already moving on. Cannot say I blame them. For every Kyle Lewis, multiple rookie hitters struggle.
Hayes is a brilliant third baseman, and Pittsburgh keeps sending JT Riddle out to the hot corner. Just give Hayes a chance! I do not think fantasy managers need to drop everything they are doing to go get him, but I refuse to believe that a hitter who showed modest power in the minors cannot thrive in the majors. Anything is possible. Hayes showed strong plate discipline through the minors and gap power, not 450-foot blasts. Perhaps he produces offensively like Miami's Brian Anderson. We would take that.
Other random MLB thoughts
Speaking of Clevinger, he returns to the big league mound Wednesday against the mighty Twins, and while it is too late for weekly formats, activate him in daily ones. Clevinger and his partner in crime, Zach Plesac, got banished by teammates after ignoring virus protocols, and the one we rank as a top-10 starter gets the call first. He should. He is better. Clevinger might have also needed time to figure out why he walked five hitters in each of his past two outings. He is a good pitcher. Rely on him. I don't know when Plesac gets another chance, and it probably depends on rookie Triston McKenzie, but Plesac is not Clevinger. Move on if you need the roster spot.
Marlins utility option Jon Berti officially batted one time in Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of the seemingly disinterested Mets, but he also stole three bases. The one of home plate was pure comedy. Berti might not be on your mind in roto leagues, but teammate Jonathan Villar is the lone big leaguer with more stolen bases. It is a hollow fantasy skill set, but in roto leagues, steals matter, and they are scarce.
I would add Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn over Berti, as this might be the fastest man in the sport. For years, he has been among the most brittle men in the sport, but so far, fingers crossed. Quinn might never ascend to the top of the lineup, but if he reaches base, he makes a difference.
So glad -- not really -- I sat Giants first baseman Brandon Belt in a daily league Tuesday. He faced Dodgers lefty Julio Urias and I had other options, so it was not an egregious move, but I am starting to think that sitting lefties versus lefties, when so few pitchers make it past four innings anyway, is silly in this truncated season. They face so many relievers! Belt homered off Urias and then, in the ninth inning, off closer Kenley Jansen. Tough to explain why Belt has five home runs in 23 games, but I would not read into it either. It remains tough for lefties to homer in San Francisco.
Perhaps nobody wants to read this, but Mariners lefty Marco Gonzales, who is on the most added list but probably temporarily so, continues to roll along with a 3.63 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and nearly a K per inning. He beat the streaking Padres and last week allowed one run over seven innings to the Dodgers. This is not a fluke! He did this in 2019! No, this is not a left-handed Giolito, but the No. 26 pitcher on the Player Rater is fine, and he is out there in nearly half of standard leagues.
Bullpen banter
Jansen blew the save Tuesday, and while it would seem silly to predict doom here from one at-bat, there is the small matter of the 2.83 FIP, which is double his current ERA, along with the .160 BABIP and 93% LOB. There will be more home runs (22 of them in 2018-19), but as I have said all along, it would take an injury, not performance, to remove him from closing. Invest in Blake Treinen but only because he is good, not for potential saves.
Well, it looks like Rockies right-hander Daniel Bard can save games on consecutive days, a great sign. The multiple walks and 32 pitches (18 strikes) to close out Arizona on Tuesday was a bit concerning, but Jairo Diaz pitched the sixth inning. Bard is the man.
Make that nine Rays with a save after right-hander Edgar Garcia closed out the Tuesday win. This is the Garcia designated for assignment by the relief-needy Phillies a week ago. Bad judgment! Nick Anderson could return from the injured list for next week, but then again, why assume he handles all the save chances? This is going to remain a committee -- and good for them! It works!
I would not assume Red Sox right-hander Matt Barnes furnishes his or your team with myriad saves for long. Barnes has allowed runs in consecutive outings, 10 runs (eight earned) in 12 innings, and even while striking everyone out in 2019, his control was often an issue. Perhaps Barnes keeps the closer role because of pedigree, but it will be messy.
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