Hello, I have a 3.95 ERA, 1.40 WHIP with a 21.8 percent strike out rate and 12.6 percent walk rate. Would you like me to join your fantasy roster? Based on those numbers most fantasy owners would say no, but this player is owned in over 90 percent of leagues. I am Matt Moore. Last night Moore had 11 strikeouts, six walks and allowed four hits in six innings against the Blue Jays. The biggest takeaway from the start (and for the season) is he’s an enigma. In the first inning he was extremely sharp with this command, throwing the fastball on both sides of the plate and generating filthy swings and misses on the curveball. In the second and third innings he lost command entirely; he couldn’t throw the fastball inside; he lost the feel for the changeup. In the fourth and fifth inning the command returned and he looked great again. The sixth inning was more like the second and third. Overall, the box score looked great, but I’m still not confident in his viability moving forward. His next starts are @Houston, White Sox and Twins so you’re probably going to start him in those matchups, but after that you should try to trade high. If you’re in a NFBC style league with no trades, you have to hold onto him because his ceiling is too high to let go. That said, I would understand if an owner dropped him.
On paper, Zack Wheeler had a very favorable matchup against the free swinging White Sox, but he only managed to strikeout one batter. Unlike the first start, which he threw primarily fastballs, Wheeler threw a lot of breaking pitches (curveballs and sliders) with mixed results. Mets Manager, Terry Collins said the slider is his best secondary pitch, but after two starts the curveball looks like the better pitch. Either way this start it looked as though the Mets mandated Wheeler to throw his secondary pitches more. In terms of the curveball Wheeler was slowing his arm down and if I can notice it, the hitters definitely noticed it. The slider, just like all of his secondary pitches, is still a work in progress as he doesn’t have good command of it yet. For every good slider there were 2-3 poor ones. Another major concern is his inability to hold runners, yesterday he allowed three stolen bases; one of which he didn’t even look at the runner on first. Overall, Wheeler is far from a finished product and will have starts like these. He should be owned in all leagues, but he’s a streaming option. His start he’s home against the Nationals and is a must start. If you can get $1.10 for him in a non-keeper league I would make the move immediately.
Even after two horrible starts for Rick Porcello I’m not jumping off the bandwagon. He pitched effectively, suffered from a .476 BABIP last night. He made good pitches, but all the contact that was made against him found holes in the defense. Also, he left the game only allowing four runs; the Tigers reliever allowed the next three runs to score.
