The following Spotlight Pitchers were selected by Awesemo.com’s Director of Content Josh Engleman.
Jeff Samardzija [6.4 IP, 2.8 ER, 6.6 K, 1.7 BB]
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Highest upside AND best value?!?
I wasn’t ready for this. With high-end pitching taking the night off, Samardzija is in a really weird spot. Based on my model, he has the chance of being a top pitcher. He’s also the best value of the entire slate, by a mile, due to his microscopic price on both sites. The A’s implied total is 3rd lowest on the slate. Their projected lineup has a ton of swing-and-miss in it. He’s chalk tonight and I’m completely fine with it. It looks like a lot of people will be on board, so…I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat.
Jon Gray [5.6 IP, 2.9 ER, 6.2 K, 1.7 BB]
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Back where he belongs
I read a tweet this morning that perfectly explained the Jon Gray situation.
2018 Jon Gray:
2.82 xFIP, 3.18 SIERA, 28.9 K%, 7.0 BB%,
63.1 LOB %, 13.4 SwStr%, .386 BABIP2018 Luis Severino:
2.99 xFIP, 3.08 SIERA, 29.8 K%, 6.5 BB%,
83.0 LOB%, 12.7 SwStr%, .271 BABIPImagine Severino pitching in AAA right now or hearing rumors he could move to the pen
— Paul Kloster (@pkloster) July 12, 2018
Rostering a pitcher in Coors is always a dicey proposition, but on a 6 game slate, I see no reason to avoid him. The Mariners implied total is under 5 runs, so this feels like a great shot. Gray has been incredibly unlucky in 2018. I’m hoping tonight is the night that he rights his ship.
