Adbert Alzolay didn't get the hype of Zac Gallen, at least not in Fantasy Baseball circles, but he made his debut Thursday all the same.
And came off the field to a standing ovation.
No, he didn't start for the Cubs, who chose to ease him in by having him piggyback Tyler Chatwood. Chatwood muddled his way through his four innings, but Alzolay didn't allow a hit through his first four, departing only after serving up a solo home run to Todd Frazier leading off the ninth.
In all, he walked two and struck out five, his fastball hitting 96 mph and his changeup and curveball keeping Mets hitters off balance. It was a performance not too unlike his last four at Triple-A, during which he put together a 1.96 ERA and 0.87 WHIP with 34 strikeouts compared to three walks. He was pitching so well down there, according to MLB.com, that Theo Epstein was dreaming up ways to get him in the big leagues even before the Kyle Hendricks injury, with the possibility of a six-man rotation on the table.
"His curveball's been as good as I've ever seen it the last four or five starts," Epstein said last weekend. "He's getting a ton of swings and misses with it. He's pitching really well up in the zone with his fastball. His changeup's really come on, too. So, three good weapons for him and pitching with great rhythm and a lot of confidence."
So yeah, Alzolay may not have started this one, but he probably earned a few starts with it, given that Hendricks is expected to miss at least a month with a shoulder impingement. And given that Alzolay is only 13 percent owned in CBS Sports leagues, it's time to wake up to his potential.
Zac Gallen's debut wasn't as awe-inspiring as Alzolay's, but it was nothing short of a success still. He allowed one earned run in five innings, striking out six and walking two. His pitch count got away from him a little, but if that's the worst you can say for a kid in his big-league debut, he's earned a longer look. And considering he had some of the most jaw-dropping numbers of any minor-league pitcher this year, putting together a 1.77 ERA, a 0.71 WHIP and 11.0 K/9 in a league where the average ERA is over 5.00, you'll want to hop aboard while you still can.
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Rounding out a three-hit day with another home run, his third in five games and ninth in 38 overall, Lourdes Gurriel is performing at something close to a 40-homer pace. And yet his home run-to-fly ball rate isn't totally out of sorts with last year's. Factor in an ordinary BABIP, and he may not be overachieving in a drastic way. Particularly with triple eligibility, he's deserving of more looks.
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You might assume Julio Urias is the big winner after he struck out five over three scoreless innings in a rare start Thursday, seemingly positioning himself to fill the injured Rich Hill's spot in the starting rotation. But Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reported before the game that Ross Stripling was more likely to take Hill's spot. "Yeah, I think he's earned that opportunity," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. Stripling of course made the All-Star team as a starting pitcher last year and had a 2.65 ERA in six starts earlier this year.
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Brendan Rodgers wasn't called on to start Thursday's game in his first day back with the big club, but the player who did stand in for Trevor Story at shortstop, Pat Valaika, is batting .063. Rodgers, a top prospect by every measure, can surely do better than that. He has nothing more to prove at Triple-A, and while his first stint in the big leagues didn't go well, he didn't get the most consistent playing time either. With Story's absence figuring to measure in weeks, now is Rodgers' time to shine.
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Frankie Montas' breakthrough hasn't been as splashy as Lucas Giolito's, but more starts like Thursday's will go a long way toward closing that gap. The eight-inning gem was just his second start exceeding six innings this season, but with elite ground-ball tendencies and a greatly improved strikeout rate, his 2.70 ERA is pretty close to legit.
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Not even a four-game absence for a hamstring injury can slow down Jay Bruce, who reached base in all four plate appearances of his second game back, homering for the sixth time in 13 overall with the Phillies. That's compared to only three strikeouts. With his season batting average now up to .242, the power potential seems well worth it.
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Tanner Roark followed up one impressive start with another Thursday, striking out seven over six one-run innings to give him more than a strikeout per inning for the season and just a 3.47 ERA. His SIERA and xFIP both suggest the ERA should be about a run higher, though, and some regression is certain to come in the form of home runs. He's no ground-ball pitcher but has allowed just six home runs all season despite pitching half his games in one of the league's most homer-friendly venues.
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Another three strikeouts gives Austin Meadows 16 in his past 10 games. An 0-for-4 performance makes him 3 for 36 during that stretch, lowering his season batting average from .346 to .303. Some regression was inevitable, but it's hitting hard, making now the perfect time to remind you that his xBA and xwOBA both suggest he's more legit than not.
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Two steps forward, two steps back for Nick Pivetta, who looked like he was turning the corner with a nine-strikeout effort followed by one-run complete game gem earlier this month. But his past two starts have mostly crushed that enthusiasm, including Thursday's ugly showing in which he allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings with only two strikeouts. Home runs also continue to plague the right-hander, who may be unstartable again in mixed leagues.
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A ground-ball specialist who also offers some bat-missing potential, Framber Valdez was looking like a big find off the waiver wire when he allowed a combined three earned runs with 15 strikeouts over 13 innings in his first two starts, but things went south for him Thursday against the Yankees. You shouldn't be so quick to give up on him — there's a lot to like, after all — but there's just as much to prove and plenty of competition for those innings.
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It might be time to move on from Jimmy Nelson, whose already disappointing velocity hit a new low in his third start back from shoulder surgery, settling at about 3 mph lower than when he was last healthy. He's not throwing strikes, he's getting hit extremely hard, and he clearly faces an uphill battle back to respectability.
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With Jose Alvarado attending to a family matter over the past couple weeks, Diego Castillo had a chance to seize the closer role for himself in Tampa Bay. But Thursday's four-run disaster was just the latest stumble for the right-handed half of the closer platoon, whose ERA has jumped from 1.59 to 3.51 in his past six appearances. At this rate, he'll be lucky to be part of the platoon still when Alvarado returns, which should happen any day now.
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