Feel like you've seen Alex Meyer a time or two in this space? Yeah, Wednesday's one-hit effort against the Nationals wasn't the first time he has flashed his potential this year.
How's this for up-and-down?
June 7 (@DET) | 6 IP | 3 H | 1 ER | 4 BB | 9 K |
June 12 (NYY) | 4 2/3 IP | 5 H | 2 ER | 5 BB | 5 K |
June 17 (KC) | 6 IP | 2 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 9 K |
June 23 (@BOS) | 3 1/3 IP | 5 H | 5 ER | 2 BB | 3 K |
June 28 (LAD) | 6 IP | 1 H | 0 ER | 5 BB | 4 K |
July 3 (@MIN) | 5 IP | 6 H | 5 ER | 4 BB | 6 K |
July 19 (WAS) | 7 IP | 1 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 7 K |
If you look at just the high points for Meyer, he's on the level of a Corey Kluber, but of course he has all of those low points bringing his numbers down to mediocrity. The potential is there, though. Meyer, a former first-round pick (by the Nationals, incidentally), touches 99 mph with his fastball and was at one time considered a top prospect before his walks got the better of him. This time out, though, he needed just 88 pitches to get through seven innings against one of the league's best offenses.
"If you throw pitches over the plate, that's step one for Alex," manager Mike Scioscia told The Orange County Register.
And it wasn't an isolated incident. Because of the All-Star break, Meyer's previous start actually came at Triple-A, and he threw 50 of his 73 pitches for strikes there.
"That was the best ball-strike ratio he's had all year," Scioscia said. "I don't care if you do it in Triple-A or here, that's important."
The demotion was just a procedural move, but it seemed to reinforce an idea that had only begun to coalesce in Meyer's mind.
"If you want to stay up here, you need to do a little better," Meyer said. "That's what I took out of it."
I can't in good conscience predict smooth sailing from here on out, not with as many times as Meyer has faked us out already, but I do see clear progress being made. And at a time when reliable starting pitching is more the exception than the rule anyway, I don't see the harm in pursuing the upside.
| Last eight starts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alex Meyer
LAA SP
| 2.66 ERA | 1.18 WHIP | 4.9 BB/9 | 9.6 K/9 |
Meyer has special stuff and has made his clearest strides toward overcoming his control issues this season. The 27-year-old has a lot of failure on his resume, but after holding the opposition to three hits or fewer in three of his last six starts, he's firmly on the mixed-league radar.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sean Doolittle
WAS RP
| 3.63 ERA | 0.72 WHIP | 1.2 BB/9 | 12.5 K/9 |
Though no official announcement has been made, Sean Doolittle handled the Nationals' first save chance following Sunday's big trade, with Ryan Madson working the eighth, and it wasn't an obvious case of Dusty Baker playing the matchups (not that he'd be the sort of manager to rearrange roles because of that anyway). If nothing else, the left-hander appears to be in the lead for the role, and his 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings and 0.72 WHIP make him a worthy candidate. Injuries have held him back over the years, but he has a history of such dominance when healthy.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyler Clippard
CHW RP
| 4.95 ERA | 1.29 WHIP | 4.7 BB/9 | 10.4 K/9 |
The White Sox pulled a fast one on Fantasy owners Wednesday, declaring newcomer Tyler Clippard the closer instead of the more consistent Anthony Swarzak. It's no certainty the 32-year-old keeps the role, not with the kind of numbers he put up with the Yankees, but Clippard's closer background may grant him a longer leash. He's not the most exciting choice, especially since the White Sox don't figure to be big winners in the second half, but anyone in line for saves matters in most Fantasy formats.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gerardo Parra
COL LF
| .364 BA | 8 HR | .936 OPS | 184 AB |
I'll double down after featuring Gerardo Parra in Tuesday's Waiver Wire. All the 30-year-old has done since then is reach base in nine of his last 10 plate appearances, collecting six singles, one double and two walks. His .388 BABIP, though high, isn't as high as you'd expect for his .364 batting average, and high BABIPs are the norm for Rockies hitters anyway. These are the kinds numbers we expected from Parra in the thin air of Coors Field last year, before a high ankle sprain derailed his season.
| Wednesday vs. Rangers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Gausman
BAL SP
| 6 IP | 4 H | 1 ER | 8 K |
Kevin Gausman has lived and died by his splitter this year, and Wednesday's outing was no exception. He threw 25 splitters, recording swinging strikes on seven of them. But he added a new trick after two miserable starts in which is splitter wasn't working so well: He varied the speed on his fastball, adding some deception to an arsenal often criticized for its lack of variety. And the early returns were promising.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nick Williams
PHI RF
| .316 BA | 3 HR | .963 OPS | 57 AB |
Though he's a free-swinger with a spotty minor-league track record, Nick Williams has long been regarded as a top prospect and was the prize of the deal that sent Cole Hamels to the Rangers. And he's showing why here in the majors, tripling twice Wednesday after homering in three of his previous six games to give him, according to MLB.com, seven barreled balls in July (the season leader is Aaron Judge ... with 33). I don't know that he's mixed-league material yet, as deep as outfield is this year, but the upside is evident.
