Daily Dose: Catching Ray
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Many wondered why the Tigers wanted Robbie Ray as the centerpiece of a deal involving Doug Fister two offseasons ago. Now they could be wondering why they gave him up in another trade last winter.
Ray continued his hot start with the Diamondbacks on Monday, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning and settling for seven shutout frames where he allowed just two base knocks. In four starts for the D’Backs this season, the left-hander has yielded just three runs over 24 2/3 innings, good for a 1.09 ERA to go along with a 0.97 WHIP.
Not only are the numbers impressive, but the southpaw’s velocity is also something Arizona fans should be excited about. After averaging 91.3 mph with his fastball last season (according to Fangraphs.com), Ray was averaging 93.7 mph on his heater going into Monday’s outing. He was clocked consistently in the 93-94 mph range in that start, as well.
The increase in velocity hasn’t resulted in too many strikeouts for Ray just yet, as he’s punched out only 16 over his 24 2/3 frames. However, he whiffed 57 over 41 2/3 innings at Triple-A Reno, so it’s certainly possible his strikeout rate with the D’Backs will rise in time.
Ray isn’t a finished product yet. He’s had trouble with walks in the minors and can lose his command at times. That said, the velocity spike is an encouraging development and the 23-year-old is showing that fantasy leaguers should probably be taking him seriously.
Fernandez to Debut on July 2
It’s undoubtedly been a rough season for the Marlins, but they got some good news on Monday night.
Jose Fernandez was a guest during FOX Sports Florida’s TV broadcast Monday and announced himself that he would make his season debut on July 2 against the Giants after three more rehab starts. He’ll be nearly 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery by that time.
Fernandez struggled in his first rehab start, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk over three innings for High-A Jupiter. He bounced back the next time out, though, yielding just two hits over five scoreless frames. The right-hander appears to have already regained his pre-op velocity, as he’s reportedly touched 97-99 mph on the radar gun.
"Obviously, it's always changing, that's why I didn't want to pick out a day, even though I had heard," Fernandez said. "Since the last [rehab] start, the way that I felt, I said, 'OK, it's a good time to let everyone know.'"
The Marlins will obviously do their best to ease Fernandez into things, keeping a close eye on his pitch count and innings workload. But, even a curtailed Fernandez is someone fantasy owners can’t wait to get back into their lineups. They won’t have to wait much longer.
Gallardo Rolling
It was easy to be skeptical of the Rangers’ acquisition of Yovani Gallardo over the offseason. The right-hander’s velocity and strikeout rate has been tumbling for a few years now, and he’d now be facing a designated hitter instead of a pitcher and would be pitching his home games at Globe Life Park.
But, here the right-hander is 14 starts into the season and he’s been rock-solid for Texas and quite excellent of late. Gallardo blanked the Dodgers for seven frames on Monday, yielding just four hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts. He now boasts a 3.16 ERA for the season and a microscopic 1.41 mark over his last five outings.
Gallardo’s velocity remains down. In fact, his 90.6 mph average fastball velocity (according to Fangraphs.com) going into Monday’s start would be the lowest of his career over a full season. He’s also struck out only 63 over 82 2/3 innings. But, Gallardo has been able to make it work because he’s getting more ground balls than ever and is also inducing a relatively low percentage of hard contact.
Going all-in on the right-hander would still be pretty risky, but he’s looking like a much better fantasy option now than he did coming into the season.
National League Quick Hits: The Padres fired manager Bud Black on Monday ... Wil Myers was placed back on the disabled list Monday with more left wrist issues ... Stephen Strasburg (trapezius) will make a rehab start Wednesday with Double-A Harrisburg ... The Cubs will promote Kyle Schwarber to serve as a designated hitter during their interleague series this week ... Francisco Liriano struck out 12 White Sox over eight scoreless innings in a masterful performance Monday ... Trevor Rosenthal was unavailable to pitch Monday because of tightness in his pitching arm ... Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with a walk and a three-run home run in Monday’s win over the Angels ... Yadier Molina went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the season on Monday ... Noah Syndergaard struck out 11 while tossing six frames of one-run ball versus the Blue Jays Monday ... Tom Koehler held the Yankees to one run over seven innings Monday ... Williams Perez twirled six shutout innings against the Red Sox in Monday’s win ... The Diamondbacks placed Ender Inciarte on the disabled list with a strained hamstring ... Josh Harrison went 4-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs scored Monday ... Lance Lynn (forearm) will resume a throwing program on Tuesday ... Carlos Gomez was scratched from Monday's lineup with right leg tightness ... The Mets designated Dillon Gee for assignment ...
American League Quick Hits: Anibal Sanchez spun a two-hit shutout against the Reds on Monday ... George Springer singled, launched a pair of home runs and scored three times in Monday's win over the Rockies ... Jose Bautista hit a pair of solo home runs in Monday’s loss to the Mets ... Jesse Hahn gave up just one run in 6 2/3 innings in a win over the Padres Monday ... Stephen Vogt went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and a grand slam in the same game ... Taijuan Walker dealt seven innings of one-run ball versus the Giants on Monday ... Rougned Odor went 3-for-3 with two RBI in his return to the majors Monday ... Brandon Workman underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Monday ... Erasmo Ramirez tossed six innings of shutout ball versus the Nationals on Monday ... J.D. Martinez homered in his third consecutive game on Monday as the Tigers beat the Reds ... Wei-Yin Chen held the Phillies scoreless over eight innings Monday ... Matt Wieters had a three-run home run against the Phillies on Monday ... Hisashi Iwakuma (lat) will begin a rehab assignment with Low-A Everett on Saturday ... James Paxton (finger) has been cleared to resume a throwing program next week ... Delino DeShields (hamstring) is expected to be sidelined for three weeks ... Yordano Ventura (hand) has been cleared to start on Friday against the Red Sox ... Jose Altuve (hamstring) aims to return to action Tuesday ...
