Francisco Liriano's strong start last night against the White Sox was just about written in the stars prior to the game. Liriano threw an 8 inning gem with 12 strikeouts and only 2 hits. The White Sox came into the game with a ... 47 wRC+. Yes, 47. By comparison, the Blue Jays have a 144 wRC+ vs. lefties. Anyway, Liriano has been dominant all season and he has room to improve as his ERA is about half a run higher than his xFIP. Liriano's 14.0% swinging strike rate is the highest of his career. He's always had a dominant slider (wSL 11.1), but Liriano's improvement has mostly been because of his fastball. Typically a horrible pitch with wFB of -10.6 last year, his fastball is now right around breakeven. That doesn't sound impressive, but it's clearly working for him. Start him confidently going forward, but keep in the back of your mind that health is always a concern with him.
How could it be possible to recommend a reliever with a 6.75 ERA? Call me crazy, I guess. Steve Cishek was called back up to the majors last week after refining his delivery in the minors with an old pitching coach. Cishek's performance this year came out of no where, so you would think it was only a matter of time until he put it back together. Current Marlins closer, AJ Ramos, has been impressive, but control has always been a concern with him and I wouldn't be surprised if he struggles at some point. He retired the Yankees with one walk over 20 pitches last night, and it remains to be seen was role Cishek will have. But Cishek had a solid 2.17 FIP in 2014 with an 11.6 K/rate; it's tough to keep talent like that out of the closer role if he can find it. If Ramos has a few hiccups, Cishek will be the first to come in.
Chase Utley was 1-for-3 with a walk last night, which provided 40% of baserunning production for the Phillies as they only had five batters reach base. They were shut out by the dominant Bruce Chen. Please note that Bruce Chen is only dominant against the Phillies. Utley's peripherals all scream towards a stat correction going forward. He has an abysmal 17.0% LD rate, but even that shouldn't keep his BABIP at its current .189. Still, with the lack of offense in the Phillies lineup, there's no way I can recommend Utley going forward. Even if he had a negative BABIP, there wouldn't be enough room for improvement if no one is getting on base. Utley's contact rate is still elite at 88.7%, but his hard hit contact is down to 22.5% -- from a career average of 35.0%. We're seeing the end for Utley, formerly one of the best middle infielders of his era.
If you talk about the speedster on Cincinatti, Todd Frazier wants you to mention his name! Frazier stole his 8th base of the season last night, recreating the magic from last year's 20 stolen bases. Frazier lacks true speed, but is arguably the best in the league at reading pitchers. Stolen bases are the icing on the cake for Frazier owners though; his power is for real and with 18 home runs so far, he seems ready to surpass last year's 29. We've seen quite a bit of improvement in his game, as his contact rate is up nearly 4%, his K% is down 4%, and he's hitting fly balls at an incredible 47.2%. That will likely come down, but enjoy the home runs in the meantime. Frazier is solidifying himself as a top tier third base option and is one of the more unique 5-tool players that you'll find.
Josh Harrison rekindled some of the 2014 magic last night, going 4-for-4 with a walk, two stolen bases, and three runs scored. Harrison's performance led the attack against the White Sox as the Pirates tallied an impressive 11 runs on 18 hits. The biggest boon to Harrison's season has been a decreased ISO, which dropped from .175 last year to just .123 this year. His LD rate and contact rates remain in line with last year, but he's hitting fewer fly balls for extra base hits, which is severely limiting his value. He can continue to be an asset at the top of the Pirates lineup, but only if you're in need of runs. His average won't win you any championships, and without an improvement to his power, his overall value isn't going to match 2014. I'd keep him on your bench for now, though I'm not confident we'll see a breakout going forward anyway.
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