Reid only file
No, no, don’t rush to chase Detmers no-no
THERE have been 316 no-hitters thrown in the history of Major League Baseball. Not every single no-no was thrown by Hall of Famers (or Hall of Famers to be) such as Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax or Max Scherzer.
Homer Bailey, owner of a 4.56 career ERA, threw two no-nos. Do you remember Chris Heston? Henderson Alvarez? Kent Mercker? Ramon J. Martinez? Greg Maddux? Oh, wait, he never threw one.
No-hitters don’t equal stardom — or even fantasy usefulness. They’re just impressive feats.
On Tuesday, the Angels’ Reid Detmers threw a nohitter in the 11th start of his career. He became the youngest pitcher to throw one since Anibal Sanchez in 2006, and the youngest Angel since Clyde Wright in 1970.
One would think this type of performance from a 22-year-old former first-round pick (10thoverall in 2020) might make him a hot fantasy commodity. Well, it hasn’t. He was the 16th-most added pitcher in ESPN leagues — his ownership jumping from 4.2 percent to 9.4. He remains available in 84 percent of Yahoo leagues.
The lack of movement is justified. Detmers struck out two batters Tuesday, the lowest total in a no-hitter since Francisco Liriano also struck out two in 2011. That isn’t a shock considering Detmers is striking out just 5.8 per nine innings this season (6.8 per nine over his 11 career starts).
Detmers’ strikeout totals are shocking, especially after he racked up 15.7 strikeouts per nine in his one season in the minors and 13.4 per nine over three seasons at the University of Louisville.
Detmers also sports an unsustainable .176 BaBIP, which would be the second-lowest among
starters if he qualified. His .165 opponent average looks incredible, but his expected .255 batting average against doesn’t look as good. Nor does his 3.80 xERA, or his 4.06 FIP, or his 4.34 xFIP.
Those numbers look even worse when you consider that, of the 108 pitches Detmers threw on Tuesday, he generated just 10 swinging strikes (9.3 percent). He has a 7.9 percent swinging-strike rate for the season and 9.5 percent in his career. He is showing little to no ability to miss bats, and it doesn’t bode well that this was also just the second time in his brief career that he pitched more than five innings in a game.
Can fantasy owners pick up Detmers in the hope his no-no will be the catalyst to allow him to live up to his draft status? Sure, and no one would mock you. But Roto Rage believes there are other young pitchers worth adding instead.
Oakland’s Paul Blackburn was 4-0 with a 0.87 WHIP, .214 opponent average and 1.74 ERA before taking the mound on Saturday. Though he is striking out just 7.5 per nine innings, he is walking 0.87 per nine, has a 10.9 percent swinging-strike rate and his xERA (2.87), FIP (2.16) and xFIP (2.55) indicate he should continue to be a viable option.
In his first 16 2/3 innings, mostly multi-inning relief outings, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (0-1, 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) has struck out 36.4 percent of hitters, with a 15.9 percent swinging-strike rate. Opponents are hitting .158 against him, including .174 against his high-90s fastball (with a 30.6 percent whiff rate) and .100 against his slider (with a 42.9 percent whiff rate).
Seattle’s George Kirby, who took the mound Saturday against the Mets, struck out seven over six scoreless innings in his big league debut last Sunday. Most impressive was his 17.3 percent swingingstrike rate and the fact he didn’t walk a batter.