McGowan

[jetlag]

i benched him this week. I'm hoping he pulls it together by the all star break, but i'm not confident having him start right now.

[The Artful Dodger]

McGowan has developed what you'd call Ervin Santana syndrome. His away splits are starkly atrocious compared to his line at home, but even he gets a bit lucky at home, as his hit rate is still high (a hit per inning at home) and he's been able to get out of those jams with timely groundouts.

That said, I wouldn't drop him yet. His GB% is still fairly steady and his K/9 has improved. McGowan tends to be a 2nd half pitcher as well, but all he needs to do is to cut down on the borderline pitches, as his fastball velocity is very good and so are his peripherals. He'll be fine.

[Sammy_D]

Anyone with an ounce of fantasy baseball sense would have been hesitant to start McGowan today. He's got some pretty significant splits this year. On the road he has a 5.68 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. That this was a road start at Yankee Stadium should have been a big red flag. BTW his numbers at home: 1.93 ERA, 1.26 WHIP. Why would you think NY would be where he'd turn it around on the road?

Yeah, but when you en up with a tough luck outing from Wainright (grand slam in the 7th) and you pitched Cain against the Mets this week, you're left with no choice but to start him. Besides, his splits have nothing to do with carrying a 7-2 lead into the 5th inning. At some point you either learn to strap it up, go after guys and put it all together, or you go down as a mediocre pitcher.

If he didn't have the stuff he has, I'd say his away splits are to be expected. But when you have the stuff he has, he's got to learn to put it all together. That's what makes him frustrating right now.