As they say in a Jewelery District of any major city, Johnny Cueto pitched a gem. Well, any major city except Detroit. There they call a gem, "Slowly remove it from your finger, and no funny business!" Against the Pirates yesterday -- 9 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 12 Ks. Pretty much across the board for Cueto's career, I haven't been a fan. His xFIP has always been much worse than his ERA, and his K-rate has never been close to an elite starter. Well, a weird thing happened on the way to his fifth start of the year, he looks like an ace. His xFIP is down to 2.55, his K-rate is 10.50 and his walk rate is 2.40. Those are fantasy ace numbers. Last year through April, he had a 2.80 xFIP, 9.35 K-rate and 3.12 walk rate. Those numbers aren't that different. Hey, random italicized letters are my shtick. Not right now, Random Italicized Voice. Whoa, snippy! There is one fairly significant difference between Cueto this year and last. About a mile per hour on his fastball. In some instances, his fastball is averaging two extra miles per hour from last April, and he's cut out his, uh, cutter, and his ground balls have remained. He's pitching slightly different, slightly better, and, for the first time I can remember, I'm really liking what Cueto is showing. Ain't that a kick in Jason LaRue's head? His ERA won't stay at 1.50, but I also wouldn't be looking to sell him high. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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