Coming back from a stint to the disabled list, Jon Niese has allowed one earned run over the course of his last two starts. Last night against the Padres, Niese was absolutely dealing. Niese surrendered a lead-off double to Chris Denorfia in the third for his only mistake of the night.
Niese’s Thursday Night Line: 1H, 0R, 0BB and 6K.
Niese’s 7.06 Ks-per-9 and 2.98 BB-per-9 give him a decent K:BB but in the eyes of many fantasy owners, Niese just isn’t all that sexy. Niese isn’t going to touch the mid-90′s but a well placed 89.9mph fastball can do just as much damage if you make it dance.
In what seems like a growing trend, Niese hasn’t been racking up his strike-outs with absolutely filthy pitches but rather with a group of pitches that all look the same but move in opposite directions. Niese relies on his best pitch, the cutter, 26% of the time which puts him up there with guys like Dan Haren and Jaime Garcia in terms of usage. Niese’s cutter comes in at a little over 86mph and is complimented by a four-seamer and two-seamer along with a curveball and change-up. Niese’s cutter doesn’t quite have the movement that Jaime Garcia’s been riding en route to a 1.47 ERA but it’s still a very serviceable pitch.
With the Marlins and Padres out of the picture, Niese schedule will now feature a game against the Indians before heading home to face the Tigers and Twins if the schedule holds true. If Niese gets bumped, he could easily end up facing the Yankees at Yankee stadium which probably isn’t the best environment for success.
Considering that Jon Niese is only at 5% owned in standard Y! Leagues, he’s a great speculative add. Niese plays in the ridiculously pitcher-friendly Citi-Field and has continued to increase his ground-ball percentage which both bode well for future performance. At the very least, give Niese a look for his Cleveland start.
