Start: July 16th vs. Toronto Blue Jays
ESPN ownership: 6 percent
Rest assured, you have not time traveled -- Detroit Tigers vet Anibal Sanchez is indeed thriving over his last month of work, managing a 3.09 ERA over 23-plus innings, a mark that's certified by a 2.72 fielding independent pitching (FIP). The 33-year-old has allowed a measly one home run over that span, a welcome contrast from the two-plus homers-per-nine surrendered on the season.
Sanchez is turning back the clock in large part thanks to a revival of his mint changeup, a near-elite offering over the last month whose weighted effectiveness stacks right up with offerings from Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. Perhaps some fear is warranted that the strikeout gains on the changeup will regress, especially when you consider the swinging strikes and reach rate are actually down compared to the last few seasons.
But perhaps those granular stats don't tell the whole story: Sanchez does seem to be coaxing much less substantive contact on the pitch, limiting line drives and surrendering more flies and pop-ups. So, chances are good that even if hitters aren't missing the pitch as often, it's not as if they're doing much damage when they get a hold of one.
Whatever the case, streamers should not shy away from deploying Sanchez against the Blue Jays, who have been useless against changeups and who have had trouble generating offense against righties all season.