Top 100 Starting Pitchers, Week 14: A Tough Week For Gray’s (But Not Grey’s)

What a difference a week makes. A week ago there wasn't a ton of movement, but this week I felt like an overhaul was in store. We'll get to the risers and fallers in a little bit, but first there is a bit of scuttlebutt to address. No, not Scuzzlebutt the basket-weaving monster who lives in the mountains of South Park and has Patrick Duffy for a leg and a stick of celery for an arm. SCUTTLEbutt. The largest of which has to be the surprise demotion of Rockies Opening Day starter Jon Gray to Triple-A Albuquerque. Gray had a particularly heinous 5.77 ERA, so bad that Mariska Hargitay had begun poking around Coors Field to keep an eye on things. His FIP, however, is a sterling 3.07 (11th best among qualified starters), and his K-BB% is 21.8% (12th best). You can't even point to Coors Field as causing his troubles, with a 5.89 road ERA. This looks like incredibly bad luck, but with this demotion clearly the team is focused on something mechanical. It'll be pretty hard to hang on to him in standard mixers, although he may not be down for too long if they fix what needs a-fixin' right quick. I'd try to hold him in a bench spot if you can in 15+ team leagues. Elsewhere, there aren't too many notable promotions, but there are a few new names on the back end to peep.