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Posted at 12:30 PM EST. 

8:10 PM EST. Which team is young, energetic and can’t wait to play some ball and which team is full of veteran players that had a great run for a few years but is out of the pennant race after a month? Mindset plays a big part of this game and as the great Yogi Berra said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” Kansas City comes into this game with the worst record (7-16) in MLB while the South Side, who unloaded everyone and was projected to lose 100 games, are sitting at 13-10 and have won six of their last seven games.

The South Side is taking back a sweet tag here because they’re sending out a rookie with horrible numbers back out there. Dylan Covey (RHP) is 0-1 with a 6.91 ERA after three starts. He’s has more walks (8) than strikeouts (6) in 14 innings of work so we can understand the reluctance to get behind him here. However, we’re not going to judge a starter over three starts. This is a pitcher with only 30 innings of Double-A experience and that skipped Triple-A altogether. Of course he’s going to be excited and nervous about pitching in the big leagues and now all he has to do is settle down. Three starts in and we’re willing to gamble that things get better here because Covey has a power arm and returned with self-confidence in the Arizona Fall League after his injury-plagued campaign.

He’s long had potential since he was an unsigned first round pick of the Brewers in 2010. Oakland later drafted him in 2013 after his college days at San Diego. The White Sox selected him in the Rule 5 draft in December of 2016. Covey hits his spots with a terrific 89-94 mph fastball and keeps the ball down in the zone for groundballs. He likes to use his sinker early in the count. His big breaking curveball registers strikeouts, but he has trouble throwing it for consistent strikes. A decent change-up gives him a third average offering. Covey has a good pitcher’s frame and if you take away his one start in the Bronx (5 IP, 10 ER, 3 HR’s), his numbers look pretty good with 0 HR’s allowed and just eight hits surrendered in nine combined innings over two other starts.

Then there’s the resurgence of Jason Vargas (LHP) with his BB/K split of 2/28 and 1.40 ERA after 26 innings. Prior to his last seven starts, Vargas had a career 5.5 K’s/9 over 12 seasons. How does a 34-year-old lefty that is coming off a 14 month hiatus after TJS, go from 5.5 K’s/9 over 12 years to 9.8 K’s/9 over four 2017 starts? Prior to signing with the Royals in 2013, Vargas made only 10 starts at AL Central parks and In 56 innings he had a 5.91 ERA with 13 HR, a 1.65 WHIP with 4 K’s/9. Four years later and he’s blowing away people with a fastball that tops off at 86 MPH?

The experts are citing that his release points look different and they’re resulting in different movement on his pitches (or at least his fastballs), too. If one were to ask why he’s more effective, it appears to be related to his command, which is the result of a minor mechanical adjustment. We are talking mere inches horizontally and vertically — and it might be a good time to mention that we’re not physicists nor are we biomechanics experts. We’re not sure if the movement theory is legitimate. Regardless, a mechanical adjustment could very well cultivate sustainable results. We’ve seen it before but it’s just so hard to believe that this time it is coming from a perennially mediocre starter for 12 years that has worked with 15 different pitching coaches. This is Bartolo Colon with a curve ball that is worth fading at these prices.  

NOTE: We are still committed to playing one baseball total daily and will have today's posted sometime around 5:30 PM EST.

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