Apparently, pitching a no-hitter isn't enough to keep a starting pitcher in the Majors for an entire season. The San Francisco Giants demoted Chris Heston to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.
The decision wasn't made because of any recent struggles from Heston. Instead, it's meant to keep him fresh down the stretch. The 27-year-old pitcher is on pace to put up nearly 200 innings this season. That would surpass his previous single-season high of 151, set when he was playing Single-A ball back in 2011.
In 28 starts this season, Heston has put up a 12-9 record with a 3.38 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
It's a significant move from a DFS perspective. The first-year player has gone seven-plus innings nine times and has struck out five-plus batters 10 times this season. He also boasts a 2.48 ERA with 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 12 home starts this season.
The expectation here has to be that Heston will be re-called prior to the start of September, which would make him available for any postseason ball the defending champs might play.