Fantasy Baseball: Streamer’s Delight
~Pitching Streamers 8/22–8/28~ (Week 20)
By Mike Cave
Welcome to week 20’s Streamer’s Delight! In this section I will give around 8–12 possible streaming pitcher options that are around or under 50% owned in ESPN leagues. My goal is to provide you with pitchers that I believe will give you a decent shot at a QS/Win or both and in turn, hopefully hit two out of three streamers. Based on the QS/Win criteria, my last week’s record: 5–2 and ytd record: 67–33. *Note: some opposing pitchers and pitching dates are subject to change.
In order by date…
Anibal Sanchez DET 8/23 & 8/28 (@MIN, Gibson and vs LAA, Skaggs)
-To say Sanchez is having a rough season is a vast understatement. To date, Sanchez is sitting on a 5.94 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP, which is someone you’d rarely want to rely on, but Anibal has turned it around over his last six starts by throwing four QS and one of those starts was against these same Twins that he faces on Tuesday…his stat line in that game was 6ip/3er/10k’s. Sanchez has his moments, but I’m willing to trust him for this nice two start week.
Joe Musgrove HOU 8/23 (@PIT, Nova)
-Musgrove was chugging along in his first three appearances only giving up four earned runs in 18+ innings and then the Baltimore game happened…ouch! Musgrove was throttled for 8 earned runs in 5 ⅓ innings. I can’t say I expected Musgrove to get crushed like that, but I knew some sort of regression was bound to happen. One big positive for Joe is that he’s a control type pitcher, he throws strikes and that helps him last longer in games, but throwing strikes can hurt you as well and games like the one against Baltimore will happen from time to time. That being said, Musgrove is one of the better young pitchers in the game and I think he’ll rebound nicely against a good, but not great Pittsburgh team.
Tyler Anderson COL 8/24 (@MIL, Davies)
-One of the biggest surprises coming out of Colorado, Anderson has been the most consistent and arguably the most valuable pitcher on the Rockies pitching staff this season. A former first round pick back in 2011, Anderson has tossed eight QS in thirteen tries and hasn’t been far off on his misses, save one start. This week Anderson travels to Milwaukee to face one of the worst offensive hitting teams in baseball in the Brewers, not to mention an elevated strikeout rate as well. Given the great matchup, I believe Anderson is a near shoo-in for a QS.
Jared Eickhoff PHI 8/24 (@CWS, Rodon)
-Eickhoff makes the list this week mainly due to his matchup against the free falling White Sox. The Sox started hot, but have went ice cold after about six weeks into the season. I’d be a little hesitant with Eickhoff due to his rough 4.70 road ERA, so tread carefully and weigh the pros and cons for this streamer. As of late, Eickhoff has struggled to string together 6+ innings of work on a consistent basis, but he has the tools and matchup to reach that milestone and will hopefully do enough to help fantasy owners in several different areas against Chicago.
Trevor Bauer CLE 8/24 (@OAK, Graveman)
-Bauer is a puzzle I don’t even attempt to put together. He has the upside of a #2 starter and floor of a project pitcher. But one thing I’ve learned with Bauer is that you use him when he’s hot and ask no questions. Bauer had an awesome run earlier in the season for the better part of May through July, but then fizzled a bit and now he’s found his stride again, posting an 8 inning, 13 K performance against the Toronto Blue Jays during his last outing…very impressive! Not a guy that will always be able to be counted on for strikeouts, Bauer has a good skill set and will elevate his K rate when the matchup dictates it. However, since the A’s are stingy about striking out at home, I don’t expect Bauer to light it up that area, but the A’s do offer up a bottom five team avg at home, so an extended stay in the game for Bauer is very possible.
Robbie Ray ARI 8/25 (vs ATL, Jenkins)
-Another pitcher that can be one of the best and one of the worst on any given night, Robbie Ray makes the streamer list for the second week in a row. Ray has massive upside and could be one of the better young pitchers in the league, but right now he’s mostly inconsistent and often has trouble getting batters out on a regular basis. That being said, Ray is very hard to ignore in the right matchup and Atlanta is just that. Ray has tossed two QS over his last three games and also struck out 22 batters in that span. I think a strikeout an inning or more is very feasible for the Diamondbacks’ young pitcher against the porous Braves offense.
Bartolo Colon 8/26 (vs PHI, Morgan)
-Although Colon has been up and down this season, he’s been able to keep his ERA 3.38 and WHIP 1.24 at a very respectable number. Big Sexy has been on point for two of his last three starts by tossing QS’s against San Francisco and the Diamondbacks. Colon has been very usable in roto leagues in season, but can only be used based on matchup in points leagues. The Phillies lack offensive punch and don’t offer much of a threat for Colon. Given the fact that he’s playing at home should just be icing on the cake for this sweet matchup…stream with confidence.
David Phelps MIA 8/26 (vs SD, Cosart)
-Phelps is the hot new pickup after his dazzling six inning, nine strikeout performance against the Pirates. Phelps started the year as a reliever and just recently was tossed into the rotation in early August…so far, so good. Over his four 2016 starts, Phelps has only given up three earned runs in 20 ⅔’s innings, while striking out 26 batters. While I don’t believe Phelps is an automatic pick up and play every week at this point, he’s shown that he can be trusted for the time being and he provides a nice strikeout rate to boot.
Jeremy Hellickson PHI 8/27 (@NYM, Syndergaard)
-A pitcher that I never cared for in the past, Hellickson has really made strides this season with the Phillies. Hellickson was a hot name when the trade deadline came and went, but apparently no contending team wanted him bad enough and he stayed with the Phillies. Hellickson has been almost as consistent as any other pitcher in the league when it comes to innings pitched per outing and he’s pitched at least six innings nearly 70% of the time in 2016. Not a big strikeout pitcher, Hellickson does most of his work by pitching to contact and keeping his pitch count at bay and in turn helps his case to go deeper into games. The only thing I fear in this matchup is his mound opponent, but even he has struggled of late. If you need innings and a WHIP boost, Hellickson may be your guy.
Some 50/50 options…
Mike Foltynewicz ATL 8/23 (@ARI, Godley)
-Most likely positive outcome…QS (moderate K rate
Chad Kuhl PIT 8/25 (@MIL, Peralta)
-Most likely positive outcome…QS, W (moderate K rate)
Blake Snell TB 8/27 (@HOU, Keuchel)
-Most likely positive outcome…W (high K upside)
Homer Bailey CIN 8/28 (@ARI, Bradley)
-Most likely positive outcome…QS, W (moderate K upside)
Reynaldo Lopez WSH 8/28 (vs COL, Bettis)
-Most likely positive outcome…W (high K upside)
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