Field of Streams 2021: Week 2
Week 1 is in the books! Hopefully everyone is off to a good start to the fantasy baseball season and *not* ravaged by injuries already like I have been. If you are like me then let me start by saying “I’m sorry,” and follow it up with some pitchers that may be able to help you fill the void for this week.
Until we get more games in the season and gather more data on how pitchers are actually performing, I am only going to be listing a couple of guys in each section. As we get through the season and have a better picture on what is going on I will expand out and add more options as necessary, but until then we will have to make do with what we have.
Additionally, for people that maybe skipped out last year due to the shortened season and/or just as a general reminder, make sure to keep an eye on the news for any games getting postponed due to COVID protocols. We have already seen one series get postponed this past weekend and there is a chance that the beginning of this week gets affected as well, so be sure to have plenty of options in case anything goes south.
As was the case last year, any game that I reference here is subject to change for that very reason. Sometimes we have little to no heads up on any of these schedule adjustments, and games — especially later in the weekdays after this series posts — may not play out as they were originally expected to at the time of this writing. Two-Start Adds may turn into Single Game Streamers if one of their games gets postponed or pushed back in the week, and SGS picks may not actually have that selected game happen so be sure to check on player and team news daily to make sure you put yourself in the best possible position.
NOTE: I will typically try to stay around the 50% owned mark for my selections, but may reach up to guys owned in around 65% of leagues as well depending on different matchup factors. Owned percentages will read (ESPN, Yahoo), and all percentages and stats are current prior to Sunday’s games unless stated otherwise.
Without further ado, here are my streaming picks for the second week of the 2021 season.
Two-Start Adds
Taijuan Walker — NYM (23.3%, 33%) vs PHI, at COL
I admit, this seems like an interesting nomination right out the chute. But Walker looked alright in his season debut as he posted a quality start (6 IP, 2 ER, 1.00 WHIP), and his numbers for these specific matchups look pretty good as well.
The Phillies stats are limited since he’s only made one start against them in his career, but that game did come last season against an offense that has mostly the same players. In that game Walker allowed just 1 ER over 6 IP, and he also posted an 8:2 K:BB in that contest as well. Additionally, in two career starts at Citi Field (including his last outing) he has allowed 2 ER over 11 1/3 IP which is good for a 1.59 ERA, and he has a 1.235 WHIP to go with that as well. Small sample sizes, but still encouraging.
Thanks to his years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Walker actually does have some decent sample sizes in regards to games pitched against the Rockies. In six career starts against them he owns a 2.43 ERA (10 ER over 37 1/3 IP), 1.270 WHIP, and a 9.2 K/9 rate. Four of those starts have come at Coors Field, where he has also done well having posted a 2.63 ERA, 1.292 WHIP, and a 9.0 K/9 rate in those games.
J.A. Happ — MIN (9.0%, 10%) vs BOS, at LAA
His first start of the year wasn’t stellar by any means as it took him 89 pitches to log four innings of work, but he still turned in a decent first outing by allowing only three hits and one run to score. Clearly he needs to be much more efficient to have consistent fantasy value, but there is opportunity for him to put up a pair of decent starts this week despite being slated to face a pair of decent offensive clubs.
Boston got off to a slow start out of the gate as they could not get anything going offensively against the Baltimore Orioles, but they have broken out of that brief slump since and rank above league average in many offensive categories. However, the Red Sox have struggled against left-handed starting pitching as they own just a .231/.283/.351 slash line (resulting in a .634 OPS) in four games.
Similarly to the Red Sox, the Angels have gotten off to a decent start in 2019 but they have struggled against left-handed starting pitching here in the early going. In the two games in which they have faced a starting southpaw they have a .212 AVG and a .297 OBP, and the last time they faced a lefty starter (Steven Matz of the Blue Jays) they could only muster 5 H and 1 R off of him through 6 IP of work. Happ likely won’t put up Matz-like numbers, but as long as he keeps runs off of the board that will get the job done.
Single Game Streamers
Ryan Yarbrough — TB (45.2%, 59%) vs TEX on 4/13
Uh…let’s try this one again. Yarbrough did not have a good outing last week like I thought he would (he allowed 6 ER in 5 IP in his start against the Red Sox), but he has a good chance to turn things around in his next scheduled start. The Rangers currently rank at or below league average in most offensive categories, and in his one career start against them in 2019 he posted a quality start as he allowed 3 ER and just four baserunners over 7 IP.
Yarbrough is also scheduled to make a second start in Week 2 on the road against the Yankees. If you are in need of starts next week he’s still a pretty good option, as he owns a 3.38 ERA and 1.125 WHIP in 10 2/3 IP at Yankee Stadium. I still don’t love it, but there are worse matchups out there.
Jon Gray — COL (22.2%, 17%) at LAD on 4/14
Gray has already faced the Dodgers this season, and in that game he threw 5 IP and allowed 1 ER, had a 1.000 WHIP (4 H, 1 BB), and he notched 7 K as well. The Dodgers have had some injury issues with their key players already as they will be without Cody Bellinger, and Mookie Betts has been hampered by a lower back injury that has kept him out of the lineup recently. Though they still have a decent offense without those two, it makes things a bit easier for opposing pitchers when they are out of the lineup.
Trevor Rogers — MIA (26.7%, 56%) at ATL on 4/15
Rogers put up a great quality start in his last outing as he punched out ten batters over six shutout innings against the Mets (in a duel against Jacob deGrom, no less). Though his only previous start against the Braves did not go well, Atlanta has been one of the less productive teams in the early going. entering play on Sunday they rank in the bottom-five of team AVG (.204, T-5th worst) and OBP (.266, T-last).
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