Streaming Pitching Options for Week 5: Hahn, Niese & More

On a weekly basis, I will be profiling those starting pitchers who are scheduled to take the mound in the upcoming scoring period. This is done to help you determine who to place try to grab from your league's free agent pool and/or who you should target as a player to send your FAAB funds on. Note that all the streaming options listed below are owned in less than 50% of leagues, and thus could be available on your waiver wire. Here are this week's set of potential streaming targets.

Monday,  May 4, 2015

Jesse Hahn OAK @ MIN Phil Hughes

As I have noted previously, I trust and use Oakland pitchers frequently. Hahn does not pitch deep into games, so if your league employs QS instead of wins, you might want to give him a pass, as in the last three of his four starts, he has not lasted six innings. He does have a nice 2.86 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 22 innings, and while he is not a great source for strikeouts, he does limit free passes; his K/BB ratio sits at 11:4. Pitching in Target Field should be similar to his home park, in terms of limiting long balls, as well.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Jesse Chavez OAK vs MIN Trevor May

Another Oakland pitcher, tossing in Target Field. Despite his recent struggles against the Angels in his last start, he has been a solid option out of the bullpen and now in the rotation. He boasts a favorable 2.55 ERA and 1.13 WHIP on the season covering 17.2 innings, and he is striking out batters at better than one per inning, at a 9.17 K/9 pace. He also keeps the ball in the park, having yielded just one home run so far this season, and Target Field should keep that trend going.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Mike Foltynewicz ATL vs PHI Jerome Williams

Dynasty owners have been waiting to see what Foltynewicz has to offer, and while he did collect a win in his first start against the Reds, there are warning signs. His command was spotty and he has trouble holding runners on first, as the Reds stole five bases while he was on the mound. He features a strong fastball that can reach 100 MPH, so the strikeouts should come. Philadelphia is not a fearsome opponent, so as long as he does not walk a ton of batters, he should be a decent option to stream.

Thursday, May 7. 2015

Tim Hudson SF vs MIA Dan Haren

I kind of like Haren here, too, but trust Hudson at home slightly more for this matchup. The Marlins are playing better baseball of late, but I like them better at home in that spacious park in Miami. Hudson will not provide a bevy of Ks, but if he can maximize the ground ball outs as is his tendency, he should be successful. He is good if you like a low WHIP and the ERA consistently falls below the 4.00 level. If you like to hedge your bets, then start both Haren and Hudson, as both are owned in less than 50% of leagues presently.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Nate Karns TB vs TEX Yovani Gallardo

Mike Pelfrey MIN @ CLE Trevor Bauer

You might as well use Karns now, as he will lose his rotation spot once Alex Cobb comes off the DL in a couple of weeks. He has a decent strikeout potential, but needs to get his control in order, as his BB/9 sits at a horrific 5.08 on the season. So why stream him here? Because of the opponent, naturally, as Texas continues to struggle to generate any offense this season, and pitching at home should give him another leg up in this contest.

Pelfrey does not have a strong offense backing him, but he has not needed one lately. He is coming off two consecutive QS, where he went seven innings in each game and racked up an 11:4 K/BB ratio (helped by a seven K effort against Detroit). His ERA sits at 2.25 on the year, with a 1.13 WHIP, and he is generating a ton of ground balls. Cleveland is a middle of the pack offense, although I would prefer that Pelfrey was throwing to the Indians at home, as Progressive Field is among the top offense-generating parks through April.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Jon Niese NYM @ PHI Severino Gonzalez

Josh Collmenter ARI vs SD Tyson Ross

I have praised Niese enough that it should be clear that I trust his skill set. I do not like him on the road as much as I would at home, but despite the park, Philadelphia is a bottom-dwelling offense this season. His WHIP is way too high to use him every start (1.57 through 30 innings!) but his ERA sits at a comfortable 2.40, so despite the plethora of base runners allowed by Niese, he manages to strand most of them (88.6% on the season). The strand rate screams regression, but I like his chances against the Phillies.

Collmenter has been decent but not great at home this season (3.80 ERA, 1.35 WHIP). He relies on his control, having only allowed three walks in 32.2 innings and has also been effective in limiting the long ball with just one home run allowed so far in 2015. If you need strikeouts, however, you need to look elsewhere, as he is fanning batters at a sub-standard rate of  4.4 K/9. His FIP and BABIP (2.89 and .302 respectively) do not indicate any unnatural luck to date, and he generates a fair amount of ground balls (1.58 GB/FB ratio). The indications are there for a decent streaming option, despite pitching at home.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Dillon Gee NYM @ PHI Aaron Harang

Our final streamer this week is another Met pitcher. Gee started the season poorly, but has been coming on the last two starts, allowing just three earned runs over 14.2 innings and issuing just one free pass over that period, as well. Of course, he only managed to strikeout three batters in each of those games, so if you are looking to maximize Ks at the end of the week, Gee is not your man. He relies on getting hitters to drive the ball into the ground, posting an excellent 3.19 GB/FB ratio over four starts. The ERA has been trending downward, and the 1.18 WHIP is helpful for your ratio stats. He has yet to notch a victory this season, but if he keeps pitching as he has the past two outings, that will resolve itself.

If you have any questions about starting pitching or fantasy baseball, feel free to contact me at ia@fantasyalarm.com.