Streaming Pitching Options for Week 17: Ray, Gausman & More
Published: Jul 26, 2015
Plenty of options for your Week 17 streaming opportunities exist, if that is how you roll. I realize that streaming is a necessary strategy for those of us fighting for our playoff lives in head-to-head leagues, but if you are dealing with injury or poor performing back of the rotation starting pitching, then streaming can give you a leg up on your competition, if done wisely in roto leagues as well. Presumably, that is why you are reading this article, so let us get to the action.
On a weekly basis, I am profiling those starting pitchers scheduled to take the mound in the upcoming scoring period. This is done to help you determine who to try to grab from your league's free agent pool and/or who you should target as a player on whom to spend your FAAB funds. 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, July 27, 2015
Robbie Ray ARI @ SEA Mike Montgomery
Kevin Gausman BAL vs ATL Alex Wood
Ray is coming off a couple of shorter starts, the last where the Marlins beat him up a bit, putting up four earned runs and inflating his ERA to a still tasty 2.72. He gets to face off against the Mariners, and despite his fly ball tendencies, he is pitching in a good park on the road for this contest. The Seattle offense should provide adequate whiff potential as well.
Gausman’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors of late, so be prepared for him to miss this start if he is moved to another team. Facing the Braves is a decent match up, as the Braves rank last in the MLB as far as power numbers against right-handed pitching, a good thing at Camden Yards. The Yankees roughed him up in his last start, but the bulk of that damage occurred in the first inning via a Mark Teixeira foul-pole homer. He is a pitcher to pick up for the long haul, as his potential is intriguing.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Felix Doubront TOR vs PHI Adam Morgan
This is a match-up based suggestion, as I like most pitchers that face Philadelphia and their lackluster offense. Doubront is very good at keeping the ball on the ground (4.0 GB/FB ratio over his limited 18.2 innings this season) and he is exhibiting great control in minimal action, posting a 1.42 BB/9 rate. He should be successful at home, given the opponent and his initial work in 2015.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Jake Peavy SF vs MIL Jimmy Nelson
Peavy is not going to dominate any opponents with his stuff, but he has tossed three quality starts in four appearances since coming off the DL in early July. Milwaukee is just a middle of the pack offense, and while Peavy is not a strikeout monster, he should get the Brewers to swing and miss enough to be useful.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Jon Niese NYM vs SD Andrew Cashner
Neise has been talked about as a possible trade candidate, and he went on the paternity list Saturday. It does not appear that he will miss this start, however, assuming he is still in New York come Thursday. Until getting beat up by the Dodgers in his last start, where he yielded six earned runs with a pair of dingers in just three innings, he was working on a string of eight consecutive quality starts, with 36 strikeouts in those 55.1 innings. Granted, he also issued 17 walks, which contribute, to his unpalatable 1.38 WHIP. The 3.75 ERA is nice, however, and add to that the struggles San Diego has had against lefties and this match-up looks good.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Tommy Milone MIN vs SEA Taijuan Walker
Rubby De La Rosa ARI @ HOU Scott Feldman
David Phelps MIA vs SD Ian Kennedy
Milone has been struggling following the All-Star break, after pitching like an ace in late June/early July. The good news for him is that he next faces Seattle, who has scored the fifth fewest runs among MLB teams, and who ranks sixth in total strikeouts. Target Field should help alleviate his recent proclivity to allow hitters to go deep against him.
De La Rosa is coming off a couple of wins where he pitched through the seventh and eighth innings against the Marlins and then the Brewers. Houston is usually a good opponent to rack up some Ks against, and if can keep the ball on the ground (2.13 GB/FB ratio in 2015), he should have success against the Astros, who are a middle of the pack team against right handers.
San Diego has a hard time hitting right-handed pitching (to be fair, they are no great shakes against lefties, either), and hit poorly on the road. Thus, Phelps is a good option when the Marlins host the Padres in this encounter. He did lose to this same Padres team in his most recent start on the road, although he limited San Diego to just two earned runs on six hits and he struck out five Padres over his six innings pitched. Look for him to get similar results on Friday, although you will be hoping for a victory, of course.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Kevin Gausman BAL vs DET Anibal Sanchez
Joe Ross WAS @ NYM Jacob deGrom
I covered Gausman in his Monday start against the Braves, so go up there to get the gist of why I like him for streaming purposes. Detroit hits right-handers pretty well, but their offense is extremely inconsistent, too, so I do not read too much into the match-up here.
Ross should keep his rotation slot through this game, as Stephen Strasburg has not yet begun his rehabilitation as I write this. He has pitched well in his limited four starts on the season, posting a 2.70 and 0.94 WHIP, with an impressive 27:2 K/BB ratio. The Mets are only hitting .242 against right handed pitching this season, tied for fifth in the MLB (with the Indians) and tend to rack up Ks against righties (tenth in the MLB).
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Robbie Ray ARI @ HOU Collin McHugh
I wrote about Ray in the Monday entry up above, and you can apply most of that information to this start as well, except that Houston should provide more strikeout potential for the 23-year old southpaw and his 93 MPH fastball.
If you have any questions about starting pitching or fantasy baseball, feel free to contact me at ia@fantasyalarm.com.