There are a fair number of streaming options to consider this week, and a trio of those pitchers are of the two-start variety. Like most weeks, however, there is considerable risk in employing any of these starters in your fantasy rotation, as most do not have overwhelming stuff, and frequently struggle with their control. Sometimes, though, you just need a warm body to plug into your lineup, whether it be for innings or a potential stat boost. For those purposes, I comb through all of the probable pitchers for the upcoming week and present my analysis for your consideration.

I will advise you that not all of these pitchers are exactly gems. I do my best to weed through all the options and present you with the best available. At times, those options are not exactly appetizing, but just may give you enough to capture the weekly win in your head-to-head league. You are always free to just step away and avoid all of the suggestions. At least, for this week, there are alternatives for each day.

Realize that these pitchers are all owned in 50 percent or less of leagues. and thus may be available in your league on the waiver wire. I am only going to highlight those pitchers that I believe can provide a boost to your rotation, so no bottom-of-the-barrel SPs will be brought to your attention. Also, please understand that this set of pitchers is being assembled early before the next scoring period (in most leagues, at least) commences, and weather, injury, demotions or crazy managerial decisions can interfere with our well-laid plans, so be ready to adjust if you can make daily lineup adjustments.

Here are the recommended streaming options for this week:

Monday, June 6, 2016

Williams Perez ATL @ SD Christian Friedrich

Jon Niese PIT vs NYM Steven Matz

Perez is nothing exciting in terms of a starting pitcher, as he has trouble missing many bats (4.26 K/9) and walks too many (2.84 BB/9). He does manage to pitch out of the situations he creates by generating a ton of groundballs (2.83 GB/FB over his eight starts and 44.1 innings in 2016), and he does not give up many long balls (0.6 HR/9). Plus, he gets to pitch against a weak offense in a good pitchers’ park.

Niese is another pitcher who does not create a whole lot of enthusiasm among fantasy players, but he has tossed four quality starts in his last five outings, and has been slowly working his ERA down to a more attractive number (4.36 currently, down from a season high 7.20). I have said before that I admire the Pittsburgh pitching coach, Ray Searage, as he seems to have a knack to reclaim pitchers that were close to being washed out of the majors (think A.J. Burnett, Vance Worley, Edinson Volquez, Charlie Morton, Francisco Liriano, et al). He does strike out more batters than Perez, but is still below the league average, and his control is an issue. As with Perez, though, generating grounders helps him be effective. Bad matchup, facing off against Matz, of course, but he gets to face the Mets at home, which is a plus.

Another pitcher to consider: Danny Duffy KC @ BAL Mike Wright My main concern with Duffy is the opponent, having seen that the Orioles' bats seem to be heating up now that June is here. I would prefer to use him at home than in Camden Yards, although the opposing pitcher does give hope for the Royals to collect enough runs to give Duffy a chance to rack up a QS or even a victory.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Zach Davies MIL vs OAK Sean Manaea

Sean Manaea @ MIL Zach Davies

Davies and Manaea are both two-start options this week, and I have featured both of the SPs in each of their respective starts as streaming options. Davies is coming off a superb eight innings of shutout ball against the Cardinals, where he racked up a season-high nine Ks, and for the second game in a row, did not allow a walk. As with Jon Niese, he continues to push down his ERA and WHIP with effective starts, and he gets Oakland at home in this matchup.

Manaea is on the road for both of his two starts this week, and his one road start this season did not go as he would have planned (2.2 innings at Boston, 10 hits, eight earned runs and two homers-ugh). Manaea had a tough time in his first three starts in April, but has put up three QS out of his last four starts, and seems to be rounding into form, and getting more comfortable in the A’s rotation. He does walk too many to be a safe option (3.08 BB/9 over his 38 innings pitched in 2016), and if I had to choose between the two opposing pitchers on Tuesday, I would definitely go with Davies. Still, I tend to trust Billy Beane when it comes to pitching, so I am not totally staying away from Manaea.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Doug Fister HOU @ TEX Yu Darvish

Archie Bradley ARI vs TB Jake Odorizzi

Chase Anderson MIL vs OAK Jesse Hahn

Well, well, well, welcome back to the streaming pitching article, Mr. Fister. I just cannot get rid of this guy, who follows a theme so far this week with weak K numbers and spotty control. Eight out of nine quality starts is nothing to sneeze at, however, and he does induce a good share of grounders while on the mound (1.88 GB/FB). Looking at his peripherals, though, gives some cause for concern: an unsustainable .255 BABIP and a 4.96 FIP belie his attractive 3.51 ERA over 66.2 innings this season. Facing the Rangers could be the start that bursts the QS bubble for Fister.

Bradley gets a nice start at home against an offense that is not exactly formidable, although the Rays have been much more productive on the road than at the Trop this season. Bradley does rack up the Ks at better than one per inning (9.51 K/9), and the Rays are a free swinging bunch, so that is a huge upside for the 23-year-old right hander. He also has an excellent 2.69 GB/FB ratio in 2016 over his 23.2 innings, covering his four starts, which will do him well at Chase Field. Of the three options on Wednesday, I like Bradley best.

Anderson gets to ply his trade in a good pitchers’ park when he takes the mound in Oakland, and has allowed three or fewer earned runs in his last five starts. He has average strikeout potential, but evidences good control. He does have issues with allowing homers (13 in just 59.2 innings), but then again, Oakland Coliseum is the perfect venue for him, with the lowest HR rating among major league parks.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Bartolo Colon NYM @ MIL Jimmy Nelson

Martin Perez TEX vs HOU Collin McHugh

Colon continues to amaze me with his success at this point in his career. I do worry that his strikeout numbers are heading south dramatically, as he is coming off starts where he collected two, three and one K. Note, though, that he only yielded four earned runs over those 18 innings, so he is still pitching effectively. His ERA continues to trend down, sitting at 3.27 with a useful 1.23 WHIP on the season. He has had problems handling the Brewers’ bats in the past three seasons, but also has pitched well at Miller Park.

Perez has been a consistent if lackluster starting pitcher in 2016, with nine QS out of his 12 starts. The strikeouts are inconsistent, but his control is improving as the season progresses. He pitches much better at home than on the road, so getting to face the Astros at home with their middle of the pack offense and free-swinging tendencies portends another strong start for the 25-year-old southpaw.

Another pitcher to consider: Jeff Locke PIT @ COL Chad Bettis The problem I see with using Locke is that he is prone to giving up the long ball and doing so at Coors Field could be disastrous.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Junior Guerra MIL vs NYM Matt Harvey

I continue to like Guerra, despite his most recent no-decision against the Phillies where he uncharacteristically gave up two homers in six innings (he had only given up two in the previous 36.1 innings this season). He offers a good source of Ks, with an 8.29 K/9 ratio over his seven starts. Facing Matt Harvey, even given the Mets hurler’s recent struggles, is not an ideal match up, but this is the best available on Friday.

Another pitcher to consider: Mike Pelfrey DET @ NYY CC Sabathia Pelfrey is pitching better over his last two starts, and finally collected a win against the White Sox in his last start. Both his control and strikeout potential are weak at best, however, and the Tiger SP should be employed only if you are extremely desperate.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Jon Niese PIT vs StL Carlos Martinez

Not much to select from on Saturday, except for Mr. Niese. I discussed him a bit above in the Monday segment of this article, so I will direct you up above to see that analysis. For this particular start, I like the fact that he gets to pitch in his home park, where he has been more effective this year than away from PNC Park. He has also had success against the Cards over the past three seasons, so there is enough to like his chances in this game. Again, this is the best option I see for Saturday and your streaming potential.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Danny Duffy KC @ CHW Mat Latos

Sean Manaea OAK @ CIN John Lamb

Zach Davies MIL vs NYM Jacob deGrom

Mike Bolsinger LAD @ SF Jake Peavy

I did not like Duffy at Baltimore earlier in the week, but have less qualms about starting him on the road against the White Sox. After a hot start, the Pale Hose are scuffling now, as is Mat Latos. Of course, Latos could be losing his rotation spot after Chicago acquired James Shields from the Padres, so that may not be an important factor. Duffy has been rolling up the Ks at better than one per inning, and his control has been exceptional so far in 2016.

Both Manaea and Davies are two start options, and I profiled them both in the Tuesday portion of this piece. I am not fond of recommending pitchers heading to Cincy, but that is mostly a park factor. I still believe that Manaea is a good, young arm, but he will need to keep hitters off the bases to be effective in this start, and given his control issues to date, that makes him a tad risky. Davies, on the other hand, has a bad match up, having to face off against one of the Met aces. At least he gets to pitch at Miller Park, and while this is not as tempting as his game against Oakland earlier in the week, I do like him here, and better than Manaea if you had to choose between the two.

Bolsinger is recommended based primarily on who the opposing pitcher is, as I am not convinced Peavy has what it takes to be a consistently successful SP any longer. This is despite the fact that his manager has given him the seal of approval and will not remove him from the Giant rotation. For his part, Bolsinger offers nice strikeout potential (8.40 K/9 over his three starts, albeit a small sample size) but as has plagued him through his career, he struggles with his control. While he struggles to keep the ball in the yard (1.80 HR/9), he is pitching in a park that should help with that aspect to his approach on the mound.

Truth be told, I would avoid all of these guys, but understand that some days, you just need a pitcher that is starting to satisfy your team’s needs. If I had to rank them, I would go Duffy-Davies-Bolsinger-Manaea.

I enjoy responding to reader questions, so feel free to post. If you do not want your comments to appear in this public forum (if say your league members also read these articles), then feel free to contact me at ia@fantasyalarm.com for a more private response. I play in a ton of fantasy leagues, and am willing to discuss any baseball issues you may want to raise, not just starting pitching issues. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in your fantasy endeavors.