This is really not the week you want to delve heavily into the waiver wire options in regards to streaming starting pitching. It is no surprise that most streaming options will offer limited counting stat potential, as most strikeout producing pitchers are already owned in active fantasy leagues. What we are searching for is a reasonable possibility that a lesser-owned starter can provide six or more innings, with limited damage to your ERA and WHIP. Plus, if you can target SPs going up against Atlanta, you have a much better chance to pad your stat line.     

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 who 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 13, 2016

Chase Anderson MIL @ SF Albert Suarez

Anderson is coming off a superb start against Oakland, where he held the A’s to just two hits over 6 2/3 innings of shutout pitching. He is much more of an NL-only option, though, due to pitching for the Brewers and given his home run tendencies (1.76 HR/9 over his 66.1 innings this season). He also does not give his owners much in the way of strikeouts (7.06 K/9) although he does have good control which helps his cause on the mound. He is a two-start option this week, if you need a free agent pickup in your H2H leagues.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Doug Fister HOU @ StL Jaime Garcia

Martin Perez TEX @ OAK Jesse Hahn

Brandon Finnegan CIN @ ATL Julio Teheran

Once more into the breach, Mr. Fister. It seems I cannot avoid mentioning Fister week in, week out in these posts. Fister struggled to open the season, but has since been effective in keeping the ball in the park, and is generating a ton of grounders (1.72 GB/FB over his 72 2/3 innings and 12 starts). He will not give you many Ks, and is still struggling with his control, but it is difficult to dispute his production in May and the beginning of June. He has also been effective on the road, so despite facing a good offense in St. Louis, he is the top option for Tuesday.

This is the first of Perez’s two starts this week, and he gets to pitch in a favorable park for pitchers when he heads to Oakland. Plus, the A’s are mired in last place in their division, so the matchup has potential. Keep watch on how Perez fares in this game before jumping all in on his two starts in Week 11, especially with the second game being against a much more formidable opponent in the form of the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

Finnegan is working on a streak of three QS in his last four starts, although he is a shaky source of strikeouts and his control is awful (4.13 BB/9). His place in the Reds rotation is secure for the present time, however, and he gets to face the Braves, one of the more beatable teams in baseball this season.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Junior Guerra MIL @ SF Johnny Cueto

Anthony DeSclafani CIN @ ATL Bud Norris

Mike Pelfrey DET @ CHW Chris Sale

For a team that is in rebuilding mode, the Brewers are trotting out some good pitching options in their starting rotation, including Guerra. I am not enamored with this matchup, as Cueto has been superb in his inaugural season in San Francisco (9-1, 2.16 ERA, 0.99 WHIP). The Milwaukee righty has tossed four QS out of his last six appearances, and is an average source of strikeouts, although it would help his cause to harness his control a bit more. He does not give up many dingers, though, and has been keeping his team in the game. Not much more you can ask from a streaming option.

DeSclafani was sharp in his return from the DL, going six innings and allowing just one earned run on a homer to Stephen Vogt in a no-decision. His strikeout pitch was not working, but he is just an average source of Ks. He was able to induce a lot of swinging misses, and threw 10 of 16 first pitch strikes against the A’s, so there is much to build on going forward. Facing the Braves is a great matchup, especially against Bud Norris.

Let’s not get carried away with Pelfrey, although he has been pitching much better over his last couple of starts, racking up a pair of QS. Pelfrey is, at best, a back-of-the-rotation option in MLB and fantasy, and will not give his owners much in the way of strikeouts. He relies on his ability to generate grounders from opposing batters, and has been effective at this this season, with a 2.11 GB/FB ratio over his 65 1/3 innings in 2016. The Tigers are an offense to fear, although pitching at  “The Cell” can have disastrous effects for a SP, so tread warily if you consider starting Pelfrey.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Dan Straily CIN @ ATL Matt Wisler

James Paxton SEA @ TB Matt Andriese

Straily gets to face the Braves, always a positive in 2016, although Wisler has been a decent starting pitching option this season, so the matchup is not as great as one would like. Straily has gone seven innings in each of his last two starts, where he has allowed just three earned runs. As with many streaming options, he is just a league-average strikeout pitcher, and he does struggle with his control at times. Cincinnati is not a group of world beaters, but they have generally been superior to the hosts in this contest, so Straily is a provisional recommendation on Thursday.

Paxton is a rarity among the streaming options in Week 11, as he does strikeout a ton of hitters. He has a 13.50 K/9 coupled with a nice 2.25 BB/9 ratio over his three starts this season. In addition to the elite K numbers, he generates a whole bushelful of grounders from opposing hitters, with a 2.44 GB/FB ratio in 16 innings this season. Pitching on the road has never seemed to bother him and heading to Tampa is a positive for him in this matchup.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Zach Davies MIL @ LAD Jose Urias

Bartolo Colon NYM vs ATL John Gant

Davies joins his teammates Junior Guerra and Chase Anderson as streaming options this week. He is heading to an excellent pitchers’ park this game, and gets to go up against the rookie Urias. Davies has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his past seven starts, a streak where he has racked up a 4-0 record. Facing a rookie is a crapshoot, but Urias has not yet shown complete control when on the mound, and that makes for a decent shot for the Milwaukee right hander to perhaps collect his fifth win without a loss during his current win streak.

Any time a team faces off against the Braves you have to like the starting pitcher’s chances to collect a win, or at least to put up a useful stat line. I am still waiting for Colon to suffer a regression, based on the difference between his current 3.08 ERA and 3.62 FIP/4.10 xFIP. He is also allowing a bunch of hard hit balls (37 percent hard hit, 48.3 percent medium hit), and with his propensity to pitch to contact, that will come back to haunt him at some point this season. Probably not on Friday, however, given the opponent, but do not rely on this current hot streak to continue all season for the majors’ oldest player.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Chase Anderson MIL @ LAD Mike Bolsinger

R.A. Dickey TOR @ BAL Ubaldo Jimenez

As I noted above, Anderson is a two-start option this week. He does get to pitch in a couple of parks that are not horrible for pitchers, even one that gives up dingers, as Anderson is prone to do. Having to face the two top teams in the NL West is not ideal, but this is a tough week to find streaming options. More of an NL-only option, you may just want to pass him by in Week 11.

Dickey is not normally on my radar as a useful SP, since I find him to be wildly inconsistent and never can seem to predict when he will pitch well. He has been effective at Camden Yards over the past several seasons, however, and has been pitching well in his last couple of starts, although he did allow the Tigers to populate the bases with nine hits in his latest start, but was fortunate to hold them to just two earned runs. I do like his chances to pitch better than the Oriole starter, so I will begrudgingly recommend him in this start.

Another option to consider: Jon Niese PIT @ CHC Jon Lester I simply do not like the matchup here, as I see the Cubs starter as the more effective SP. Niese has limited innings at Wrigley Field, but the splits are not favorable for a road start, especially against the Cubs.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Martin Perez TEX @ CLE Carlos Carrasco

Brandon Finnegan CIN @ HOU Dallas Keuchel

Perez is 5-1 at home, but 0-3 away from Arlington this season. Thus, there is some concern about his effectiveness heading to Progressive Field to take on the Indians at the end of Week 11. He is not much of source for Ks, but is working on a four-game win streak. Both the host team and the visiting Rangers are currently leading their divisions, so this promises to be an entertaining game. I can recommend Perez, but keep an eye on how he fares in Oakland in his first start of the week before you go all in on the Texas southpaw.

Finnegan is a two-start option this week, and for his second start, he gets to head to Houston. The Astros are struggling to repeat their magic from 2015 and Finnegan has been much more effective away from The Great American Ballpark, so that is a positive in this matchup. There is not a huge amount of upside in terms of streaming options on Sunday, and the fact that I am nominating Finnegan here is ample evidence of that situation.

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.