Streaming starters is no longer just a viable fantasy baseball strategy, it’s a way of life for many owners. In head-to-head play, it’s a constant as owners look to gain an edge each week in categories like strikeouts, wins/quality starts and even innings pitched. In roto leagues, it used to be more of a late-season method of getting that final push in the pitching categories, but based on the questions I’ve received, early-season micro-management is in full force and there’s as much streaming in April and May as there is in August and September.
Now the question is, where are we looking for these quality roster injections? The injuries we’ve endured over the first two months of the season have been so abundant that your waiver wire is barren. Sure, you can find the random Zack Godley or Mike Clevinger to help fill the gaps, but there’s very limited upside or consistency. Instead, you should cast aside your preconceived notions and start looking at the Colorado Rockies. Once considered taboo for fantasy owners, utilizing the Rockies rotation properly could prove to be a difference-maker in your league.
Now while Jon Gray showed us last year that you could actually be a successful starting pitcher at Coors Field, we’re not quite there in full just yet. His home/road splits were surprisingly good for a guy who calls Coors Field home, but for the sake of streaming in the current starting five, a steady diet of road starts should both whet and satisfy the fantasy appetite. A cursory glance at this past series in Philadelphia can offer a bit more insight.
Granted, the Phillies offense has been in a coma for the past two weeks, but in a ballpark that plays very similarly to Coors Field, the Rockies rotation was absolutely dominant. Over four games, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Chatwood, Tyler Anderson and German Marquez combined for 27 innings and allowed just three earned runs in total. The strikeout totals were outstanding, they limited contact and they managed to keep runners off the bases each and every game. The DFS community was all over them in this match-up and you seasonal owners should be as well.
You can run the individual breakdowns for each of the five starters if you like. All of them, which includes the aforementioned four and rookie Antonio Senzatela who didn’t get to enjoy the Philly festivities as much as the others, have put together strong efforts on the road. In fact, as a group, they’ve posted a 3.60 ERA over 105 innings away from Coors Field and if you include Gray and Kyle Freeland, that road ERA drops down to 3.26 for the season. That mark actually leads all of Major League Baseball.
Again, part of streaming in starters is taking advantage of the match-ups, so, of course, there will be a few outings you’ll want to avoid. I don’t want to use Chatwood against the Nationals, no matter where the game is being played. But before you just dismiss these options for being Rockies or because they’ll be pitching in another hitter-friendly environment, take a good look at how they’re doing it.
Take a look at those ground ball rates. Hoffman’s is low, but the sample size is just two starts. The others, however, are all posting ground ball rates in excess of 46-percent with Chatwood leading the charge with a 58-percent mark. That’s huge, and not just because of Coors Field, juiced baseballs or high altitude. That’s huge because more ground balls mean more outs, more double-plays and, usually, weaker contact. As a group, the Rockies starters are allowing just a 30-percent hard contact rate on the road and that has also helped suppress the HR/FB rate as well.
Again, we’re not talking about a bunch of world-beaters here, though Hoffman does have a strong pedigree. But for the sake of streaming in starting pitchers, you’ve got a lot to look forward to with these Rockies. In fact, take a good look at the team’s upcoming schedule. Twenty of their next 35 games are all on the road and feature some tasty, pitcher-friendly ballparks like Safeco Field, Petco Park, AT&T Park, Dodger Stadium and PNC Bank Park in Pittsburgh. Even the stop at Wrigley Field won’t be so daunting as the Farmer’s Alamanac has very low wind projected during that time period.
There may very well be a time where some of these Rockies starters will prove to be viable options at home as well, but you have to start taking advantage of what they are doing on the mound right now. If streaming starters with positive match-ups is your thing, your concerns of a barren waiver wire just might be assuaged here. These Rockies have certainly proven to be the road warriors you need.