So the secret is out on guys like Kendall Graveman, Michael Wacha and Ervin Santana as their ownership numbers have recently jumped to the level where they don’t really qualify as streamers anymore. After careful study, Week 3 isn’t really shaping up to be an ideal week for streaming starters. Several players previously included in this article are too widely owned to even be considered streamers anymore and again, you don’t need to stream all the guys on the list; maybe just a couple that’ll help you pull out a victory.
In looking at the schedule for Week 3, Max Scherzer is the only high-end ace with two starts. Other than him, most of the big-named pitchers are all getting one, so it’s a fairly level playing field. That means stream with caution. If you are continuously throwing waiver wire pitchers into your lineup on a daily basis, it may severely hurt your overall pitching numbers as some of these lower-level starters are bound to get blown up. Be careful this week!
10-12 Team Leagues
Jason Vargas (KC): Vargas has been a bit of a hidden gem to start off the year. His first two starts have come against Houston and Oakland, and surprisingly enough he’s only given up 1 earned run. He carries a 0.66 ERA early in the season and with a FIP of 1.32 it’s showing it may not just be luck bailing him out. His WHIP is 0.88 and he’s been a great weapon in category leagues with 14 total strikeouts compared to just 2 walks. He gets a Wednesday night matchup against San Francisco at home. Ideally it would be better if it was in AT&T Park, but Kauffman Stadium doesn’t give up too many HR’s so this is a decent streaming option. The only downside is that he may not get much run support as he’ll be going against Madison Bumgarner. But the Giants offense has struggled without Buster Posey in the lineup and Vargas is a great streaming option this week.
Lance Lynn (STL): Lynn has struggled a bit in his return from Tommy John surgery. The velocity is down, the control isn’t consistent, and the numbers aren’t anything to write home about. He was doing pretty well in his last start until the defense behind him had some costly errors and Lynn fell apart shortly thereafter as he gave up 3 home runs. But he gets a great home matchup on Monday against Pittsburgh. In 10 games the Pirates have scored just 32 runs. Want to hear an even bigger atrocity? The Pirates have only 5 home runs, which is tied for the 2nd fewest in all of baseball (shockingly enough, Boston has only hit 4). Busch Stadium is one of the more pitcher-friendly parks so this could be a nice start for Lynn to gain some confidence. It’s worth noting that he hasn’t made it out of the 6th inning in either of his starts this year and that may be the case on Monday.
Adam Conley (MIA): Conley gets a road matchup against the Padres on Friday night. Conley’s numbers on the year aren’t fantastic through 2 appearances, but it’s a fairly solid matchup for him. Conley’s a guy who tends to give up the long ball, and San Diego has shown some power thus far in the young season. However, the Padres haven’t been a great offensive team overall. They’ve scored just 37 runs in 11 games and are hitting .214 as a team. Conley, like Lynn, may not make it very far in the start but if you need to chase a win or two then Conley is in good shape with a strong offense providing him run support.
Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS): It has not been a great start to the 2017 season for Rodriguez. He’s given up 3 home runs in a little over 10 innings of work and he’s still walking batters at a high rate. But there’s reason for optimism. In his last start he surrendered a 2-run HR in the 1st inning, but bounced back after that by racking up 8 K’s. His next start comes on the road in Toronto. Toronto has a lot of space in the outfield for hitters to put the ball, but Toronto’s offense is off to one of the worst starts in team history. Collecticely they’re hitting just .199 with 5 HR’s and 28 runs scored in just 10 games. Josh Donaldson is also hobbled with a calf injury so if he’s out of the Jays lineup then it could be an even better spot for Rodriguez.
Zack Wheeler (NYM): Wheeler makes the cut again as a streaming option in Week 3 largely because his ownership is still low. There are concerns about his status in the rotation once Steven Matz and Seth Lugo are healthy, but Wheeler bounced back nicely and he came 1 out shy of earning a quality start. His fastball is showing great velocity (94.4 mph) but he doesn’t have great separation with his changeup as it’s sitting at about 88.7 mph. If he can work on the separation he may solidify his spot in the rotation. His next start will come against Philadelphia, who have put up 48 runs in 10 games, but 17 of those runs came in 1 game so Philly can be contained. Look for Wheeler to put together another good outing.
Deeper Leagues
Jordan Montgomery (NYY): Montgomery is one of the many prospects in the Yankees organization that could raise some eyebrows over the next few years. He’s an exciting prospect that could stick in the majors if he continues to impress. He didn’t make it through 5 innings in his first start and he had some control issues. But he had 7 strikeouts and he has four good pitches in his arsenal. Michael Pineda barely has three! Joe Girardi has already said Montgomery will get another start with the Yankees. It’ll likely come against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, which will be a more difficult challenge for the big lefty. But if he continues to do well then he’ll be worth looking at in all formats.
Charlie Morton (HOU): Morton is back on the list because his ownership is still relatively low and he’s available in a majority of deep leagues. He gets a 2nd start for Week 2, but he has a nice Friday night matchup in Week 3 against Tampa Bay in the Trop, which is very friendly to pitchers. After his 1st start his fastball clocked in at 94.7 mph. After his 2nd start it actually jumped up to 95.3 mph. He’s still allowing guys to get on base and he has a 4.09 ERA. But he sports a 3.66 FIP so he’s a very serviceable pitcher in deeper leagues. If his next two starts go well he’ll be worth considering hanging on to for a little longer.