10-12 Team Leagues
Mike Clevinger / Josh Tomlin (CLE): Basically if there’s a Cleveland Indians pitcher available you can go grab him to stream because right now there’s a fantastic chance they’ll be in line for the win at the end of the game. As the winners of 16 straight games the Indians are probably the best team in baseball right now. Clevinger especially has been pitching very well as of late and he’s seen his ownership rise slightly above the 50% threshold. Over his last three starts he hasn’t given up an earned run and he’s averaging 11.00 K/9. He gets a home start next week against Detroit. It’s worth mentioning that Clevinger has been better on the road this season, but with two of his last three fantastic starts coming at home, and the fact the Tigers are awful, this is a safe start.
Tomlin, on the other hand, is more widely available. He even qualifies as a deeper league option, but he’s brought up in this section as a pivot to Clevinger. Is he pitching as well as Clevinger right now? No, but that’s a testament to Clevinger, not a rip of Tomlin. But on the year Tomlin does own a 5.20 ERA but his last five starts have been pretty productive. He’s given up three earned runs or fewer in each of those last five starts while only surrendering two home runs. Yes he missed the entire month of August, but he returned and looked okay. Keep an eye on how he does against the Orioles on Saturday. If the Indians can keep this hot streak going then Tomlin is recommended as a streamer next week against the Royals.
Lucas Giolito (CHW): There’s no doubt Giolito needs to be owned. He’s one of the top pitching prospects in the game, but this streaming recommendation does come with some concern. His 2.84 ERA is accompanied with a 5.07 FIP. Now his first career start against Minnesota was rough. But since that start he holds a 1.86 ERA with a 3.91 FIP. He’s still walking guys a little too often, but he’s young and he has 19 K’s in his last 19.1 innings of work. The other reason there is concern is that he’ll have his first career road start next week against Kansas City. Don’t expect a high strikeout total because the Royals are one of the most disciplined teams at the plate in baseball in terms of strikeouts. Only the Astros have struck out fewer times on the year, but the Royals also don’t generate many walks. If Giolito wants to do well he’s gonna have to induce contact and get his outs with the help of the defense. That being said Kaufmann Stadium is still pitcher-friendly. Yes he’s recommended as a streamer, but it comes with risk.
Hyun-Jin Ryu (LAD): Ryu’s ownership dropped a little bit after fantasy owners panicked after his bad start against Arizona. What’s one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and if Ryu is available on your league’s waiver wire go get him because he gets the Giants on the road to start next week. The Dodgers, the once unbeatable team this season, have hit a real nasty slump. But maybe this series in San Francisco gets them back on track. The Giants still average less than four runs per game at home and slash just .247/.306/.364 at home. This is a great start for Ryu and the Dodgers. Ryu’s available in about 50% of leagues.
Update: The Dodgers announced a couple hours after this article was published that they would be skipping Ryu's next schedule start. If he doesn't make an appearance against the Giants target whoever may be taking his place against San Francisco. The Giants are really THAT BAD of an offense especially at home.
Edwin Jackson (WSH): Call it a hunch because Jackson was sort of picked on in this piece recently for his absurd no-hitter from years back, but if the Dodgers keep streaking and free falling then why not try and find streamable pitchers against them? Yeah they might turn it around against the Giants, hence why Ryu was mentioned above. Prior to Friday night’s loss where the Dodgers scored four runs, in their previous 13 games they scored two or fewer runs nine times. If the awful play continues this group has to be targeted and Jackson is in a good spot to do so if he looks solid against Philadelphia later today. If you aren’t comfortable starting Jackson look to one of the guys in the deeper league portion of this piece. There’s some solid value down there.
Desperation Play of the Week… Andrew Cashner (TEX): Gotta give it to the man, he’s been pitching pretty well lately. So much so that if he does well against the Yankees today you should take a look at him for his next start. The Rangers offense and the run support they’ve been giving their pitchers lately at least makes the starters in their rotation considerable. He boasts a 2.56 ERA over his last seven starts. Compared to his 4.30 FIP he may be due for some regression. He’s not recommended for the start against the Yankees, but he’s an interesting option against Seattle who have gone 4-8 over their last 12 games. If you don’t feel comfortable with Cashner scroll down to the deeper league options where there’s another Rangers pitcher you can pivot to against the M’s.
Jhoulys Chacin Watch: He draws the Diamondbacks… In Chase Field… Good luck with that. Don’t use him this week.
Deeper League Options
Kyle Gibson (MIN): Gibson is coming in under 20% owned and he’s quietly put together 4 straight solid quality starts. Sure you technically log a QS if you pitch six innings and give up three or fewer runs, but Gibson’s been better than that. Over his last four outings he’s gone 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA (2.58 FIP), 6.66 K:BB ratio and he’s been keeping the ball in the ballpark. The only concern over his matchup next week is that it’s at home and Target Field caters to hitters more than it does to pitchers. But at the same time the Padres roll into town. The Friars are slashing .237/.299/.405 on the road. The slugging percentage is the only concern because the ball travels pretty well in Minneapolis. But for a deeper league recommendation, this is one of the better matchups next week.
Robert Stephenson (CIN): There is some upside with Stephenson and some downside as well. Let’s start with the good: decent velocity on his fastball, other pitches he can use in his arsenal, high strikeout potential, and he keeps the ball in the park. The bad? He gives up way too many walks (5.96 BB/9 over his last four starts) and he doesn’t pitch as deep into games as you’d like. Still for a guy who has bounced around on DL and minor league stints this year it appears the former first-round pick has finally put it together. He has 28 strikeouts over his last 22.2 innings of work and he hasn’t surrendered a run in his last three appearances. Also, he has wins in each of his last four starts. He gets a tough road matchup next week against St. Louis.
Brandon Woodruff (MIL): Currently Woodruff is slated for two starts next week. The second start will be worth monitoring. It technically comes on the road in Miami on the 17th, but there’s no telling what condition the city of Miami will be in after the hurricane rolls through this weekend. Still even Woodruff is worth picking up for the first start against the Pirates. In their last 13 games the Bucs have scored four runs or fewer 11 times. Sure the start in the hitter-friendly environment of Miller Park makes this somewhat risky, but Woodruff’s been doing well enough on his own to earn the merits of being a streamer. The walks are still high (3.42 BB/9) but those are the growing pains associated with young pitchers. He features a nice fastball that sits around 93-95mph and a pretty decent slider. At just 7% owned he’s available in almost all deeper leagues.
Dillon Peters (MIA): Peters was brought up in today’s waiver wire piece and he’s certainly a streamable pitcher. He only has two career starts under his belt, but he draws the Phillies next week on the road. The fact that it’s away from Miami is concerning because it will be his first career road start. But here’s what he did against the Phillies in his first start against them: seven innings, no earned runs, three hits, three walks, eight strikeouts. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff but the lack of speed allows him to mix in his curveball a lot more and he builds strikeouts that way. Sure the Phillies probably have a better scouting report on him this time and they could bounce back. But Peters is available in less than 10% of leagues. He’s only streamable in deeper leagues.
Desperation Play of the Week… Martin Perez (TEX): A month ago Perez was sitting at a 5-10 record and looking like a guy who had no fantasy relevance at all. And low and behold on September 9th he’s won his last seven starts to bulk up his record to 12-10. Eventually he’s due to get lit up, right? And it could happen in his next start when he takes on the Mariners on Wednesday. But if you need wins go get this guy because he’s finding them with ease. To his credit he’s been pitching pretty well over the last month. He’s not a big strikeout guy, but he keeps the ball in the park and doesn’t give up many walks. He’s worth streaming if you’re desperate next week.
Best of luck in the next round of the play FA Nation!