.jpg)
Alright, we are back in the swing of things with baseball! And once again, every Saturday, Fantasy Alarm will be providing suggestions for next week’s starting pitchers that you should consider streaming.
Here are a few tips when streaming pitchers. First and foremost, it’s a preferred method in points formats over rotisserie or head-to-head categories. That’s not to say you should never stream a pitcher in the latter two formats, but this strategy is a gamble. I you can get some decent starts and rack up a few extra points, even if it’s only five or six points, then that still benefits you in your matchup.
In a categories league, you should consider streaming a pitcher or two towards the end of your matchup if you’re losing key pitching categories and have no other pitchers left to start that week. So if it’s Saturday and you’re losing ERA, wins, strikeouts, and/or WHIP then give streaming a try.
Streaming won’t always go as planned. Hell, last year, I recommended some real duds, but patience is needed for this strategy. You don’t need to stream every day, especially this early in the season. The sample sizes are just too small and all we have to base the picks off of are stats from last year and spring training. There are just a lot of guys we haven’t seen reach mid-season form so you have to exercise a lot of patience and discipline this early in the season. That being said we’re still going to recommend players for the upcoming week, so here we go!
10-Team Leagues
Charlie Morton (HOU): Morton was pounded by the Marlins, of all teams, in the spring, but finished strong in his last start on Tuesday by giving up just one hit over five-plus innings of work against the regulars of Milwaukee’s lineup. His ownership is pretty high, right around 80% so if he’s available in your shallow league he’s a great option to stream. Morton gets two matchups next week: against Baltimore and San Diego, both of which will be at home. Morton was a significantly better pitcher at home than on the road last season. He boasted a 3.34 ERA and .216 opponent batting average at home while sporting a 4.17 ERA and .245 opponent batting average on the road. He’s recommended more for the first matchup against Baltimore as San Diego’s offense is much improved, but again it’s too early in the season to know how opposing lineups are shaping up.
Taijuan Walker (ARI): This is a bit of a risky recommendation, but Walker came into the season as a bit of a sleeper with news of the humidor being installed at Chase Field. How has the humidor fared so far? 27 runs have been scored in the first two games at Chase Field so nothing’s really changed in this small sample size. Walker didn’t have a killer spring, but he did okay. He still possesses a really nice strikeout rate so there’s upside there and he draws the Dodgers early next week at home and then the Cardinals on the road to finish the week off. The Dodgers are off to a very sluggish start as they’ve recorded just seven hits and have yet to score a run over their first two games. The defending National League champs won’t suffer from this lack of offense all season long, but if they can struggle out the gates just a little longer then Walker could benefit on Monday.
Felix Hernandez (SEA): Hernandez is still available in about 20-30% of leagues and he looked solid in the season opener against Cleveland. He threw only 83 pitches in 5.1 innings of work, but he kept the Indians offense at bay. He’s not the same pitcher he was all those years ago. He turns 32 years old next Sunday and it’s still hard to believe he’s only in his early-30’s, but he has a lot of mileage. He draws the Giants on the road in his next outing. The Giants are 2-0 to start the year but have scored just one run in each win. The ballpark could help King Felix if you’re in need of a streamer next week.
Lance Lynn (MIN): After a bizarre and lengthy offseason Lynn finally settled with the Twins and is set to make his season debut Monday on the road in Pittsburgh followed by a home start against Seattle next Sunday. Lynn pitched in a minor league game on Wednesday and it was truly pathetic. According to Paul Molitor, Lynn gave up six runs in the first inning but still managed to throw 80 pitches. Minnesota is still confident enough in him to start Monday and it’s an okay matchup against the Pirates. Don’t expect him to go super deep in this start. It’s early in the year and so far it looks like a lot of managers are keeping pitchers on short leashes.
12-Team Leagues
Mike Clevinger (CLE): If anyone followed this weekly piece last year you are very familiar with Clevinger. To be honest it’s a surprise he’s in this piece. On Yahoo! Clevinger is over 80% owned so you likely won’t find him in your 12-team league, but over on ESPN Clevinger is only 52% owned which is insane so obviously this recommendation is for ESPN users. In 121.2 innings of work last year Clevinger collected 137 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA. He has great strikeout potential, but walks were a big issue for this guy. Luckily in the spring he had 25 strikeouts to four walks in 19 innings of work so the walk rate appears to have gone down, but again that was just the spring. Clevinger gets a tough road challenge on Monday against the Angels followed up with a home start against the Royals.
Blake Snell (TB): Snell, like Clevinger, is over 80% owned on Yahoo!, but under 60% owned on ESPN. It’s hard to understand, but Snell came into the season as a sleeper and he looked great in his first start of the year against Boston. He was pulled after just 84 pitches, but he lasted 5.2 innings and didn’t give up a single run to Boston. Control was a big issue a year ago for Snell, but it improved down the stretch of the 2017 season and during the spring he walked just five batters while striking out 27 in 17.1 innings of work. This is a guy worth targeting if he’s available in your league because he could be a player you roster all season long.
Tyler Chatwood (CHC): Somewhere buried in a heaping pile of filthy laundry is my “Death. Taxes. Chatwood on the Road” t-shirt. With the Rockies, Chatwood was never an option at home. His curveball just wasn’t as effective in Coors Field due to the elevation conditions. But now he’s with the Cubs and he looked pretty decent this spring. He had 23 strikeouts in 21.2 innings of work. The walks were still concerning since he had 11 of them, but he’s in a better ballpark and has a great offense behind him. He has a career 3.31 ERA on the road with an opponent slash line of .238/.326/.366 so if you’re in need of finding wins through a streamer then Chatwood is a guy you should target with the potential run support he’ll garner with the Cubs. Chatwood gets two road starts next week against Cincinnati and then Milwaukee. Tread carefully with that second start.
Sean Manaea (OAK): Manaea looked outstanding Friday night against the Angels. He lasted 7.2 innings allowing one earned run, striking out seven, walking none, and giving up just four hits. He’s a little over 50% owned in most leagues so he could be available. He only has one start next week against Texas, but it comes at home and he could be in for another dazzling start.
Steven Matz (NYM): This suggestion doesn’t come with as much confidence as the names listed above, but the nice part of this is that Matz pitches Saturday against the Cardinals. He had a rough start to the spring, but finished strong. It also helps that Zack Wheeler completely fumbled away his opportunity at a job in the rotation that ultimately went to Matz. See how well Matz does against St. Louis on Saturday. If he can keep the momentum he finished the spring with then he could be worth considering next week. The matchup next week is a bit of a nightmare against the Nationals, but cross that bridge when you get to it. Watch how he does against the Cardinals to start 2018.
Deeper-League Options
Sean Newcomb (ATL): Newcomb’s worth mentioning largely because he’s worth owning long-term. But his two starts next week are far from ideal. He gets the Nationals at home on Monday and then draws the Rockies in Coors next Saturday. Like I said, far from ideal. But Newcomb is a young arm that the Braves are excited about. He has the potential to be a solid number two option in their rotation. His two starts this week are nightmarish, but if he does bad then it’ll drive his ownership down and you’ll be able to pounce once he finds himself in a more favorable matchup.
Vince Velasquez (PHI): Saturday’s matchup against the Braves will serve as a good litmus test for Vinny V. There isn’t as much fanfare this season as there was last year for Velasquez, but 2017 was difficult for him considering he was marred with injuries. But he’s the perfect streaming option next week because he’ll draw the Marlins at home in Philly. It could be a pretty windy, yet chilly game next Thursday which could help him against this awful lineup. Be sure to check out Fantasy Alarm’s weather updates to find out which direction the wind is blowing. This could be a nice spot to target a pitcher against Miami.
German Marquez (COL): Marquez has a lot of potential. He’s only 23 years old and has a nice mid-90’s fastball. He needs to improve his changeup. Last season the velocity on his off-speed pitches ranged from 82 mph to 89 mph. Sometimes he had the velocity separation to fool hitters, but quite often he did not. The other knock on Marquez is that he pitches in Coors Field. That’s a given and you don’t really want to stream guys that have to throw in Coors. Marquez pitches Saturday on the road against Arizona, but next Friday he gets the Braves. Yes the start comes at home, but if you’re in a deeper league in need of a streamer you’ll be hard pressed to find a guy with heat like Marquez. Keep your fingers crossed that he does well against the Diamondbacks to prove he’s worth playing at home against Atlanta next week.
Jack Flaherty (STL): Flaherty’s worth mentioning because he’s young and he possesses a lot of potential. The problem is that he’s currently in the rotation because Adam Wainwright is dealing with an injury. In addition to that Flaherty is a streaming option this coming week and the following week, but both starts come against Milwaukee. One start at home, while the other is on the road. Both starts are tricky for this young arm, but the home start will be beneficial since it’ll take away a vaunted Brewers lineup from their hitter friendly ballpark. Flaherty had a modest 4.60 ERA this spring but his 24:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 15.2 innings of work this spring should get your attention.