10-Team Leagues
Ross Stripling (LAD) – Stripling has been nothing short of amazing over his last few starts. He started the year in the bullpen, but has found a spot in the rotation because the Dodgers are dealing with some injuries to their pitchers. Shocking, right? They’re also the kind of organization that won’t hesitate to put their pitchers on the DL for the sake of just giving them time off so they don’t overuse them. So enter stage right Mr. Stripling! He’s earned wins in each of his last three starts and over his last five starts overall he has a 1.24 ERA (1.23 FIP) with 40 strikeouts, four walks, and four earned runs in 29 innings pitched. That’s a K/9 of 12.41 and a 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Surprisingly he’s roughly 65% owned so if he’s available in your shallower league you should grab him. Two-start options aren’t great next week in general, but Stripling is one of the few streaming options in play that has two starts. His first will come on the road Tuesday in Pittsburgh and then he’ll host the Braves in L.A.
Eduardo Rodríguez (BOS) – E-Rod, like Stripling, is a two-start option next week. He’ll host the Tigers and White Sox. To be fair, the Tigers have been a better-than-expected offense in the first two months of the year, but Rodriguez is throwing the ball really well lately. Rodriguez, also like Stripling, has earned a win in each of his last three appearances. And over his last five starts he boasts a 2.25 ERA (2.55 FIP), with 33 strikeouts, seven walks, and seven earned runs. Now to be honest he could be in line for some regression as he’s never been able to sustain numbers like this. And in his last five starts he’s only gotten through six innings just once. So he’s not the best candidate for quality starts. But in four of his last five starts he has at least seven strikeouts. He’s not as sexy of an option as Stripling is, but he’s definitely in play against the White Sox to end the week.
Joe Musgrove (PIT) – Musgrove appeared in last week’s piece and to no surprise his ownership has risen a little bit after shutting down the Cubs on Wednesday. Musgrove gets two starts this week against the Dodgers at home, and then against the Cubs in Wrigley Field. So far he’s been solid. In just two starts he’s gone seven innings in each outing, earning wins in both. After not allowing any walks in his first start he did walk four against the Cubs, but kept the damage to a minimum. He’s worth rolling out again next week with the hopes the hot start continues.
12-Team Leagues
Caleb Smith (MIA) – Smith was the favorite target in last week’s piece due to the two starts and I’m a big fan of his one start next week. The ownership is ticking closer to 50% in Yahoo! leagues and 40% in ESPN leagues, but I’m still a big fan of him next week against the Padres as a 12-team option pending he’s available. The Padres are slashing .228/.295/.367 as a team and they’ve also struck out the second-most in all of baseball. Additionally the offensive woes continue for San Diego on the road and this matchup does take place in Miami so once again, advantage Smith. You can start him with confidence again next week.
Trevor Cahill (OAK) – Cahill’s next two starts come against the Royals with one of them happening Saturday so it’s a good litmus test for him. Next week he’ll face the Royals in Oakland and the Coliseum has by far been the most pitcher-friendly ballpark this season and the Royals are a mediocre offense at best. In five of his seven starts Cahill has logged a quality start. The A’s are also pretty comfortable letting him pitch deep into games so finding an innings eater on the waiver wire is a real gem. He could be in line for some regression because in his career, opponents have a .285 BABIP and so far this year they have a .232 BABIP, but he could be reaping the rewards of the Oakland Coliseum. Either way the matchup is great next week and he’s definitely in play.
Marco Gonzales (SEA) – Gonzales is in a similar position to Cahill in that he’s facing a team on Saturday that he’ll face again next week. Gonzales takes the mound against Tampa on Saturday at home and then will face them again next week in Tropicana Field. Gonzales has gotten pretty lucky over his last three starts. He’s given up two runs, but both were unearned and he’s only struck out 12 while walking seven. So yeah he’s gotten incredibly lucky, but on the season his numbers still look good: 3.60 ERA (3.29 FIP), and he’s given up just five home runs in 60 innings of work. He’s gone at least 5.2 innings in each of his last seven starts despite the walks being a concern lately. The Rays, similar to the Tigers, have been better than expected to start 2018, but the matchup will occur in a park that caters to pitchers. Gonzales is certainly in play as a streamer next week.
Deeper League Options
Jordan Lyles (SD) – For what it’s worth, Lyles doesn’t have a great matchup next week. It sucks, actually. He gets to face the Braves, albeit, at home. The Braves are for real. They’re what the Yankees were last year: a team that was in a rebuilding phase, but has shot out of a cannon to start the season and they’re currently leading their division. They also boast a great offense even though the top prospect in all of baseball, Ronald Acuna , is on the disabled list. So why would you start Lyles? Well in a deeper league you’re probably fairly desperate. Lyles has given up five home runs over his last five starts (29.2 innings) and his 4.14 FIP compared to his 3.64 ERA suggests there is some regression coming. But since San Diego moved Lyles to the rotation he has a 9.40 K/9, which isn’t terrible. It’s pretty decent. He’s working his offspeed pitches into his repertoire a little more and he’s been very comfortable pitching at Petco Park. In his last three home starts (19.1 innings) he’s struck out 23 batters, walked three, and given up three earned runs. His struggles as a starter have largely come on the road so he may be worth the gamble at home against the Braves.
Ryan Yarbrough (TB) – This is tricky because Yarbrough technically doesn’t qualify as a starting pitcher, but he’s used about as often as one. The Rays are trying to be cute by throwing out Sergio Romo for the first inning of work every few days and leaving him in for an inning or so and then bringing in Yarbrough for long relief. The idea behind this is you get through the heart of a batting order with one of your best relievers and then Yarbrough is brought in for long relief without having to face the best hitters as much. So far it’s worked out fairly well for him. In his last three “appearances” Yarbrough has 21 strikeouts, four walks, and five earned runs in 19 innings of work in “relief.” The strand rate is high and you’d obviously like it if he hadn’t given up three home runs over that span, but you won’t complain about the 9.95 K/9 or the 1.89 BB/9. Check the Rays schedule because they really just have a three-man rotation right now where they’ll start Sergio Romo or some other reliever. On those days you can plug Yarbrough into your lineup expecting him to be the beneficiary of a heavy workload.
Nathan Eovaldi (TB) – I’m not crazy about his matchup next week on the road against the Nationals and then home against the Mariners. But the deep league options are pretty trashy next week, and Eovaldi did have a strong 2018 debut last week against the Athletics who have one of the best offenses in baseball. He tossed six no-hit innings with four strikeouts in a winning effort. Eovaldi is also capable of lighting up the radar gun with his 97mph fastball so you can hang your hat on that if you’re desperate enough to throw him out against the Nats and Mariners next week. Keep your fingers crossed though.