I don’t want to get too cute with streamers for the final week. Depending on which teams clinch playoff spots or win divisions, you’ll see some funky lineup decisions. Ideally your league will have already wrapped up right now, but I’ll throw Kevin Gausman out there as a suggestion, but his ownership suggests he might not be available in all 10-team leagues. If he is however, you should grab him for his next start on Wednesday against the Mets. He hasn’t looked particularly solid lately, but it’s a road matchup, which means a park upgrade. The Mets haven’t been too terrible lately, but it’s the last week of the regular season so you can’t be picky with your streamers.
10-Team Leagues
Reynaldo López (CHW) – Lopez might be the best suggestion one can offer up in shallower leagues. Since August 24th he’s looked amazing. Over his last six starts he has a 9.76 K/9, 2.04 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9, a 1.13 ERA and he’d have six straight quality starts if he could’ve just recorded one more out in his start against Detroit on the 24th of August. He’s generating strikeouts at a ridiculous rate right now. The bad news is he faces the Indians next Wednesday. But the Tribe have locked up the AL Central division yet again and just might be resting a couple starters to give them rest ahead of the playoffs. Despite the opponent, I’m streaming Lopez with confidence this week.
Lance Lynn (NYY) – Lynn isn’t a guy who will light up the stat sheet. However, he can give you some decent production. He won’t pitch too deep into games but surprisingly enough since being acquired by New York he hasn’t given up a home run in Yankee Stadium and he’s allowed just four free passes over his last 25.2 innings of work. He does have a 5.96 ERA over that span, but a 2.61 FIP and 2.82 xFIP suggest he’s been the victim of poor defense and bad luck. He’s still a strikeout per inning pitcher and he faces Tampa Bay on the road next week. Tampa has given the Yankees fits all season, but the 10-team options are few and far between this week. You can certainly find worse options to stream than Lynn right now.
12-Team Leagues
Dylan Bundy (BAL) – I truly hope you enjoy playing with fire because Bundy is a two-start pitcher next week and his opponents are the Red Sox and Astros. This is a big boom or bust suggestion because while Bundy does average a strikeout per inning, he gives up 2.10 HR/9, but if we’re being fair he’s at least twirled back-to-back gems against the likes of the Athletics and Blue Jays. Over those last 12.2 innings he has 14 strikeouts, one walk, and just one home run allowed. Like Lopez up above, I think there’s a chance he faces off against some sub-par lineups. But if you want, just monitor the lineups before they come out. If you’re truly desperate for some upside I’d stream him regardless next Saturday against Houston.
Jake Odorizzi (MIN) – Odorizzi was a nice commodity for fantasy streamers earlier in the year when he was striking out a batter per inning like his teammate Kyle Gibson . However, over his last five starts dating back to August 24th he’s averaging 6.75 K/9 and 3.52 BB/9. A majority of these numbers are due to a bad start on the road against Houston at the beginning of September, but that doesn’t change that the strikeouts are down a bit. A start against the Detroit Tigers will likely bring his season to an end, but at least it’s a decent matchup for Odorizzi.
Wade Miley (MIL) – Miley, like Odorizzi, finishes the season against the Tigers. Miley is not a strikeout pitcher by any means as evidenced by his 5.74 K/9 on the season. However he has only given up three home runs in 73.2 innings of work this year (0.37 HR/9), and he’s allowed just seven walks in his last 39.1 innings of work. He’s a solid pitcher overall with a good matchup against Detroit to close out the season. The upside is minimal but there’s a chance he gets you a win.
Deeper League Options
Zach Davies (MIL) – After not pitching for over three months, Zach Davies has returned to work five innings in each of his last three starts for a 3.00 ERA, 12 strikeouts and three walks. Sure the potential for a quality start is not there, but there’s opportunity for a win with Davies even though it appears his maximum innings will be five, and that’s what you need from him. Still like his matchup next week against the Tigers.
Ryan Borucki (TOR) – The nice thing about Borucki is that he gets a matchup preview on Sunday against the Rays and then takes them on again to finish out next week. He’s logged a quality start in three of his last four trips to the mound and has three straight games with at least five strikeouts. For a deeper league streaming option he is a moderate source of strikeouts with 17 in his last 20.1 innings of work and he hasn’t given up a home run over that span.