Streaming Pitching Options Week 14

 There are a multitude of streaming pitching options to choose from in Week 14. Just look at Wednesday, where there are seven starting pitchers that are worth a shot if your pitching staff is not loaded with aces. There are also options for each day this week, unlike prior scoring periods. Enjoy the wealth, as the All Star break is soon upon us and will severely limit the streaming options during that shortened week.

 By the way, I am writing this while traveling between Washington, D.C. and NYC, with spotty wifi. Today's post, as well as those next weekend, will be dependent on my ability to connect to the internet, so if the analysis is a bit terser than normal, please forgive me. Things will return to normal once my vacation is wrapped up a week from today.

Realize that these pitchers are all owned in 50% or less of leagues. and thus may be available in your league on the waiver wire. I am only going to highlight those pitchers that I believe can provide a boost to your rotation, so no bottom-of-the-barrel SPs will be brought to your attention. Also, please understand that this set of pitchers is being assembled early before the next scoring period (in most leagues, at least) commences, and weather, injury, demotions or crazy managerial decisions can interfere with our well-laid plans, so be ready to adjust if you can make daily lineup adjustments.

Here are the recommended streaming options for this week:

Monday, July 4, 2016

Kendall Graveman OAK @ MIN Ricky Nolasco

Jake Peavy SF vs COL Eddie Butler

Graveman is one of a few two-start streamers this week. He is not even an average strikeout option, but he has been showing excellent control and does generate a lot of grounders (2.29 GB/FB ratio). He also gets to take on the Twins in a pitchers' park, so the matchup is good.

Peavy has been pitching much better as the season has gone forward. The story is that he was having some personal issues with money to open the season, but now seems to have his head on straight. He gets to face off against Colorado at home, and has been better at AT&T Park than on the road this season. He is a slightly better K option than Graveman, but is still below average in 2016. He was roughed up in his last start against Oakland, but has held opponents to three or fewer earned runs in seven of his last ten starts, so he has been effective and dependable for the most part since early May.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Sean Manaea OAK @ MIN Tommy Milone

Mike Foltynewicz ATL @ PHI Zach Eflin

Zach Eflin PHI vs ATL Mike Foltynewicz

Manaea gets a thumbs up here because of the matchup, as the Twins are not a scary opponent, and their home park is decent venue for pitchers. He looked sharp in his first start since coming off the DL, holding the Giants scoreless for 5.2 innings on six hits, and he will look to build on that success when he heads to the mound in Target Field.

I find it odd that I keep promoting Brave pitchers, when the team is doing so poorly. The rotation is pitching well, just not getting any steady offensive support. In this matchup, I like both the SPs, as neither team is that frightening offensively, although the nod would have to go to Philly right now. Foltynewicz was held to just 61 pitches in his first start since coming off the DL, but that was likely due to a rain delay. He should be able to pitch deeper assuming no weather issues, and Eflin has been pitching into or through the sixth inning and has yielded just five earned runs over his last 17.2 innings. Folty is the better strikeout option here, if that is important to you in choosing your streaming options.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Martin Perez TEX @ BOS Steven Wright

Jeremy Hellickson PHI vs ATL Julio Teheran

Mike Fiers HOU vs SEA Wade LeBlanc

Wade LeBlanc @ HOU Mike Fiers

Bud Norris LAD vs BAL Kevin Gausman

Ervin Santana MIN @ OAK Sonny Gray

Jorge De La Rosa COL @ SF Johnny Cueto

Colin Rea SD @ ARI Shelby Miller

Quite the haul in streaming choices this day, isn't it? Perez is backed by a strong offense, but is terrible at missing bats (4.43 K/9. 1.16 K/BB ratios over his 103.2 innings in 2016). He does boast a 3.39 ERA, and if he can keep up the groundball production, he should be effective even at Fenway.

Hellickson had gone through a bit of a rough patch in early June, but is working on a three game QS streak, where he has limited opponents to five earned runs over 19 innings, with a 15:2 K/BB ratio. Taking on the weak Atlanta offense makes him a tempting option here.

Fiers and LeBlanc face off against one another at Fiers home park, which is a slight advantage for the Houston hurler. Neither of these SPs is a great source for Ks, each hovering around six strikeouts per nine innings. They rely on excellent control, although LeBlanc is better at keeping the ball in the park traditionally. We are working with a small sample size with LeBlanc, as he has only made two starts since joining the Mariners in late June, so keep that in mind when deciding how to play this matchup.

Bud Norris was experiencing a career revitalization while pitching in Atlanta, and he should benefit from the move to a better offense. He gets to pitch in Dodger Stadium, which should help depress to an extent the Oriole offensive production. He has been on a strikeout tear as well, putting up a 45:5 K/BB ratio over his past five starts. Baltimore strikes out better than league average, so that trend should continue.

Santana is saddled with a lackluster team offense, and he is a below average K producer, but he also has tossed a pair of QS in his last three starts, and has been better on the road than at home, so heading to the Coliseum is a plus in this matchup. Not a premier selection on this busy day, to be certain, but potentially useful in deeper leagues or AL-only leagues.

De La Rosa has settled in to his role in the Rockie rotation after a rough start coming off the DL in late May. He had been working on a four game victory streak, but even in his most recent loss to the Dodgers, he only gave up two earned runs over seven innings. He has shown terrible control, and that is a major concern, but he does provide good strikeout potential, and he gets to pitch at AT&T, which is a better park for pitchers generally than his home park in Denver.

Rea is nothing spectacular, but he keeps getting things done on the mound. He has thrown a couple of quality starts in his past three appearances, and has won his past two starts. He is an average K producer, but needs to have his control to be successful consistently. He is good at avoiding the long ball, which will be a help against the Diamondbacks.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Chad Kuhl PIT @ StL Adam Wainwright

Lucas Harrell ATL @ CHC Jason Hammel

Kuhl's rotation spot is safe only so long as Gerrit Cole is on the DL, so keep an eye on his status if you plan on employing his services in this game. He did collect his first win by beating Clayton Kershaw, you may recall. He is not much in the way of Ks, and his control has been weak, but he also features a 93-94 MPH fastball, and has limited homeruns over his career. His team offense is not performing up to expectations, and he will need to be sharp to shut down the Cardinals. He is a weak option in this matchup, in a day with limited streaming options.

Harrell heads to Wrigley Field, which does not provide a ton of optimism. He looked good in his lone appearance in the Brave rotation when he defeated the Marlins, holding them to three hits and one earned run over six innings. He struck out five and only handed out one free pass to Miami batters. He will need to repeat that performance to hold the Cubs in check.

This is not exactly the best day to pick up streaming pitchers, you may have gathered.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Matt Wisler ATL @ CHW Chris Sale

Wisler has been very good for the Braves, and is working on a string of three quality starts. Wins are going to be hard to come by for any Brave starting pitcher this season, and that limits his upside. Plus, he has the misfortune of facing Shields when he has seemingly righted his season after a disastrous start to his time with the White Sox in 2016. Wisler is a below average strikeout pitcher, and will need to limit the long ball to be effective on the road in Chicago.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Jake Peavy SF vs ARI Robbie Ray

Kendall Graveman OAK @ HOU Lance McCullers

Daniel Norris DET @ TOR Aaron Sanchez

John Lamb CIN @ MIA Adam Conley

I wrote about both Peavy and Graveman under Monday's entry, so look up above a several inches for that analysis. I again like Peavy at home here against the inconsistent Robbie Ray. I would prefer to be using Graveman at home, but the Astros are just the team to pad his K numbers, so there is that aspect to this start.

Norris heads to Toronto, not exactly known as a favorable pitching environment, but then again, the Tigers did acquire Norris from the Blue Jays. He has only lasted five innings in his two starts this season, but has struck out 13 hitters while only handing out one base on balls. The Tiger offense can put up runs to the same extent as the Jays, so despite the setting, Norris is a potential sneaky smart start.

Lamb's strikeout numbers have been trending upward over his past few games, which is more in line with his career stats. He gets to pitch in a favorable park on the road, and while the Marlins have proven to be a competitive team, they can also have their problems putting up consistent offense. If Lamb can keep the ball within the confines of the park, and has his swing-and-miss stuff working, he can be effective.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Yovani Gallardo vs LAA Jared Weaver

Sean Manaea OAK @ HOU Dallas Keuchel

Mike Foltynewicz ATL @ CHW James Shields

Tyler Anderson COL vs PHI Zach Eflin

Gallardo is a tough pitcher to get behind, although he did just toss a QS, albeit against the Padres in San Diego. Here he faces a lower-tier offense at home, where he has been much more effective according to his home/road splits. He is a mediocre strikeout pitcher (6.03 K/9) and has terrible control so far this season, with a 4.19 BB/9 over seven starts amounting to 34.1 innings in 2016. This is just a home start matchup, nothing more.

Manaea and Foltynewicz are the last pair of two start streaming options this week. As with Peavy and Graveman, you can take a gander up above for my initial analysis of both pitchers. Here Manaea is again away from his home park, but he also gets a chance to pad his K numbers against the Astros. Foltynewicz heads to a hitters' park, which bodes ill for him, although perhaps it will help his moribund offense.

Anderson has been effective at Coors Field, allowing just five earned runs over his three home starts. He has been striking out better than a hitter per inning, and has shown excellent control, with a 1.90 BB/9 rate over his 23.2 innings so far this season. If he can keep up his trend of limiting offense to the visiting team at Coors, he has a great chance to provide a nice stat line if you pick him up for a late week streaming start.

I enjoy responding to reader questions, so feel free to post. Please note that the Fantasy Alarm Forums are now open for your use, to ask questions or provide your own commentary and wisdom. If you do not want your comments to appear in this public forum (if say your league members also read these articles), then feel free to contact me at ia@fantasyalarm.com for a more private response. I play in a ton of fantasy leagues, and am willing to discuss any baseball issues you may want to raise, not just starting pitching issues. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in your fantasy endeavors.