Week 18 had its share of up’s and down’s and a lot of guys are still waiting to pitch. Trevor Cahill only surrendered two earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. It’s been a rough start for Cahill in KC as he hasn’t finished 5 innings in either start. He’ll look to get back on track Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Kevin Gausman is getting hot and his ownership is too high to put him in the streamers piece now (good riddance). But in Week 18 he pitched 7 innings in a losing effort, but he gave up just 1 earned run and tallied 8 K’s. Unfortunately he didn’t get any run support.

Charlie Morton pitched well in a winning effort against the Rays. He’ll get a 2nd start in Week 18 Saturday against Toronto. Zach Davies, like Gausman, pitched well in a losing effort. He went 7 innings strong with 6 K’s. Jhoulys Chacin’s ownership is steadily climbing. He had another great start at home pitching 7 scoreless frames in a winning effort. Chacin gets the Reds on the road early in Week 19 so avoid him for that start.

So the 10-12 team recommendations worked out pretty well. The deeper leagues suggestions? Not. So. Much. Brent Suter took the loss as he gave up 5 earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. He did collect 7 K’s with just 1 walk so it wasn’t a total disaster.

Jaime Garcia made the list last week, but that was assuming he stuck with the Twins and faced the Rangers. But he was traded to the Yankees and pitched horribly against Cleveland. Hopefully you didn’t throw him out there once he was traded. Seth Lugo and Hyun-Jin Ryu have yet to pitch so the jury is still out. All in all a decent week for streamers last week!

10-12 Team Leagues

Some of the recommendations this week are very risky. They feature mediocre pitchers going up against good lineups. Week 19 is rough for streamers.

Colin McHugh (HOU): It wasn’t a great start to the 2017 season for McHugh, but he’s had two solid outings since struggling in the first start of the year. In 12 innings of work he’s record 13 K’s to 3 walks and given up just 2 earned runs. The control has gotten better over the last two starts and he draws the White Sox on the road in Week 19. McHugh is right around 40% owned so another good start will boost his ownership. The White Sox are clearly trying to build for the future and give their young talent some experience. This is the kind of young lineup you want to exploit as a pitcher.

German Marquez (COL): Marquez is currently coming in around 40% owned and his season long numbers won’t grab anyone’s attention. But lately he’s been pitching very well. Since the All-Star Break Marquez has a 3.38 ERA (3.03 FIP) and his strikeouts are way up; 33 total in 26.2 innings of work. 3 of those starts have come at home, and the one road start in that span came in Washington so he’s proving to be pitching well in scenarios that aren’t ideal for starting pitchers. 57% of his strikeouts have come on his curveball (league average is 17.5%), which is the 6th-best percentage in the league. Now remember earlier in the piece when it was mentioned the matchups this week are a bit rough? Marquez gets a road matchup against Cleveland in Week 19. The Tribe have won 11 of their last 14 and the offense has been very productive. Tread carefully with this one, but he’s still worth streaming.

Trevor Cahill (KC): Going back to the well with Cahill cause there’s still confidence with him. In each of his last 3 outings he’s failed to make it 5 innings. Could he be pitching through injury? Possibly. It wouldn’t be the first time A.J. Preller traded a player that was hurt. But if Cahill can’t turn it around against St. Louis then it’ll be time to be concerned about him. The Cardinals offense is in a bit of a slump. They’ve scored just 15 runs in their last 8 games so this might be the time to target Cahill.

Trevor Bauer (CLE): It’s always risky including Bauer as a recommended player worth starting. Brace yourself because he draws the Rockies next Wednesday. But it’s important to note that the Rockies are an entirely different offense away from Coors Field. Their batting average as a team is about 50 points lower on the road than at home, their road OBP is 20th in all of baseball, and their road SLG% is 4th-worst. For Bauer, he’s a pitcher that typically pitches better at home. Sure his splits aren’t too drastically different in terms of opponents’ offensive numbers. But he does have a 4.36 ERA at home. That’s not that great, but he has a 3.65 FIP when pitching at home as well. Is it a gamble? Yes. But if you look closer at the numbers, it could be a good matchup.

Desperation Play of the Week… Carlos Rodon (CHW): Jhoulys Chacin gets bumped from this spot in favor of Rodon. The matchup is risky because he draws the Astros at home next Thursday. Rodon’s last two starts against Boston and Cleveland (both respected offenses) went well. In 14.1 innings of work in his last 2 appearances he’s totaled 20 K’s while giving up 3 earned runs. Unfortunately for Rodon he won’t get much run support with this young lineup. The value will come in whichever Rodon shows up: the one who can get double-digit strikeouts, or the one who can’t make it through 4 innings.

Deeper League Options

JC Ramirez (LAA): There isn’t much confidence in this pick because he has a 4.28 FIP compared to a 1.93 ERA since July 9 so he’s due for a bad start, but Ramirez is worth a look in deeper leagues. He gets two starts next week: at home against Baltimore and then on the road in Seattle. The second start is particularly concerning, but the home start against the O’s is where you should target him. Baltimore has to fly cross-country after their game on Sunday so it’s possible there’s some fatigue amongst the offense. The Angels will be coming off a home series against Oakland so they have no travel concerns. Ramirez only features 3 pitches so he can’t really fool hitters with variety or deception because he doesn’t have a changeup. But for deeper leagues you can throw him out there.

Sean Newcomb (ATL): Boy there isn’t much confidence in streamers this week, hence why Newcomb made the list. After coming out of the gate hot with just 4 earned runs in 24.1 innings of work, Newcomb has surrendered 23 earned runs in his last 28.1 innings of work. He’s struck out 34 and walked 24. That sucks. That’s no bueno. He’s largely recommended as a streamer this week because of his matchup against Philadelphia. In his last start against the Phillies he only went 5 innings, but he gave up just 3 walks and 2 hits so the damage was minimal. There’s no doubt he’s been horrible lately, but give him a look next week.

Seth Lugo (NYM): So last week Lugo made the list as the despo play and he’s yet to actually make that start against Los Angeles (it comes later today). So he gets bumped up as a standard deeper league suggestion because the options are few and far between in Week 19. Like Newcomb, Lugo gets a start against Philadelphia next week. Lugo won’t ever strike many guys out, but he doesn’t give up too many walks. The Phillies are a middle-of-the-road offense, but they’ve lost 4 straight games and have found themselves in a miniature slump. Regardless of Lugo’s performance on Saturday against L.A. he’ll be worth looking at next week.

Desperation Play of the Week… Tyler Skaggs (LAA): Almost every guy in this section is a risky play, but Skaggs makes his long-awaited return for the Angels. He hasn’t pitched since April 29th as he’s been rehabbing from a rib injury. That’s not to say that there isn’t strain or pressure on a pitcher’s ribs when they go through their motion, but at least it wasn’t a shoulder or elbow injury. Prior to the injury he had a 3.99 ERA with a 3.52 FIP and he was keeping the ball in the ballpark while almost averaging a strikeout per inning. He makes his return against Oakland on Saturday night and then he gets a road matchup next week in Seattle. The Week 19 matchup is tough, hence why he’s a deeper league suggestion.