Fantasy Baseball Week 12 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters: Gerrit Cole With A Pair Of Starts In The Bronx

When setting your fantasy baseball lineups this week, be sure to consider the wealth available mid-week for streaming purposes. There are also a goodly number of top-tier and middle-tier dual start options to either plug in to your rotation, if you drafted (or traded) well this year, or to look for on your fantasy baseball league’s waiver wire or among the free agents sitting idly by. There is also a rare sighting of an ace in the bottom group based on recent bias with his struggles on the bump. Once you have perused the starting pitching options open to you this week, take some time to look over the rest of the scintillating content on the Fantasy Alarm site to aid you in your fantasy endeavors. Don’t miss out on the latest Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire article as Adam Ronis highlights the top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for this week. And Colby Conway touches on the fantasy baseball risers and fallers in the latest MLB Streaks & Trends article. 

These ten starting pitchers are the arms you want to plug into your starting rotation, enjoy their efforts in both their starts in Week 12, and reap the anticipated benefits from that decision. Berrios has seen a nice recovery from last season’s debacle, and the Jays are undoubtedly pleased with their decision to tender him a deal…now. If you made the decision to give him a shot this season, well done. That took some guts.

Perez may not be long for the Marlins’ big league roster, with Trevor Rogers due to be activated from the IL as he comes back from his biceps issue, so use him while he is available. He currently is baffling major league hitters to the tune of a 1.80 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, a fine set of ratio stats over his seven starts this season. He is striking out better than a batter per frame (9.3 K/9 over 35.0 IP), and his control has been better of late, too. If you can pick him up, start him this week for his two home outings. Plus, keep him on your radar in the event he heads back to the minors.

Suarez is working on a four-game quality start (QS) streak, where he has allowed just four opposing runners to cross the plate over the past 26.2 IP. Holding the host Diamondbacks scoreless over 7.0 IP in his last time atop the hill has finally pushed his once bloated ERA below 4.00 (3.82 to be precise) and he has a pair of home starts on tap. If you are not entirely sold that he is past his early struggles when he returned to action from his elbow problems, then the late week matchup against the Mets should be where you use his talents, as the New York squad is struggling to find success on the road, decidedly not the case with the Braves who come to Philly early in Week 12. 

Ober has collected a quality start in each of the five games he has lasted six innings or better, and currently sports an attractive set of ratio stats: 2.65 ERA, 0.99 WHIP through his 57.2 IP. His K rate of 8.4 K/9 is useful, and his control is another plus for him (2.2 BB/9 over his 10 starts to date). His matchups are decent this week, as his home/road splits over the past few seasons show no favoritism toward any particular venue when he climbs the bump.

Gore gets to face off against a pair of teams that are underperforming against early season expectations, and his K rate has been impressive, sitting at 10.5 K/9 over his 74.2 IP this season. His struggles with his control are evidenced by an unattractive 1.38 WHIP and pitching for a team mired in the muck at the bottom of the NL standings is certainly a factor in his recent scarcity of victories, his last win having been achieved at the end of April. 

Whitlock has started a mere seven contests due to his early season injury woes but has been effective on and off in those games. He is coming off a pair of QS where he held the opponents to just three earned tallies while posting a 13:2 K/BB ratio. He is working to push his ERA down to expected levels (based on prior success in the past two seasons), although he is on the road for both his trips to toe the rubber in Week 12. 

Oviedo had looked sharp in the two games he was handed the ball before the Cubs roughed him up at Wrigley to the extent of four earned runs over just 4.1 IP. Despite taking the loss, he did rack up eight Ks in that contest against one free pass, and he continues to keep the ball in the park with just five dingers on the season, and three of those were suffered in his first outing on 2023. His best matchup this scoring period is when the Cubs come to visit, as the North Side squad is well below .500 on the road. 

Civale has only started five games thus far in 2023, although he has been solid in that small sample size, posting a 2.67 ERA over the 27.0 IP he has delivered to date. Oakland, despite picking up their game of late, is still a good matchup, better than the second start against Milwaukee, although both contests are home events for the 28-year-old right-hander.

Because Cabrera has a pair of home starts on the board this week, he makes the middle tier, since he has been much more effective in Miami than outside of the confines of LoanDepot Park. He has been collecting his fair share of strikeouts as witnessed by his 11.3 K/9 rate over his 14 starts through his June 13th loss to the host Mariners. The lack of control is a problem, as a 5.5 BB/9 rate is simply awful; he has been limiting the free passes in the past two games (3 BB over 11.0 IP), so there is that positive point.

These pitchers should be avoided for the most part, although look at who tops the bottom tier: Max Scherzer. This is likely a short-term demotion, based solely on his recent struggles on the mound. 11 earned runs over the past 9.0 IP and a 2.00 WHIP over that same stretch make him tough to use despite his ace status. As is usually suggested here, unless you are desperate for some innings due to league format, even with good venue and matchup potential, these are the arms to avoid if you value your ratio stats.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 12

There is no promise that each game day will provide a streaming option. First of all, the pitcher must be available in at least 50% of leagues to be a viable candidate to snag off the wire. Then, the pitchers discussed above are not included as they have a different sort of value, even though some might be available as free agents in your league. Plus, some days the matchups and/or venues just do not figure as positive enough factors to favor plugging the arm into your rotation, even for one start. That all being said, here are this week’s best streaming candidates.

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles @ Tampa Bay Rays

The 26-year-old righty is a serviceable enough streaming option, with his 7.8 K/9 rate and good control (2.4 BB/9 through his 60.0 IP this year). His matchup is not optimal, heading into the Trop to take on the impressive Ray offense, but each time he has lasted the requisite 6.0 IP in a start, he has collected a quality start for the effort. He is it for worthwhile streaming options on this day, so there is that in his favor.

Julio Teheran, Milwaukee Brewers vs Arizona Diamondbacks

We now have a five-game set of stats to review for the veteran right-hander, and he has produced four consecutive quality starts, not allowing more than a pair of earned runs in any of his five starts for the Brew-Crew. His control is superb (1.2 BB/9) which offsets his lack of strikeout production (5.9 K/9 over his 30.1 IP in limited time on the bump). Not a terrific matchup, to be certain, but he does get to face the Diamondbacks at home for this start.

Rich Hill, Pittsburgh Pirates vs Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs

It is another of those infrequent occasions where both sides of the game’s pitchers are capable of providing fantasy value for your rotation, as both teams are trotting out pitchers who are throwing well at present. Hill offers better strikeout potential (8.4 K/9 through 14 starts/77.1 IP) but Hendrick keeps himself out of self-induced trouble by exhibiting greater control. Hill has the home field advantage in this contest, but the Cub right-hander has been effective on the road this season thus far into the campaign.

Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Detmers is coming off a quality start and has also punched out eight batters in each of his last two times climbing the hill. The swing and miss ability should continue to be exhibited here, as the Dodgers lead both leagues in strikeouts collected by the offense. His peripherals also hint at better things coming in his future.

Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals @ Detroit Tigers

The Royal 26-year-old righty has been playing a roller coaster game over the past couple of months, pitching well then suffering a difficult outing, only to go back to his effective ways. This game is a good matchup on the face of it, although the opponent has been guilty of being up and down as well. Singer has been pitching better than his ratios reflect of late, but those inflated values (6.33 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) probably make him available if you want to chance the uneven ride he offers.

Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics @ Cleveland Guardians

The Oakland seven-year veteran right-hander is showing a propensity to collect swings and misses, coming off a nine-strikeout effort against the visiting Rays, which turned out to be another no-decision for him. He has a good matchup, despite it being on the road, and the A’s have been looking better on the field of late.

Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees vs Seattle Mariners

The Yankee fourth-year hurler has posted good to great numbers over his past five outings, putting up a useful set of ratio stats: 2.33 ERA, 1.04 WHIP over those 27.0 IP. His early season struggles behind him now, he has a home start against a team four games under .500 on the road as of the writing of his article. He is striking out better than a batter per frame this year as well.

JP Sears, Oakland Athletics @ Cleveland Guardians

The second-year southpaw was tagged for three homers in his last outing, which cost him and gave him his fourth loss on the year. Aside from the long ball damage, he continued his recent strong efforts while toeing the rubber for the resurgent A’s. His ERA is not exactly the stuff fantasy dreams are made of, but he is working to drop that ratio into reasonable range (4.24 currently, down from a season high of 6.23 at the end of April). He has shown dominance on the hill with a 8.5 K/9 rate over his 76.1 IP, but the Guardians are not known for their free-swinging ways at the plate, so temper those expectations.

Connor Seabold, Colorado Rockies vs Los Angeles Angels

The Colorado righty has twirled a pair of QS, during which period he has a 10:3 K/BB ratio, over his past two trips to climb the hill. He has not fared poorly at home, as many Colorado SPs do, so despite the less than stellar matchup, and the tough mound opponent on tap, his recent success lands him on the streaming radar for this game. He has a good chance to rack up some Ks for his owners with his 7.0 K/9 rate on the season, and his peripheral metrics indicate that he is not likely to suffer any great negative regression in the near future.

Griffin Canning, Los Angeles Angels @ Colorado Rockies

Canning was an inning short and a run heavy from collecting his fourth quality start in row, but despite yielding four earned tallies against the visiting Seattle offense, he picked up his fifth victory against only two losses. He is demonstrating excellent control over the past three outings, while also striking out 20 hitters in those 17.0 IP. The venue for this outing could be better, but facing the Rockies is not a daunting task and makes him a streaming option worth considering at the end of the scoring period.

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