Fantasy Baseball Week 21 Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: Sandy Alcantara Is Twice As Nice

As the calendar heads to the end of summer, it is a fine time to tune up your starting rotations for the championship run that we hope you are pursuing. Time to swap in those dual-start starting pitchers that have value and utility for your fantasy baseball lineups. Remember as ever to keep your eye on the MLB injury reports and take action if you need to seek out a fresh arm to bolster your fantasy squad(s). There is never a time to coast when pursuing fantasy baseball dominance. Please realize that these articles feature most recent rotation information available when the article is written, but that circumstances do change due to weather conditions, injuries and general craziness with managers. If a pitcher listed here as having two starts ends up with one (or perhaps none) in the upcoming week, apologies but this article is meant to provide analysis, it is up to the manager to set the lineups or rotations. Without further ado, here are this week’s two start pitchers…

Here we are but one short of an even dozen arms that should be plugged into your lineups for both their scheduled trips to climb the hill in Week 23. It matters not where nor against whom they are throwing the pill, get their fantasy goodness into your stat sheets.

Bailey Falter heads up the middle tier choices, and is working on a four-game win streak. The second-year southpaw has dropped his ERA to just over 4.00 with his current stretch run. He has two road contests, which is a positive with his season’s home/road splits. He is a better than average K producer with good control, so reason to expect his current hot streak to fade away anytime soon.

Hunter Brown had a wonderful MLB debut, picking up a shutout win and quality start (QS) while going 5:1 K/BB. He is continuing his success demonstrated at Triple-A, and has a fine pair of matchups in store, facing the Tigers and their inconsistent offense, then taking on the A’s in Houston, a last-place division foe.

Mike Minor has had a nice stretch recently, allowing just five earned tallies over his last three starts, comprising 17.1 IP. True, he is not missing many bats, and has allowed better than a hit per frame over those contests, but the veteran still knows how to pitch effectively. His home start to open the week against Pittsburgh projects as the best opportunity to employ his services, as the Cardinals are a tough test at their home park.

Joe Ryan has been struggling with his control over his last few trips to the hill, although his ability to generate swings and misses helps to offset that trend (25:11 K/BB rate over his last four starts). He has struggled on the road this season, so as with Minor above, his first start at Target Field against the Royals appears to be the best time to plug him into your rotation, and discretion may suggest avoiding the end of the week matchup in Cleveland.

Ryne Nelson is the second SP profiled in the middle tier that made his MLB debut one to remember. He shut out the Padres in San Diego over 7.0 IP, nailing down a K per inning in his first start as a member of the Diamondback staff. He has a tough matchup in store, facing the Dodgers and then the Padres again, albeit both at home. Just a sort of baptism by fire going on for the rookie.

Luis Cessa, as it is with his teammate Mike Minor, has a home start against a last place Pirates club but then has to head to St. Louis to take on the Cards. He has shown a propensity to shine away from Busch Stadium this season, however, and is coming off a season-high eight K effort (no walks in an effort that fell one out short of a QS). His peripherals do not indicate that he has been pitching over his head during his recent ascension to the role of SP, either.

Javier Assad was finally touched for earned tallies as a starter for the Cubs (four earned runs over 5.1 IP against the visiting Reds squad), and will look to rediscover his shutout ways. The second start of the week against the visiting Rockies looks most favorable, with his first matchup requiring a trip to Citi Field to take on the Mets who are seeking to reclaim the NL East lead. Assad is an average K producer, although neither of this week’s opponents look to decidedly affect the strikeout numbers in a positive fashion. 

While there are not many middle tier options to select among this week, there are as ever plenty of arms it is suggested you avoid employing for any of their scheduled trips to bump in the upcoming scoring period. There are weeks when one or more bottom group hurlers are worthy of a spot start, but none jump out from this crew.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 22

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:

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

José Suarez LAA @ CLE TBD

The Angel southpaw has been steadily productive over his last 6 trips to toe the rubber, posting a stellar 1.76 ERA and 0.90 WHIP over those 41.0 IP. Add in an 8.6 K/9 rate and a two game QS streak, and there is plenty to like about his chances in this contest.

Dean Kremer BAL @ WAS Paolo Espino 

The Baltimore righty offers nice ratio numbers for those who insert him into their rotations: 3.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP. He aids himself by exhibiting good control (2.0 BB/9). His home/road splits do not suggest that pitching on the road is any impediment to his general success as a SP, and his peripherals indicate that what we’ve seen is what we should expect to continue.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

David Peterson NYM vs CHC Drew Smyly

Peterson has performed well since returning to the Met rotation, and gets a home start against a squad that struggles when away from Wrigley Field. He offers top-notch whiff skills, as witnessed by his 10.4 K/9 rate on the season. 

Roansy Contreras PIT @ CIN Nick Lodolo

The Pirate rookie righthander continues to rack up Ks for his owners, but the command and control need some work if he is become a more dependable SP, beyond occasional use as a streaming option. We have a couple of teams mired at the bottom of the division facing off, and the Reds are not exactly known as road warriors, which makes the Pittsburgh side of this matchup the more favorable option.

Kyle Freeland COL @ CHW Dylan Cease

The 29-year-old lefty has allowed just four earned runs over his last three outings, two of those on the road, and here he is, up for yet another road start. The White Sox are currently two games under .500 at home, as well. Do not expect a huge uptick in his K numbers, despite the eight whiffs he collected in his last game against the Brewers, but continued road success is a good possibility.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Zach Davies ARI vs SD Mike Clevinger

Since he returned to action after a stint on the injured list, he has put up an attractive 3.27 ERA over those 33.0 IP. He has failed to post a result in any of those contests, going 0-0 despite the mound success he is enjoying. A home start plays into his strengths as a SP who prefers to pitch in the homer deprived park in the desert.

J.T. Brubaker PIT @ NYM Carlos Carrasco

The second Pirate arm to be suggested as a streaming option this week, Brubaker has been mostly effective with occasional blow ups over his recent activity on the bump. He averages better than a strikeout per frame, although the Mets are not exactly known to be a free-swinging offense, which will diminish his value a tad. 

Friday, September 16, 2022

Germán Márquez COL @ CHC Marcus Stroman

The 27-year-old righty is much more effective while toeing the rubber away from Coors Field, so heading to Wrigley plays into his wheelhouse. He has tossed eight QS out of his last 10 starts, including his last two road starts. The average K rate should be aided by facing the Cubbies, who are ranked 6^th in all of the MLB in terms of strikeouts produced on offense.

Austin Voth BAL @ TOR José Berríos

Voth is the first of three Oriole SPs that are suggested as potential streaming options late in the season. The 5^th year righty has pitched five innings or better in five of his last six starts, allowing him to collect three wins against one loss. During that stretch, he has compiled a stellar 2.23 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He also has been striking out opposing hitters at a rate of 7.4 per nine innings over those 36.1 IP. His home/road splits suggest that he is favored being on the road in this matchup.

Mitch Keller PIT @ NYM Taijuan Walker

Another Pirate streamer in the form of the 26-year-old righthander, who offers average K production (7.5 K/9 over 130.0 IP in 2022 so far). He is slightly more effective on the road than when climbing the bump at PNC Park this season, so despite a poor matchup on paper, he is worth a late season plug in for those needing some Ks and potentially a QS.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Patrick Corbin WAS vs MIA Trevor Rogers

The National southpaw veteran has been on a nice streak, allowing just four earned tallies over his last three outings, two of those resulting in quality starts for Corbin. In a matchup of teams going nowhere fast, there is some hope that the lefty can realize some of his prior expertise of the hill as he has demonstrated of late at home.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Kyle Bradish BAL @ TOR TBD

In the eight outings he has been involved in since he recovered from his mid-season shoulder issue, he has posted a 3.09 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with an useful 8.5 K/9 rate. His best efforts have been on the road away from Camden Yards this season, so a late season trip across the border is not a concern for the rookie righthander.

Feel free also to send any starting pitching or other fantasy baseball questions to ia@fantasyalarm.com for a private response to your specific issue. The more detail you can provide about your team and league, including settings (H2H vs roto, points or categories, weekly or daily moves, roster size, league size, etc.) the better the response will be suited to your individual situation. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in all your fantasy endeavors.

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• 2022 MLB Injury Reports