The regular season is officially in the books! Sad faces galore. I hope all of you, every single one of you, won a league. Hopefully, it was thanks to some of my bold predictions (which, as I type this, I still haven’t looked at since the preseason). I have no idea how I did, so let’s be surprised together. For a referesher on my thought process behind each prediction, check out the original article.
This will be my final starting pitcher streamers article of the season and sadly, my final article of the regular season. So if you’re in the thick of the championship run, let’s take a gander at some of the starting pitchers you should consider streaming that are likely to be available in your league.
Friday brings a full slate of games, including a ton in which lesser owned pitchers are scheduled to start. Rather than discuss each one, I’ll instead just discuss those worthy of streaming.
If you’re in a fierce battle in the wins or strikeouts categories, or both, you are no doubt considering streaming pitchers if your league uses daily transactions. So let’s take a look at the pitchers owned in less than 50% of CBS leagues who are scheduled to start on Thursday and determine who warrants a pickup and who’s at risk of destroying your ratios.
I’d say the easiest category to make up ground in the final week is stolen bases. They could come in bunches and it’s easy to identify the players that contribute in the category. Often times speedsters are sitting on free agency as they contribute little else outside the steals. But heading into the final week of the season, you might not care about the other categories, just getting those three extra steals that will gain you a point or two. So here are five lesser owned named that are likely available and could give you that jolt you may need.
As I sometimes do when searching for a topic, I decided to scan the last 30 day K% leaderboard among AL starting pitchers to see if any surprises sit near the top. Sure enough, one name stood out — Daniel Norris, who ranked sixth with a 27.7% mark. This is a guy who had posted strong strikeout rates in the minors, has sometimes struggled with his control, but the strikeout ability didn’t translate to the Majors last year in 13 starts. As I’ve done with a couple of pitchers previously, let’s compared the relevant metrics during his 2015 season, first four appearances this year, and his eight starts since being recalled and returning to the Tigers rotation on August 9th.
Ahhhh, mid-September, when fantasy owners out of the running for a prize spot shift their attention to football, leaving all the hidden gems to you! It’s a wonderful time of year as sudden full-timers are free for the taking on your deep league roster. Here are two of ’em.
Robbie Ray’s latest eight strikeout, five runs allowed effort, has continued what has become a baffling season from a results perspective. His 4.66 ERA is obviously poor and ranks 13th worst among all qualified Major League starters. But he has still attracted interest from fantasy owners thanks to a plethora of strikeouts. Let’s take a look at where he ranks in a variety of metrics among 78 qualified starters to get a better idea of just how bizarre his performance has truly been.
I’m finally back from my two week Slovenia/Croatia jaunt (feel free to discuss the wonders of either of those countries in the comments) and what else does one write about when not totally in the loop? More home run surprises, of course! I continue to be in shock at some of the home run total, so let’s discuss more of them.
While his ERA only dropped marginally from 2014, last year Chris Archer vaulted into the elite, thanks to pumping up his slider usage, which dramatically boosted his strikeout rate. Unfortunately, the 2016 season did not begin the way he, or his owners, imagined it would. He ended the month of June with an ugly 4.76 ERA, his control had deteriorated, and he was giving up homers like never before. So how did he cure his issues? By throwing even more sliders, of course. Let’s break down his season into two parts, which seem to correlate with the time he further upped his slider usage.
