Archive for Streaming Two-Starters

The season numbers aren’t great but we’ve picked up some steam over the last few weeks and hopefully will finish strong. As always, if you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to mention them in the comments section, and thank you for reading.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through most of Week 21)

38-40 record
4.84 ERA
7.7 K/9
2.4 K/BB
1.42 WHIP
41 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Marco Estrada – 47.8% ESPN – v. BAL (100), @MIN (100)

He’s either been really good or really bad of late, but over his last nine starts has a respectable 3.98 ERA and .709 OPS against in 54.1 innings. He won’t get much offensive support, but he also feels relatively stable among pitchers who are owned under 50% — a tough lot to crack at this point of the year. If you prefer, go with one of the guys at the bottom.

LHP Eduardo Rodriguez – 34.6% ESPN – v. OAK (101), @TBR (98)

I’m just gambling on the talent here. Rodriguez has fanned more than a batter per inning this season (9.7 K/9), and his ERA (a so-so 4.33) is supported by a better FIP (4.04). His second half has not been particularly pretty (5.22 ERA), but he’s still got 53 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 50 innings, and both of these matchups are OK, though not great.

RHP Kyle Gibson – 18% ESPN – v. SD (85), v. TOR (90)

A move on the rubber has helped Gibson be absolutely terrific over the last month-and-a-half. Since then — he told me he made the change after the start in Houston on July 16 — he’s posted a 3.19 ERA, .682 OPS against and 38-11 K/BB ratio in 48 innings. Not only is he inducing grounders at a solid rate — like always — but he’s also got an 11% swinging-strike rate over that stretch. Grounders plus a swing-and-miss slider against two awful offenses? Sign me up.

Last men out: Hyun-jin Ryu (@SF, @WAS), Brandon Woodruff (v. PIT, @MIA)

It’s the final month of the season and every pitching matchup holds extra weight. Maybe one of your regular arms is slated pitch in Coors and in Arlington or you’re in need of an extra few starts from now through September 14th. Over at my site Pitcher List, I helped tackle this question by outlining the Top 100 Starters for the rest of the season according to their ROS schedules, providing estimations for each starter’s schedule from now until the end of the year. Instead of focusing on the entire month of September, here we’re going to take a look at ten lesser owned arms that could help you later this week or find themselves in good matchups for the next round:

Note: Owned rates are according to ESPN Leagues.

Good Matchups

Kyle Gibson (@KCR, SDP) – 8.7% owned

You may be surprised to see Gibson here. I’m surprised to see Gibson here. His career 6.17 K/9, 3.20 BB/9, and 4.73 ERA have secured him a comfortable spot on the third page of your waiver wire for ages, but in his last three starts, Gibson has been a new man, sporting a 1.37 ERA, 9.15 K/9, and 0.92 BB/9. His whiff rates have jumped to 13.9% in those starts after a near 9.0% prior and given he’s facing the paltry lineups of the Royals and Padres next, he’s worth a look for your squad.

Read the rest of this entry »

The season numbers aren’t great but we’ve picked up some steam over the last few weeks and hopefully will finish strong. As always, if you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to mention them in the comments section, and thank you for reading.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 19)

34-34 record
4.72 ERA
7.7 K/9
2.3 K/BB
1.43 WHIP
37 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Jhoulys Chacin – 35.5% ESPN – v. SFG (83), v. LAD (109)

It’s easy to love the Giants matchup and really hard to get on board with the Dodgers one — they’re the second-best offense in the game — but Chacin has been really, really good since an up-and-down start to the season. Since posting a 5.77 ERA through the first two months of the season, he’s gone 3.00, 2.51 and 3.58 in the three months since. On the whole, what does that look like? It’s a 3.02 ERA, .667 OPS against and a K/BB ratio of 72-39 over 89.1 innings/15 starts. Those numbers over what’s basically half a season would certainly garner a higher ownership figure. He’s faced the Dodgers twice in that stretch as well, allowing just one earned run over 10 innings. Read the rest of this entry »

8/20/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer
• @enosarris
• @jasoncollette

Leading Off: Question of the Day

• What is Bradley Zimmer’s AVG in August? (7:17)

Notable Transactions/Rumors/Articles/Game Play

• Josh Donaldson starts at SS (12:00)
• Rhys Hoskins clubbing the ball (20:00)
• Aaron Judge now at .169/.329/.355, 7 HR, 37% K in 2H (23:20)
• Miguel Sano to DL w/shin issue (31:30)
• Byron Buxton surging (33:33)

Read the rest of this entry »

The season numbers aren’t great but we’ve picked up some steam over the last few weeks and hopefully will finish strong. As always, if you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to mention them in the comments section, and thank you for reading.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 17)

29-32 record
4.75 ERA
7.6 K/9
2.4 K/BB
1.43 WHIP
35 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Jerad Eickhoff – 14.9% ESPN – @SD (85), @SF (82)

Oh man, this is a great week for Eickhoff. The talented righty who has had a bit of a rough season gets two of the bottom-three offenses in the game. Of course, he plays for the fourth-worst, but we can’t get too tied up in that, can we? Since his ERA peaked at 5.22 a couple months ago, Eickhoff has been really, really good, too: 3.10 ERA, 38-17 K/BB ratio in 40.2 innings and a .240/.324/.380 line against. I’ll always bet on talent like this. Read the rest of this entry »

The season numbers aren’t great but we’ve picked up some steam over the last few weeks and hopefully will finish strong. As always, if you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to mention them in the comments section, and thank you for reading.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 16)

27-29 record
4.81 ERA
7.6 K/9
2.3 K/BB
1.46 WHIP
31 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP JC Ramirez – 19.5% ESPN – v. BAL (95), @SEA (101)

I just can’t quit a guy who throws this hard and at least seems to have pretty great stuff. Ramirez routinely sits in the mid- to upper-90s with his fastball (technically a sinker), and is heavily reliant on his slider (32.9 percent) with a curve (16.8 percent) as well. The slider comes in at 88 mph on average, which is pretty stellar velo for a secondary pitch. He gets plenty of grounders, but I’d really like to see more strikeouts from a guy with this raw stuff. The slider has potential (16 percent whiff rate), but the curve doesn’t do much for me (8.2 percent this year, mirroring his career rate). As far as matchups go….meh. It’s not like he’s facing the Phillies or Padres, but as long as we can stay away from the Yankees, Astros or Dodgers it’s not too worrisome, either. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not one to make excuses, but man this has been rough this year. With pitching injuries, the fluctuation of even moderate starters and the advent of the 10-day disabled list, trying to find viable candidates for these kinds of columns has been…..let’s just say a bit difficult. Thanks for hanging in there all season, as we’ve picked up some steam lately. Be sure to check out the #2xSP hashtag on Twitter if you don’t see this column, as I’ll list my recommendations there as well.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 15)

25-25 record
4.82 ERA
7.6 K/9
2.2 K/BB
1.47 WHIP
28 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Mike Foltynewicz – 36.3% ESPN – @PHI (85), v. MIA (96)

I’ve been a big fan of Folty’s all season long, as he’s taken a really nice step forward as a key cog in future Braves rotations. He’s improved every year in red and blue ERA-wise, and has stayed fairly consistent with strikeouts and walks while tightening up most other aspects of his game. The WHIP is still a bit concerning at 1.39, but he’s been prone to some really strong streaks this year. The best part here is that Folty also misses out on the mid-week series against the Dodgers — the No. 2 offense in baseball (111 wRC+). Read the rest of this entry »

7/22/17

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is brought to you by Out of the Park Baseball 18, the best baseball strategy game ever made – available NOW on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms! Go to ootpdevelopments.com to order now and save 10% with the code SLEEPER18!

Follow us on Twitter

• @sporer
• @enosarris
• @jasoncollette

Leading Off: Question of the Day

• Why do managers ignore the TTOP?

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, we’re moving ever so slightly back in the right direction as we sliced nearly two-tenths of a run off the ERA — nearly under 5.00! — and are at least trending in the right way rates-wise. As reminder, there’ll be no column next week due to the All-Star Game festivities. Enjoy!

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 12)

20-21 record
5.04 ERA
7.5 K/9
2.1 K/BB
1.52 WHIP
22 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Aaron Nola – 43.9% ESPN – v. PIT (89), v. SD (81)

I’m just licking my chops over these matchups for Nola, an immensely talented righty who I think is criminally under owned at this point. Sure, his ERA isn’t great (4.13), but his FIP is pretty solid (3.82), he’s fanning nearly a batter per inning and isn’t giving up a ton of homers (1.1 per nine) despite the league having gone crazy in that respect. He was really, really good in June, too: 3.24 ERA, 35-11 K/BB ratio in 33.1 innings and .633 OPS against. Read the rest of this entry »

Guh, we are in absolute free fall mode. I’m tryin’ folks! It’s a weird state of affairs with pitching this year, which makes it hard to find anyone worthwhile with a pulse under 50 percent ownership. I won’t quit, though I’ll understand if you tune me out for a bit.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 11)

19-19 record
5.22 ERA
7.5 K/9
2.1 K/BB
1.56 WHIP
20 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Joe Biagini – 6.1% ESPN – v. BAL (93), v. BOS (94)

Up until the last two starts, Biagini had been fairly interesting as a starter. Right now, he’s got a 4.91 ERA, .688 OPS against and 36-11 K/BB ratio in 44 innings as a starter, but two starts ago, here’s what his numbers looked like: 3.38 ERA, 31-9 K/BB ratio in 37.1 innings and a .554 OPS against. I still think he’s interesting, though. First of all, he’s got a couple interesting matchups this week, as both teams aren’t particularly good offensively. Second of all, as a starter, he’s managed to sustain his groundball rate (58.2 percent in the rotation, 58.3 percent as a reliever), which is certainly among the elite rates in the game. He’s also making both of these starts at home, where he has a 2.93 ERA this season as opposed to a 5.66 mark on the road.

RHP Alex Cobb – 33.1% ESPN – @PIT (90), @BAL (93)

Cobb has been so-so in his return to the Rays rotation this season — 4.05 ERA (4.15 FIP), 6.4 K/9 and 1.39 WHIP — but it’s also a matter of an accomplished pitcher against a couple iffy offenses this week. After the Mariners rocked him in his first start of the month, Cobb has been really good over his last three outings: 2.29 ERA in 19.2 innings, 14-5 K/BB ratio and .698 OPS against. Also, just two of his last 11 starts have resulted in more than three earned runs, and he’s posted a 3.76 ERA over that stretch. At the very least, he feels stable, which is what we’re truly seeking here.

RHP Mike Fiers – 41.7% ESPN – v. OAK (98), @NYY (116)

His season numbers — 3.81 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 5.65 FIP and 2.1 HR/9 — don’t do justice of how far he’s come since a brutal start. Fiers headed into Minnesota on May 30 with a 5.21 ERA — having allowed an MLB-worst 18 home runs to that point. Opposing batters were hitting a ridiculous .287/.350/.622 of him to that point. Fiers held the Twins in check that night at Target Field, which started a five-game stretch that has his season back on track. Since then, he’s got a 1.72 ERA, .522 OPS against and 29-11 K/BB ratio in 31.1 innings. Perhaps most importantly, he’s also allowed zero home runs in the meantime. He’ll be put to the test this week, as he’s facing the A’s for the second time in a row and the toughest offense in the game other than his in the Yankees. Still, in a week that isn’t particularly strong pitching-wise, we’ll take a shot with him.

Last two out: Junior Guerra (@CIN, v. MIA) and Mike Clevinger (v. TEX, @DET)