Pitchers to Target For Streaming

For those who don’t know, I started in this industry with a focus on streaming pitchers. By using various statistics for both pitchers and their opponents I have been providing advice to followers on who to stream in their leagues. What does streaming pitchers mean? Simply put it means grabbing a pitcher off your waiver wire for one start. You choose that pitcher based on matchup and skill hoping they provide you with decent ratios and then dump them back into the free-agent pool.

With that said it is important to know which pitchers are worth streaming in certain matchups. These pitchers typically aren’t good enough to keep on your team but could prove useful in the right matchup. This is important to know because this is a key factor in streaming successfully. For instance, no matter who Wade LeBlanc’s opponent is, you never want to take a chance on him. There is no strikeout potential, no ratio potential, and in his last three starts he has a 10.13 ERA. 

For this piece I wanted to keep it under 10% in terms of rostered percentage. This way it ensures most if not all of the names below are available in your league. 

Tommy Milone (9% Rostered)

What I am about to say might shock you. Not only is Tommy Milone a very viable streaming option this year, but he might be worthy enough to add for the long haul. “Wait, you want me to own a 33-year-old pitcher who has never been good?!” Yes, yes I do. Let me tell you a little about this man Tommy Milone.

His first start for the Braves went horribly. What were they thinking letting him start? The guy just got off of a plane and moved his entire life, yet you think it is a good idea to let him start a baseball game? That start seems like a blip and we are going to look at his time in Baltimore. 

After six starts he held a 3.99 ERA, 3.87 FIP, and 3.98 xFIP. The ERA checks out. What about strikeout potential? He held a 20.9% K-BB% and 12.5 SwStr% both above average and both very similar to none other than Brandon Woodruff. What’s driving Milone’s strikeout potential is his fabulous changeup. Currently, it’s producing a 47.7 O-Swing% and 21.3 SwStr%. His 21.3 SwStr% is slightly less than Luis Castillo’s and currently ranks fifth overall amongst other changeups.

All in all strikeout potential checks out. What about command? Oh, thanks for asking! He actually has a walk rate of 3.1% which is six points lower than league average. Plus Eno Sarris recently posted an article with the current Command+ leaders and Milone placed sixth overall.

We are looking at a pitcher who is rostered in less than 10% of leagues that has strikeout potential, a solid ERA, and great command. Sign me up all day. 

Chad Kuhl (9% Rostered)

The Pittsburgh Pirates don’t have much going for them this year. One bright spot who has shown potential is pitcher Chad Kuhl. Kuhl is an interesting case and I am somewhat surprised people haven’t run to add him. 

Kuhl started the year piggybacking for Steven Brault but that ended quickly and he has moved into the starting rotation after only doing it twice. In four starts this year he possesses a 2.70 ERA and has only allowed more than one run once in those four starts. Now the 6.10 FIP, .128 BABIP, and near 100% LOB% screams massive regression. But he might not regress as much as one would think. 

Kuhl actually has two above-average breaking balls in his slider and curveball. Both produce a ton of whiffs, and while he could locate the curveball a little better his slider is located very well. The main crutch for Mr. Kuhl is his sinker. With a .399 wOBA against, I wonder why this is his featured pitch. Hopefully, the Pirates and their new “philosophy” can fix this.

For all of Chad Kuhl’s positives and negatives, overall he’s a solid streaming option. He pitches very well at home, and can handle both right and left-handed hitters. In the right matchups, he makes a ton of sense and with those two plus breaking balls in his back pocket he should be able to eliminate potential blowups. 

Josh Lindblom (8% Rostered)

This next one I will admit hasn’t looked great so far. Josh Lindblom came over from the KBO and currently has a 6.31 ERA through six starts. But he is on this list for a reason – strikeout upside. 

Overall Lindblom has a strikeout rate of over 30% and an SwStr% over 15.0%! That is absurd because those are elite levels. His slider has insane movement and his splitter disappears on hitters. Both of these pitches exemplify why he has such high strikeout potential and why his percentages are so high. Then you move onto his fastball and that pitch also has an above-average whiff rate. All in all, he has three pitches with an above-average SwStr%.

 

Josh Lindblom’s SwStr% Per Pitch
Pitch Type Lindblom’s SwStr% League Average SwStr% Difference
Four-Seam 14.7% 8.7% 6.0%
Slider 23.1% 16.4% 6.7%
Splitter 22.4% 17.3% 5.1%

So what is Lindblom’s issue? The answer is control, he has a 10.5 BB% which isn’t ideal. The glimmer of hope for his walk rate is that it wasn’t this high in the KBO. Leading one to think maybe it can come down towards league average. Another issue is what happens when you have control or command issues? You force the issue of having to throw a strike and you let up home runs. Lindblom’s HR/9 is .40 above league average and while that sounds minuscule it isn’t. Just like his walk rate, there is some hope as he is better than league average in both Hard Hit rate and Barrel% against.With crazy-high strikeout potential and maybe some positive regression on both of his faults, Lindblom looks like a good streaming option. Not only that but if he happens to put it all together he can become a great asset for the rest of the season.





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Jimmember
3 years ago

Plus, Milone had to sit for 35 minutes while the Braves were scoring 10 in the top of the second.