Pitching Streamers For 9/16 Through 9/22
Finally, I have published this streamer post on Monday to offer a recommendation for every game of the fantasy week! Hopefully the entire RotoGraphs readership is still in the hunt for that exhilarating Yoo-Hoo shower and any additional wins and strikeouts could be the difference between getting wet and staying dry. As a reminder, I am attempting to identify starting pitchers who should be available in the majority of leagues. There may be better options available in your league, in which case you may ask for any specific cases in the comments.
Monday
Wily Peralta vs CHC
You must have a high tolerance for risk as Peralta is capable of pitching a gem, or looking helpless as his control deserts him and he implodes. Since July, he has posted an xFIP below 4.00 in each month and his strikeout percentage has jumped by 50% in the second half, while his walk rate has declined. He is also an extreme ground ball pitcher. I will guarantee that he becomes a popular sleeper in drafts next year as the seeds are there and he averages 95 mph with his fastball. He gets the weak Cubs lineup at home and faces off against Edwin Jackson whose ERA has remained well above his SIERA all season.
Tuesday
Yusmeiro Petit @ NYM
Remember early in the season your streamer candidates began with whoever was facing the Marlins? Well now that team has become the Mets. Petit, who I had just assumed had retired from baseball, has all of a sudden thrown 32 innings of 2.53 ERA ball, with elite peripherals to boot.
His curve ball has been dynamite. No, wait, that word doesn’t even begin to do the pitch justice. It has literally been the best pitch I’ve seen in my perusals of the PITCHf/x pages of various pitchers. Ready for this? No, you’re not. Sit down. Prepare. His SwStk% on the curve ball is an insane 33% and his K% on the pitch is 51%. In fact, he has posted a 19/1 K/BB ratio over 37 plate appearances using the pitch. Woah. Who knows how long the magic will last, but it certainly has a good chance of continuing against the lowly Mets.
Wednesday
Charlie Morton vs SD
This is the second week in a row that I have recommended Morton, as he gets another pretty good matchup. He’ll face Tyson Ross who was clobbered in his last outing, which probably means he’s due for a strong outing. I really like Ross though and he’s more than capable of dominating. Morton though, with his extreme ground ball tendency and excellent defensive support, gets to pitch at home against a team that ranks second to last with a measly .296 wOBA against right-handers.
Thursday
None. Without a full slate of games and only a handful of lesser owned pitchers going in weak matchups, I’d rather suggest nobody than a pitcher with real potential to get bombed.
Friday
Zach McAllister vs HOU
As much as I’m not a fan of McAllister, this is the second straight week he appears as a recommended streamer. That says more about the Indians schedule the last couple of weeks of the season than it does about McAllister’s intrigue. For yesterday’s game at least, he was showing excellent velocity, hitting 94 and 95 mph with his fastball frequently. Considering he has only averaged 91-92 mph in nearly every start, that was interesting to see. He faces a whiff-happy Astros offense and Brett Oberholtzer, whose ERA still has much more room to regress.
Saturday
Burch Smith vs LAD
Feeling lucky? The Burch is back! After three scary starts to begin his Major League career back in May and a couple of relief appearances, he has returned to the Padres rotation. He dominated the Braves yesterday and has shown excellent skills in the minors. The Dodgers lineup isn’t exactly the best matchup, nor is opposing a solid Hyun-Jin Ryu, but unlike most of the other stream candidates, he has real upside and the potential to throw a gem. And of course, he’s at home in spacious (well, less so than in previous years) Petco Park.
Sunday
Sorry, nothing again. Even with a full schedule, the options just aren’t there.
Mike Podhorzer is the founder of ProjectingX IQ, an advanced fantasy baseball analytics platform that transforms projection data and in-season performance signals into actionable intelligence. He is the 2015 Fantasy Sports Writers Association Baseball Writer of the Year and three-time Tout Wars champion. He is the author of the eBook Projecting X 2.0: How to Forecast Baseball Player Performance, which teaches you how to project players yourself. Follow Mike on X@MikePodhorzer and contact him via email.
I’m seriously thinking of taking a flier on Smith, I missed pulling the trigger on him yesterday and has sad face :).
Love the Sleeper and the Bust podcast. I think you said on a previous podcast that you would stay away from Petit because of his high flyball rate. NYM as bad as they hit have one of the higher flyball rates in the league. I know Citi gives up less HR’s than normal, but does this change your mind at all? Would you take Wheeler over Petit in the same game?
Also, Cueto is starting tonight @HOU(Bedard). He’s on a pitch count and coming off a long DL stint, but the Reds are desperate for Wins and I don’t think they would put him in if they didn’t think he could be effective. Do you think he’ll get enough pitches to qualify for a W and not kill my rates?
It doesn’t change my mind. I don’t think the team’s season FB% is all that relevant as their current lineup is vastly different. Plus, can’t imagine their HR/FB rate is any good! But yeah, against decent offenses, Petit would still scare me.
Cueto is probably in the same boat as Danny Salazar. Might be on an 80 pitch limit, which could make things tough. But he has a great opponent obviously. Depends on your league format. Does it use up a start?
No it doesn’t use a start. I’m in the championship week of h2h daily league. The only decision for me is whether the upside (5 innings and decent shot at a W – which are going to be tight this week) is worth the risk (he completely blows up my rates in his first start off the DL). Would you put him in?
I haven’t kept up on his rehab and how his velocity has been, but if he has looked fine, then yes, I’d start him.
Thoughts on Quintana Tues? Better than Mcallister Fri?
Yes, Quintana has made himself into a solid pitcher. Would have considered him over Petit, but his ownership is above 50% in CBS.
Estrada v. CHC or Petit @ NYM
Thanks Mike!
Hmmm, toughie. Petit has the better matchup, but I think Estrada is the better pitcher. I’ll go Estrada, feel safer with the better pitcher.
I can take Wacha @ Col or Straily vs Twins. Were they over the ownership threshold or just bad picks?
Don’t think I checked in on Straily since I assumed he was higher than 50%. Solid stream though. Don’t pitch anyone at Coors…EVER! I even benched Bumgarner for his one start for the week there in Tout Wars a couple of weeks ago! The potential for ratio destruction is too high.
Would you trust Kendrick against the Marlins? It appears his next 2 starts will be MIA, @MIA. Worth the risk in a leauge where I’m chasing quality starts?
Nope, Kendrick’s strikeout rate stinks and he plays for a weak offense. He makes for a poor streamer regardless of opponent.
Mike!
I need to pick up two pitchers to use for the week in my head-to-head matchups. Available are:
Petit, Estrada, Sonny Gray, Quintana, Kluber.
I was thinking Gray & Quintana. Appreciate the help!
I like Kluber as the best pitcher of the bunch. And he faces the Royals and Ventura’s debut. So he’s at the top. Not sure if you were wondering about Sonny Gray for tonight’s start, I assume it’s too late. Bad matchup anyway. I prob like Estrada 2nd.
What do you think of Jerome Williams vs Seattle? In a deep mixed 5×5 roto league and all the pitchers mentioned are taken except for Smith.
Regardless of opponent, Jerome Williams is not someone you ever consider picking up!