Starting Pitcher Streamers For Tonight 9/22

I will assume that those who can take advantage of streamer opportunities are those in daily transaction leagues and after reading this article, it will not be too late to pick up a starting pitcher to stream for tonight’s game. If I am wrong, please let me know so I know to recommend pitchers for the following day instead! Below I have listed some of your options, which include those owned in fewer than 50% of CBS leagues. Let’s decide if they are worth a stream.

Josh Collmenter @ MIN

The ultimate soft-tosser, Collmenter has quietly made 26 starts for the Diamondbacks en route to a solid 3.60 ERA. His skills are nothing to write home about though, but he has gotten by by somehow maintaining a consistently low BABIP and below average HR/FB rate. It’s the type of performance I will never trust and the Twins offense ranks sixth in the American League in runs scored. If you need to protect your ERA or WHIP at all, I would be hesitant here.

Tyler Matzek @ SD

Matzek has been a top prospect in the Rockies organization for a while, but his minor league record has been unimpressive. He has battled severe control problems in the lower minors, and when he was finally able to improve, his strikeout rate predictably plummeted. In the Majors, he has displayed respectable, albeit unspectacular skills, with the only real positive coming from an above average ground ball rate. However, his slider has been fantastic, generating a 19% SwStk%, but his other pitches have all induced swings and misses at well below average clips.

And yet even given his underwhelming track record, this matchup remains good. The Padres rank dead last in baseball with a .275 wOBA versus lefties and Petco Park remains pitcher friendly. I would roll the dice here.

Nicholas Tropeano @ TEX

Tropeano has made two solid starts for the Astros so far and has received little fanfare. With below average velocity on his fastball, he’s the type that will usually get overlooked and could become underrated. This may very well be the case here because despite a meh fastball, both his slider/curve ball and changeup have been fantastic and good, respectively. By PITCHf/x, the slider and curve (which is probably the same pitch) have both generated SwStk% marks above 20%. He’ll face a sadly depleted Rangers lineup that trotted out Rougned Odor to bat in the three hole yesterday. He gets a thumbs up from me.

J.A. Happ vs SEA

Happ has sharpened his control, as he has thrown a higher rate of strikes than ever before. He has been able to maintain an above average strikeout rate while doing so, even if that has been fueled primarily by a high rate of foul strikes this season. Aside from decent skills, the biggest reason for recommending Happ is his opponent. The Mariners are just ahead of the Padres in wOBA versus southpaws, ranking 29th with a .286 mark. The team has displayed limited power and has posted the lowest walk rate against them.