RADIO
In a shocking turn of Twitter's events, it has come to my attention that the people want to know how well my picks do. So, starting today, I will now be instituting a segment that shows the statistics of my picks.
This season, there has been plenty of strong starts sprinkled in with some devastating crushes. It’s important to keep in mind that the streaming strategy when utilized can be extremely effective but is also quite volatile. After all, there’s a reason a lot of these guys aren’t owned in many leagues. Most importantly, I try to give a dry humor type of comedic relief with these write-ups, so a lot of guys should not even be used. (HINT: see Sunday).
For qualification, the pitchers have to pitch on the day they are slotted for on these lists. If there is a rainout on Monday and the pitcher goes on Tuesday, then he does not qualify for my stats. If his start is delayed another day for rest and he ends up facing another pitcher, he also does not qualify. Without further ado, here are the numbers of the streamers so far.
Through Tuesday, June 23, my starting pitcher streamers have gone 62-65 in 1,074 IP, allowing 1124 H, 501 ER, 336 BB while striking out 815. The breakdown looks like this:
ERA: 4.20 | WHIP: 1.36 | K/9 6.83 | QS: 84
Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the second half of Week 12 to consider adding off your league’s waiver wire. Some of these SP options can be considered sleepers for your team depending on the league format and depth, including NL-Only, AL-Only and head-to-head formats.
Thursday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Miguel Gonzalez (BAL at BOS) – Ownership: 33% Yahoo!, 21% Fleaflicker
Gonzalez is expected to be activated off the disabled list and is penciled in to start in the series finale at Fenway. He has been rather hit or miss this season, especially on the road. There are a few hitters on the Red Sox that have historically tagged him and his road ERA of 6.04 as well as opposing wOBA of .372 leaves little to imagination.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Taylor Jungmann (MIL v. NYM) – Ownership: 3% Yahoo!, 3% Fleaflicker
In three starts in the big leagues, Jungmann has gone 18 strong innings with 14 K, two wins and one loss. His 3.50 ERA is right on par with his 3.27 FIP, indicating that his fantasy numbers are, theoretically, sustainable. Of course, this is a small sample size. What isn’t a small sample size is the overall stinkiness of the Mets offense. New York (N) has a wRC+ of 85 and a 20.5% K rate against righties this season. They’re also reeling on a seven game losing streak.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Adam Warren (NYY at HOU) – Ownership: 15% Yahoo!, 10% Fleaflicker
This stream has huge risk/reward written all over it. On one hand, Houston owns the highest K rate (26.1%) against right-handed pitchers. On the other hand, the Astros have a 105 wRC+ and a league-best 16.6% HR/FB against righties. Though Warren doesn’t have a terrible HR/FB rate (10.0%), it’s probable he gives up a few on Thursday night. It’s also probable he goes six strong and strikes out a high single-digit number of batters.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Friday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Williams Perez (ATL at PIT) – Ownership: 12% Yahoo!, 10% Fleaflicker
Though Perez owns a 2.78 ERA in 45.1 IP, he owns an FIP of 4.32 meaning that he is at some point due for regression. The Pirates would be a good candidate to jump on Perez, but they have been incredibly inconsistent offensively, as evidenced by their 20.9% K rate. As long as Perez limits his walks, he should be in for an okay performance.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Wei-Yin Chen (BAL at CLE) – Ownership: 47% Yahoo!, 23% Fleaflicker
Normally a LHP starting against a lefty-heavy lineup like the Indians would be a no-brainers. However, the left-handed bats of Cleveland are actually somewhat better at hitting southpaws. Something will clearly have to give as Chen has been relatively strong against left-handed bats. Opposing left-handed hitters own a .203 AVG, .265 OBP and .260 wOBA against him.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Justin Nicolino (MIA v. LAD) – Ownership: 1% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker
Streaming Adam Warren on Thursday is a huge risk/reward, but starting Nicolino in fantasy lineups takes some cajones. On paper it looks like the Dodgers should massacre Nicolino, but they have been somewhat sub-par against lefties this season. Los Angeles (N) is in the bottom third against LHP in several advanced offensive categories, including wRC+ (90), OBP (.308), SLG (.367), BABIP (.287) and ISO (.127). Nicolino will also have the added pleasure of pitching in friendly Marlins Park. Still, it is the Dodgers and he is a rookie.
Matchup Rating: Desperate Stream
Chad Bettis (COL at SF) – Ownership: 7% Yahoo!, 11% Fleaflicker
Bettis has had some success against a fraction of the Giants bats and he seems to be forcing opposing hitters to struggle as he has induced a lot of soft contact. His FIP of 3.12 and 72.7% strand rate shows that his early season success at least has some validity. Expect another quality start from the 26-year-old.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Saturday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Charlie Morton (PIT v. ATL) – Ownership: 30% Yahoo!, 16% Fleaflicker
Perhaps more so than other pitchers, Morton really depends on the weather. If it is a humid day, his sinker will work harder to sink through the thicker air, which could lead to outings like the one he had on Sunday where he gave up nine earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. Yikes. It shouldn’t be incredibly humid in Pittsburgh on Saturday so expect Morton to expand on his 64.3% GB rate.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Kyle Ryan (DET v. CWS) – Ownership: 1% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker
Expect Ryan to put in some very good numbers this weekend in every league. His 5.39 FIP and 14.8% HR/FB aren’t exactly ringing endorsements, but the White Sox have been so incredibly terrible against LHP this season. Chicago (A) owns a wRC+ of 51 against southpaws. I can’t remember the last time a team was that low this late in the season.
Matchup Rating: Must Stream
Matt Andriese (TB v. BOS) – Ownership: 1% Yahoo!, 3% Fleaflicker
Tropicana Field is supposed to help pitchers, however Andriese has actually been better on the road than at home. This could mostly be because of some bad luck as hitters own a .295 AVG against him. Still, Boston has enough offense to take advantage of that bad luck, if that’s what it is.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Sunday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Tommy Milone (MIN at MIL) – Ownership: 9% Yahoo!, 13% Fleaflicker
Though Milwaukee has improved over the last five weeks, the Brewers have also been poor against left-handed pitching. Milone has been pitching somewhat on borrowed time with his 3.59 ERA, mainly because he isn’t really striking hitters out. His 5.29 K/9 rate is among the lowest of this list. He should help out in terms of ERA and WHIP on Sunday, but don’t expect strikeouts.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Kevin Correia (PHI v. WAS) – Ownership: 0% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker
Do you trust a hittable Kevin Correia against a hot Nationals lineup? Neither do I. Let’s face it, there’s a reason he is zero percent owned in Yahoo!. However, there are limited probables at this point, as our friend TBD is making several starts throughout the day.
Matchup Rating: Desperate Stream
Drew Hutchison (TOR v. TEX) – Ownership: 46% Yahoo!, 26% Fleaflicker
Usually it’s a good idea to stay away from streaming any pitcher in Toronto, but Hutchison has been terrific in the Rogers Centre over the last two years. When pitching at home, Hutchison owns a respectable 23.2% K rate, a 1.01 WHIP and an FIP of 2.49. Plus, he’ll have the vaunted Blue Jay offense to give him plenty of run support.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
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