Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Streamers for Week 24 (Part 2)

My two-week fantasy playoff game is going terribly.  My opponent not only swept me during the regular season, but he is now pummeling me to a fantasy pulp.  To make matters worse, he is using my streamers strategy to perfection.  It seems he doesn’t sleep because every time I want to pick up a pitcher off the waiver wire, he's already beaten me to the punch.

Barring some miracle like Clayton Kershaw getting absolutely rocked in his next start, I've calculated my win probability at about 4% with a margin of error of 96%.  Things are looking bleak.  It looks like my next course of action is to spread dirty rumors about my opponent.

Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the second half of Week 24 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 SP Streamers

T.J. House (CLE vs. MIN)

Ownership: 5% Yahoo!, 5% Fleaflicker

House has utilized his home park efficiently in 30 IP, as his numbers drop across the board at Progressive Field.  Eventually, his 90.7% home LOB rate will catch up to him.  As for Minnesota, if their offense could be a dinner it would look like a terrible entrée with some excellent side dishes-- that’s pretty much the best way to describe the sporadic Twins.

MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream

 

Randall Delgado (ARI at SFG)

Ownership: 1% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker

The Giants aren’t a great team to be targeting with a streaming pitcher, but Thursday is scarce with options.  Delgado does make sense if you are in a deep league.  He showed flashes of brilliance in his last start, albeit against San Diego.  With injuries to a few key players on the San Francisco roster, as well as the possibility of some key position players seeing rest before their big series against the Dodgers, Delgado could take advantage of a thin lineup Thursday night.

MATCHUP RATING: Desperate Stream

 

Friday SP Streamers

Dillon Gee (NYM vs. WAS)

Ownership: 21% Yahoo!, 37% Fleaflicker

Though Gee has pitched well since the start of August, he still hasn’t pitched completely back to pre-injury form.  He’ll need a quick fix by Friday as he’ll face a handful of guys on the Nationals that have hit him hard and owned Citi Field.  Literally.  The Nats have taken 11 in a row and 25 of 29 against the Mets in Citi Field.  Ouch.  By Friday, that streak could have risen to 12 in a row.

MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream

 

Eric Stults (SD at ARI)

Ownership: 2% Yahoo!, 4% Fleaflicker

If San Diego had any kind of offense, they’d be a dangerous team to face in the playoffs.  Their pitching has been nothing short of terrific this season, and even Stults has started to exorcise his demons in the second half.  Although his BB numbers have slightly risen, Stults has struck out more batters, allowed fewer runs and hits, and he's been pitching to contact more effectively as his BABIP has dropped from .302 to .278 in the second half of the season.  The Dbacks meanwhile have really struggled against LHPs since the loss of Paul Goldschmidt, plummeting to the bottom five in weighted run creation.

MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream

 

Saturday SP Streamers

Kyle Lobstein (DET vs. CLE)

Ownership: 3% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker

Talk about an ace in the hole.  In limited duty since being called up from Triple-A, Lobstein has shown some sick stuff.  He faced Cleveland on September 2 and only lasted 5.1 innings, but he struck out 10 while giving up 2 ER.  I expect his numbers to be even better as he faces off against Cleveland a second time due to the Indians’ lack of creating runs against southpaws.

MATCHUP RATING: Must Stream

 

Chase Anderson (ARI vs. SD)

Ownership: 9% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker

Despite home being a hitter’s park, Chase has really enjoyed pitching in Chase Field (no relation).  He’ll continue his solid post-May form against the Padres.  Despite having an excellent offensive month spanning from mid-July to mid-August, the Padres have regressed back to their inept offensive ways.

MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream

 

Sunday SP Streamers

Edinson Volquez (PIT vs. CHI)

Ownership: 24% Yahoo!, 27% Fleaflicker

The crafty right-hander is 7-1 with a 2.18 ERA in his last 14 starts.  His Achilles heel on the season has been walks allowed, but the aggressive Cubbies will have no problems keeping those BB numbers down, as they are dead last in the league in OBP against RHPs.  Look for Volquez to go six or seven innings and give up one or two ER to record a W, but with low K numbers.

MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream

 

Jason Vargas (KC vs. BOS)

Ownership: 36% Yahoo!, 29% Fleaflicker

If you’re looking for a guy that will give you adequate numbers in ER, WHIP and IP with a higher than 50% win probability, look no further than Vargas.  Just don’t count on him paving the way in strikeouts or leading your team to an overwhelming victory.

MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream