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With only a handful of teams beginning to separate themselves from the playoff hunt, now is as good a time as any for trying to anticipate matchups that will have implications on Octoberball. This weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three game set that will see the Friday night and Sunday night games featured on ESPN. Newly acquired pieces Mat Latos and Alex Wood will start Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and face Francisco Lirano and Charlie Morton in that order.
The best, however, will be under the lights on Friday night. In what surely will be a playoff atmosphere at PNC Park, Clayton Kershaw will square off against Gerrit Cole. Expect the over/under in Vegas to open around 6 runs. This one has all the makings of an epic matchup, as the Dodgers have a few difference making players on the disabled list and have struggled against righties since coming out of the gate. Meanwhile, the Pirates have been sub-par against lefties all year and they have yet to face Kershaw. If you like pitcher’s duels, tune in to ESPN at 7pm on Friday night.
Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the second half of Week 18 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
Joe Ross (WAS v. ARI) – Ownership: 30% Yahoo!, 11% Fleaflicker
Ross has been nothing short of sensational this season in his 39 innings of service. His 3.00 ERA is second on the Nats “vaunted” rotation and there is enough evidence to suggest that he can continue his torrid pace. With a 9.23 K/9 rate and a strand rate looming around the league average of 71.0%, it’ll be tough to demote him to the minors or even the bullpen when Stephen Strasburg returns.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Matt Wisler (ATL v. MIA) – Ownership: 10% Yahoo!, 9% Fleaflicker
The Marlins are 27-43 under Dan Jennings as manager. As Lionel Hutz would say, “I rest my case.”
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Aaron Brooks (OAK v. HOU) – Ownership: 3% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker
Brooks looked very good in his first start over the weekend. He held the Indians to one run and five hits in 7.1 innings. His owners will look for more of the same against a more potent Astros lineup. Including the minors, Brooks’ HR/9 rate stands at 1.26. Keep those fingers crossed that there is no one on base when he inevitably does give up a long ball or two.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Friday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Daniel Norris (DET v. BOS) – Ownership: 19% Yahoo!, 8% Fleaflicker
Of all the young players that figure to reap the rewards of being traded, Norris may take the cake. Young pitchers typically get torched pitching in the Rogers Centre simply because they haven’t learned how to yet pitch against the turf’s weaknesses. Norris’s medium to hard contact rate on batted balls for his career sits around 76%, already a solid number, which means that playing on grass he should yield fewer extra base hits. He will need some run support to grab some fantasy wins, but the Tigers without Miguel Cabrera are still scoring their fair share.
Matchup Rating: Must Stream
Cody Anderson (CLE v. MIN) – Ownership: 11% Yahoo!, 8% Fleaflicker
You pretty much know what you’re going to get with Anderson. His owners will not grab solid numbers in the K department and he does run the risk of getting blown up, but it won’t be against Minnesota. The Twins are dead last with a road wRC+ of 70. That means they are worse than the Dan Jennings-led Marlins.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Kevin Gausman (BAL at LAA) – Ownership: 13% Yahoo!, 9% Fleaflicker
Oy. This is about as risky and volatile as it gets. Gausman has the potential to go out and mow down Angels through seven innings, as indicated by his 20.2% K rate and 1.13 WHIP. Judging by his .261 BABIP and 1.13 HR/9, he also has the ability to get blown up. I trust his numbers will finish somewhere in the 6 IP, 4 K, 3 ER range.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Saturday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Kyle Hendricks (CHC v. SF) – Ownership: 26% Yahoo!, 19% Fleaflicker
After a few sub-par starts, Hendricks bounced back with a solid outing against the Brewers. Granted it was the Brewers and not the Giants, who own a .021 overall wOBA advantage over Milwaukee. The Giants own the top wRC+ on the road this season. The more and more I research this game, the more and more it looks Hendricks will get blown up.
Matchup Rating: Desperate Stream
Mike Montgomery (SEA v. TEX) – Ownership: 26% Yahoo!, 13% Fleaflicker
Despite their recent sweep of the Astros and beating of lefty Scott Kazmir, the Rangers possess a wRC+ of 84 against left-handed pitchers. That’s an absurdly low number compared to the rest of the league. Montgomery has limited his walks when pitching at home and features a 1.05 WHIP at SafeCo Field.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Nate Karns (TB v. NYM) – Ownership: 34% Yahoo!, 28% Fleaflicker
The Mets are white hot. So white hot, that it makes virtually zero sense for me to make fun of their offense. Don’t worry, when this hot streak ends, I’ll still dish out some Mets hate. Until then, they have certainly appeared to be a team of destiny. Karns has only allowed two runs or less in seven of his last eight starts, but he has struggled at times at Tropican Field.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Sunday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Danny Duffy (KC v. CHW) – Ownership: 21% Yahoo!, 12% Fleaflicker
In his last six starts, Duff-Man has gone at least six innings and has given up less than two earned runs four times. In those other two starts, he allowed two earned in one and then got hammered for five earned in the other start. That five-earned run outing shouldn’t count though, as it was against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Not really fair. As for Sunday’s game, the White Sox own a 70 wRC+ and 22.0% K rate against lefties on the year. I don’t have to tell you that those are poor numbers.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Jimmy Nelson (MIL v. STL) – Ownership: 35% Yahoo!, 22% Fleaflicker
Look who has gone 20.2 innings without giving up an earned run. Why, it’s the one and only Jimmy Nelson. Nelson has five straight quality starts and clearly seems to be finding his groove. With injuries to major pieces of the Cardinals offense, his scoreless streak should continue, although it probably won’t last by the time he gets pulled.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Chris Bassitt (OAK v. HOU) – Ownership: 4% Yahoo!, 5% Fleaflicker
Bassitt’s strength plays into Houston’s strength. The Astros are a power team that scores off the long ball while Bassitt is only allowing 0.57 HR/9 with a 5.5% HR/FB rate. Houston’s mashers have some of the shorter home runs this season, mainly due to the short left field at Minute Maid Park, which may play into Bassitt’s favor at cavernous O.co Coliseum.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
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