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Week 1 Streamers - Under 50% Owned
Brad Peacock, HOU - 45% owned
Probable opponents: @ TEX, vs OAK
After pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen last season, Peacock is back in Houston's starting five this year and he is slated to make his first start at Texas on April 1 (no joke). While his splits last year as a reliever weren't great (7.36 ERA and 1.226 WHIP in 7.1 innings against Texas, 6.75 ERA and 1.800 WHIP over 6.2 innings against Oakland), as a starter in 2017 Peacock posted a combined 2.23 ERA and 1.206 WHIP over six starts against the Rangers and Athletics. After ending a solid spring with a 2.76 ERA, 1.041 WHIP and 7.7 K/9, Peacock looks to be a solid option for owners in Week 1.
Steven Matz, NYM - 37% owned
Probable opponents: @ MIA, vs WAS
Matz will be one of the bigger high-risk, high-reward two-start options in fantasy this week. He has a pretty nice match-up against Miami in his first start of the year, but then he will have to face Juan Soto and the Nationals at the end of the week. Matz bounced back from a disappointing 2017 campaign with a 3.97 ERA, 1.247 WHIP and a career-best 8.9 K/9 over 30 starts last year. In three starts against Miami last season, Matz posted a 1.53 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 17.2 innings. He posted a better strikeout rate with 31 punchouts over 26 innings against Washington, but he was also rocked to the tune of a 5.88 ERA across six starts. If owners are willing to gamble on Matz against the Nationals, he should provide plenty of strikeouts this week.
Under 25% Owned
Caleb Smith, MIA - 6% owned
Probable opponents: vs NYM, @ ATL
Coming back from an injury-shortened season, Smith put up solid strikeout numbers this spring with a 12.8 K/9 to go along with a 4.05 ERA over 13. 1 innings. Smith's first start since the end of last June will come at home on Monday when he faces off against the Mets. He had a pair of successful outings against New York last season, posting a 3.09 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 11.2 innings. Smith faced the Braves only once in 2018 before undergoing season-ending surgery, suffering the loss after allowing just two runs over 5.1 innings while striking out five. If Miami's offense can put up some run support, Smith could be in line for a nice performance in Week 1. Regardless of whether the Marlins can or (more likely) cannot score, Smith should provide some good strikeout numbers with an ERA that won't kill you.
Drew Smyly, TEX - 1% owned
Probable opponents: vs HOU, @ LAA
When Smyly steps on the mound on Monday, it will be the first time he's thrown a major league pitch since 2016. Smyly will be thrown into the fire for his 2019 debut, as he has to face the reigning AL West champs at home. Both the Astros and Angels are different teams from when Smyly last saw them, and he only made one start against each of them in his last season in the minors. So owners will have to look to his spring numbers for some idea of what to hope for. Over 13 innings this spring, Smyly allowed seven runs for a 4.85 ERA, but he also struck out 16 batters in that span. It's going to be a coin flip as to what owners can expect out of Smyly this week, as he should only be used as a desperation play. If you're willing to risk a hit to your ERA, Smyly could provide some decent strikeout value this week.
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