Two-Start Pitcher Streamers: Week 7

Well, seven weeks in and I'm already struggling to come up with a decent intro. I'm calling a mulligan on the intro this week and let's just get into the recap of the last two weeks.

Julio Teheran is the winner in Week 5 despite going 0-1 in his two starts. After allowing four runs over seven innings with eight strikeouts against the Padres, Teheran earned the quality start against the Marlins with four strikeouts over six shutout innings. In Week 6, Griffin Canning is leading the way with two runs allowed over 5 1/3 innings as he struck out seven en route to his first career win.

That being said, it doesn't take much to be better than the rest of the guys on my list last week, as the four of them combined to go 0-4 with an 11.29 ERA over 18 1/3 innings in their starts on Monday. Whoops. Well, there's nowhere to go but up for those guys, and there's nowhere to go but up with this week's list.

Week 7 Streamers - Under 50% Owned

Jerad Eickhoff, PHI - 49% owned

Probable opponents: vs MIL, vs COL

It's not surprising that when looking at the Phillies' rotation the two names almost everyone will focus on are Jake Arrieta and Aaron Nola. But Eickhoff has been putting up numbers comparable to Arrieta and Nola, and in some cases even better than what they're doing. Over four starts this year, Eickhoff has gone at least five innings while allowing four or fewer runs. With a pair of quality starts and a 2-1 record, Eickhoff is also tied with Nola for second in the rotation with a 9.3 K/9 over 30 innings. So yeah long story short, Eickhoff has been pretty good this year. Based on the fact he is just barely eligible for this week's list, it seems owners are catching on to this.

Eickhoff has always been a better pitcher at home throughout his career (3.32 ERA and 8.9 K/9 at home vs 4.16 ERA and 7.6 K/9 on the road), and this week he gets a pair of starts at Citizens Bank Park. At first glance, it seems like these might be some troublesome starts as the Brewers are averaging 4.7 runs per game over their last 10 games while the Rockies are averaging 6.5 runs per game over that same span. But both Milwaukee and Colorado have been playing significantly worse on the road than at home:

Combine those home/road splits with the fact the Brewers are averaging 9.4 strikeouts over their last 10 games and the Rockies are averaging 8.6 strikeouts in that same span, and you're looking at a pair of potentially very nice matchups for Eickhoff. If he's still available in your league, make sure to pick him up this week.

Chris Bassitt, OAK - 43% owned

Probable opponents: @ SEA, @ DET

Bassitt has gotten off to a good start in Oakland this year with 22 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA over three starts. He's thrown at least five innings in each start, allowing three or fewer runs while striking out at least six in each of his appearances. Granted it's a small sample size, but Bassitt also currently boasts a career-high 12 percent swinging strike rate, likely due to the fact he is getting batters to swing at more pitches out of the zone than last year (34.3 percent vs 27.2) and hitters are making less contact on those swings (66.2 percent vs 74.8).

Bassitt will get a couple starts on the road this week as he faces off against the slumping Seattle and Detroit offenses. Both the Mariners and Tigers are in the top 11 in the league in team strikeouts, and they are also averaging 10 strikeouts per game over their last 10 games. The Mariners are hitting .228 and averaging 3.9 runs while going 2-8 over their last 10 games. Meanwhile, Detroit is hitting .247 while averaging 4.2 runs over a 10-game stretch that has seen them go 4-6. The Tigers are also first in the majors with a 12.9 percent swinging strike rate, while the Mariners are tied for 11th with an 11.3 percent rate — both of which projects nicely for how Bassitt has been pitching.

Much like Eickhoff, Bassitt is a guy you might want to consider hanging onto after this week. But for now, Bassitt is definitely one of the top streaming options — if not THE top option — in Week 7.

Week 7 Streamers - Under 25% Owned

Kyle Gibson, MIN - 19% owned

Probable opponents: vs LAA, @ SEA

After a slow start to the season, Gibson has been pitching very well over his last few starts. In his most recent outing against Toronto, Gibson allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out a season-high 11 over six innings. That start improved Gibson to 3-1 over his last four appearances, as he has averaged six innings and seven strikeouts a start while posting a 2.25 ERA.

Like I mentioned with Bassitt, Seattle is in the midst of an offensive slump as he is projected to face them in his second start of the week. But his first start will come against the Angels, who are currently 6-4 over their last 10 games while hitting .260 and averaging 5.4 runs per game. That start against the Angels scares me a little bit, but Gibson is probably the best guy to pick up from the "Under 25% Owned" part of this week's column.

Reynaldo Lopez, CHW - 15% owned

Probable opponents: vs CLE, vs TOR

For owners in leagues that count quality starts, Lopez is the guy to take a close look at this week. He has earned the quality start in four of his eight outings this season, including his latest start where he held the Indians to three runs over six innings with two strikeouts. That start tied his season-low for strikeouts, but in his previous six starts he had been averaging just over seven strikeouts per game. 

Lopez will start off Week 7 with a rematch against the Indians, who are averaging 2.8 runs and eight strikeouts per game over their last 10 games. Then he'll take on a Toronto team which has been even worse than that over their last 10 games, averaging 2.2 runs and 10 strikeouts while hitting a paltry .191. Combine that with the fact Lopez has better splits at home since joining Chicago, and it looks like Lopez could be a very nice play this week.

Trent Thornton, TOR - 5% owned

Probable opponents: @ SFG, @ CHW

And now here's the risky play of the week. When it came time to look at two-start streamers owned in less than 25 percent of leagues, there were a lot of guys who had what looked like one pretty good projected start and one pretty ugly projected start. Ultimately Thornton won out for the last spot on this week's list despite being rocked for five runs over two innings in his latest start against the Twins. Over his three starts before the Minnesota outing, Thornton had posted a 9.0 K/9 with a 2.65 ERA while averaging nearly six innings per start.

Thornton will start off the week against San Francisco, who he has already faced off against this season. In that start, Thornton earned the loss after allowing four runs over five innings while striking out five. Now he'll face them again after a 10-game stretch that has seen the Giants averaging 6.2 runs while hitting .252. But after this challenge of a start, Thornton should have an easier outing when he takes on the White Sox, who are averaging 3.6 runs and 10.6 strikeouts while hitting .232 over their last 10 games. If Thornton can put together a start against the Giants similar to his earlier outing, he should be a pretty solid play this week if the other guys on this list have already been scooped up.

More Streamers and Head-to-Head League Columns