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RotoBaller analyzes all of Week 21's fantasy baseball starting pitcher (SP) sleepers and streamers who may be available to pick up on your league's waiver wire.
It’s here. The date is finally here. Starting at 10am today on the FXX channel, The Simpsons marathon begins. Every single Simpsons episode in order will be shown. Those of you who have remained loyal to my quirky articles know how much I throw in subtle references to the iconic show. I could not be more ecstatic to have the ability to record television.
You better believe it’s a lock that “Homer at the Bat” will get DVRed at my apartment. The mere thought of being able to see Barney Gumble and Wade Boggs argue in Moe’s Tavern over who the better Prime Minister was in British history, William Pitt or Lord Palmerston, makes me grin and giggle like a school girl. Speaking of baseball, let’s get to the starting pitcher streamer waiver wire pickups of the weekend.
Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the second half of Week 21 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
Brandon McCarthy (NYY vs. HOU)
Ownership: 44% Yahoo!, 20% Fleaflicker. McCarthy makes this list only because most probable pitchers on Thursday are heavily owned. In all honesty, it’s probably best to stay away from him because the Astros have shown they can hit.
MATCHUP RATING: Desperate Stream
Matt Shoemaker (LAA at BOS)
Ownership: 34% Yahoo!, 14% Fleaflicker. I’m a bit hesitant to add Shoemaker because it seems like every time I pick him, he gets rocked. I hardly think he’ll get rocked by a down and out Red Sox squad, unless somehow David Ortiz delivers a Darryl-Strawberry-in-The-Simpsons-softball-league type of performance. Trust in Shoemaker’s amazing 19.0% K-BB rate.
MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream
Friday SP Streamers
Kevin Gausman (BAL at CHC)
Ownership: 15% Yahoo!, 12% Fleaflicker. Other than Chicago’s inability to consistently hit RHPs and Baltimore’s offense, there’s little to like about Gausman’s matchup. He has a relatively average K rate and WHIP with an adequate ERA. Don’t expect him to light up the fantasy board.
MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream
Marcus Stroman (TOR vs. TB)
Ownership: 44% Yahoo!, 15% Fleaflicker. He’s a Stroooo-man. After his last bad start Stroman was heavily dropped in a ton of leagues. Luckily for his owners he’s a much better pitcher at home where he enjoys a 22.1% K rate, 2.70 ERA, .210 BAA and 0.95 WHIP. Lock him up for a Friday stream.
MATCHUP RATING: Must Stream
Odrisamer Despaigne (SD at ARI)
Ownership: 8% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker. Somehow, someway the Despaigne jet continues to fly high in the big leagues. He may have some rocky times on Friday against Arizona, but he should receive plenty of run support as the Padres have surprisingly led the majors in weighted run creation over the last month.
MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream
Saturday SP Streamers
Chris Young (SEA at BOS)
Ownership: 47% Yahoo!, 22% Fleaflicker. I continue to eat crow regarding Chris Young. The dude continues to win despite having rather poor deep numbers. It’s probably best to keep riding his hot hand.
MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream
Mike Leake (CIN vs. ATL)
Ownership: 44% Yahoo!, 31% Fleaflicker. Though it seems Atlanta’s bats finally woke up, the Braves offense is still a giant question mark against ground-ball inducing RHPs as they took advantage of fly ball pitchers over the last week. I wonder, can you think of any RHP that induces a ton of ground balls?
MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream
Sunday SP Streamers
Aaron Harang (ATL at CIN)
Ownership: 43% Yahoo!, 28% Fleaflicker. Cincinnati has been among the worst offensive teams over the last 30 days in nearly every offensive category. Even though Harang hasn’t been that good, he can provide some solid numbers against the Reds.
MATHUP RATING: Solid Stream
Chase Anderson (ARI vs. SD)
Ownership: 14% Yahoo!, 10% Fleaflicker. If this matchup were last month, Anderson would probably be a top contender for “stream of the week.” As of now, he’s struggled of late in the month of August and the Padres’ bats have been white hot post-ASB. Anderson is capable of delivering five or six innings but giving up three or four runs.
MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream
