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Congratulations to Jordan Spieth for winning the 2015 season. Spieth went out and dominated from the first tee box on Thursday until the 18th hole on Sunday. He won with the grace and humility of a season veteran, but showed exuberance and youthfulness throughout the tournament. At 21 years old, the sky is the limit for the Texas native.
In the baseball world, the Detroit Tigers seem to be channeling their inner Spieth and are attempting to dominate the competition. After six games, the Tigers have an insane run differential of +31. By contrast, 21 teams in the league have yet to score a total of 31 runs while three other teams have scored exactly 31 times on the season. Not to be outdone, the Kansas City Royals have decided to score runs this season and yield a +25 run differential. It’s still early in the season, but fantasy owners need to be aware that these two teams are clearly in mid-season form in April.
Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the first half of Week 2 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.
Monday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Aaron Harang (PHI at NYM)
Ownership: 16% Yahoo!, 19% Fleaflicker
Aaron Harang was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 1996 amateur draft. Harang’s Monday rival, Jacob deGrom, turned eight years old in 1996. DeGrom is coming off a year in which he won the Rookie of the Year award, while Harang is coming off a year in which he threw 200 innings for the first time in seven years. Provided that Harang’s arm does not fall off, he should provide okay fantasy value for his owners on Monday. That will not be the case come July.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Danny Duffy (KC at MIN)
Ownership: 50% Yahoo!, 20% Fleaflicker
The Royals are going to lose a game soon and the Twins are going to win a game soon. That being said, the win probability for Duffy and the Royals should be very high on Monday. Meanwhile, the Twins are throwing out inept lineups early in the season. Take advantage of this matchup if you can.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Wei-Yin Chen (BAL vs. NYY)
Ownership: 48% Yahoo!, 18% Fleaflicker
The Baltimore lefty isn’t as good as his Yahoo! ownership numbers claim, but he (probably) isn’t as bad as his Fleaflicker ownership numbers show. Until Sunday against a wild Buchholz, the Yankees showed little to no offensive life. Chen still poses some matchup problems for certain Yankees, but there are some that could really mash him. Stream with care.
Matchup Rating: Desperate Stream
Tuesday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Justin Masterson (BOS vs. WAS)
Ownership: 6% Yahoo!, 14% Fleaflicker
One week into the 2015 season and baseball nerds everywhere are truly understanding the value of a healthy Denard Span and Anthony Rendon. With those guys out, the Nationals look completely lost at the plate at all times. Masterson is no longer the same pitcher from 2011, but he is good enough to provide good numbers against a bad, bad offense.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Daniel Norris (TOR vs. TB)
Ownership: 21% Yahoo!, 13% Fleaflicker
Get used to Daniel Norris. He is a Rotoballer favorite because all of us here can use his name and claim that he lives in a van down by the river. True story. Also get used to seeing him because he’s got solid stuff and has a great matchup against the Rays. The van man will provide good value to his owners on Tuesday.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Wednesday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Dan Haren (MIA at ATL)
Ownership: 9% Yahoo!, 16% Fleaflicker
Before the season started you could circle this game as a great streaming option for the week. Now that it appears that no one on the Braves roster got the memo that they were supposed to be bad, this becomes a bit of a tougher play. Haren should still see some good numbers, but don’t expect perfection from the veteran.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Drew Pomeranz (OAK at HOU)
Ownership: 40% Yahoo!, 33% Fleaflicker
Wait a minute. There’s a 26-year-old who has seen better numbers with age and is coming off a year in which he finished with a 2.35 ERA and 1.12 WHIP that is available in 60% of all Yahoo! leagues? Are these leagues six teams deep? Pick him up and start him.
Matchup Rating: Must Stream
Tyler Matzek (COL at SF)
Ownership: 1% Yahoo!, 3% Fleaflicker
By no means is Tyler Matzek a top notch waiver wire candidate. However, he is a great candidate to stream in those deeper or NL only leagues. Night games in San Francisco typically yield lower scoring games and the Giants offense hasn’t shown a tremendous amount of life in this short season. Matzek offers intriguing value.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
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