Top Starting Pitcher Streamers for Week 6 (Part 2)

May 8, 2014

RotoBaller gives you all the analysis you need about which pitchers can be useful enough to stream in off your leagues' waiver wire for their starts in week 6.

This is the second article in what will be a weekly two-part series highlighting some of the best starting pitcher streamers for the week. Part 1 focused on Monday to Wednesday games, while Part 2 focuses on Thursday to Sunday games.

Top Starting Pitcher Streamers for Week 6

1. Ian Kennedy (San Diego Padres)

Thursday vs. Miami

It'll be tougher to pick up Kennedy in Yahoo! (65% owned) than ESPN (37%) leagues.  He's an easy choice this week mainly due to the friendly pitcher confines of Petco Park.  However the Padres righty has had some success against the Marlins lineup.  Only Giancarlo Stanton (big surprise) and Garrett Jones (5 for 12) have been able to hit Kennedy and most fantasy baseball owners would take the Kennedy over Jones matchup any given day.  The Marlins have struggled on the road this year to the tune of a .215 AVG and a league low 32 runs with a league high 29.3% K rate.  Gotta love Kennedy and his 9.43 K/9 innings against Miami.

2. Henderson Alvarez (Miami Marlins)

Sunday at San Diego

Ownership: Yahoo! 12%, ESPN 5%.  More of an indictment on San Diego's offense than Alvarez on the mound.  Against left handers, the Padres have a 21.4% K rate, 51.6% GB rate, and are hitting .215 on those ground balls.  Alvarez has always been a ground ball pitcher and his 54% GB rate sets up a nice matchup at Petco Park.

3. Collin McHugh (Houston Astros)

Saturday at Baltimore

Owned in 22% Yahoo! and 30% ESPN leagues, McHugh has so far been the one bright spot on an otherwise bad rotation. The one time Mets prospect is pitching above his potential as he's delivered a 2.79 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP and 5.75 K/BB rate and if it wasn't for Houston's defense- he has a 1.51 FIP- the 26 year old right hander would have even better numbers.  He's a fly ball pitcher who has yet to give up a home run and has a favorable matchup Saturday in Baltimore.  The O's have the 4th highest FB% and are only hitting .205 on those batted fly balls.  It's doubtful he'll be able to continue his good start much longer, but he's a good streamer this weekend.

4. Corey Kluber (Cleveland Indians)

Friday at Tampa Bay

Like Ian Kennedy, Kluber will be harder to find in Yahoo! (58% owned) than ESPN (23%) leagues.  He's coming off an 8 inning, 13 K performance against the White Sox on Sunday.  He's on pace to have career highs in K, ERA, ground balls induced and a career low in line drives hit against him.  The Rays are hitting only .227 on ground balls so as long as Cleveland's defense is playing well behind him, Kluber should have a low WHIP and ERA for you with a handful of strikeouts.

5. Jose Quintana (Chicago White Sox)

Saturday vs. Arizona

Quintana is slowly becoming a nice left handed starter behind Sale in Chicago's rotation and fantasy owners are starting to take notice in Yahoo! (36%) and ESPN (11%).  The lefty has a 2.92 K/BB rate, a 1.21 WHIP and is yielding a .244 AVG against.  Expect those numbers to get a boost when he faces Arizona on Saturday.  Against lefties this year, the D-Backs have been sub-par with a 0.26 BB/K rate, a .670 OPS and have only hit line drives a league low 16.3% of all batted balls. With a .980 FP, the White Sox defense has been questionable at best this year, but don't fear that in picking up Quintana as his 3.53 FIP tells us the D has been fine when he's on the mound.

6. Jason Vargas (Kansas City)

Friday at Seattle

Only owned in 27% of Yahoo! and 28% ESPN leagues, Vargas was torched on Sunday by a good Tigers lineup to record his first loss of the year.  No one will confuse the Mariners with the Tigers starting nine however.  On the road, Vargas is striking out more batters, giving up less hits and teams are scoring less than when he pitches at home (4.44 ERA at home, 2.25 ERA on the road).  He shouldn't allow too many free passes at SafeCo Field as the Mariners are walking a league worst 5.3% of the time when facing left handers.  You can add Vargas and start him knowing you'll see help in ERA, WHIP, K and- if the Royals can score some runs- maybe even a W.

Deep League Streamers

6. Jordan Lyles (Colorado Rockies)

Saturday at Cincinnati

Ownership: Yahoo! 13%, ESPN 15%.  Lyles is off to a fast, and by far his best, start with 4 W, a 2.62 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.  He's showing more control as walks are down and ground balls are up (56.3% GB).  He's always a good chance to get a W with his offense but don't be surprised if he gives up a bunch of hits as his K/9 is not strong and he relies on contact for outs.

8. Juan Nicasio (Colorado Rockies)

Sunday at Cincinnati

Ownership: Yahoo! and ESPN 3%.  Like Lyles, Nicasio is going to get run support to increase his W chances.  His .271 BABIP and 4.79 FIP, as well as Colorado's sixth best .986 fielding percentage, imply that the defense will help him keep his ERA and WHIP less that what it should be.

9. Roenis Elias (Seattle Mariners)

Sunday vs. Kansas City

Ownership: Yahoo! 17%, ESPN 7%. Elias owns a below average 1.95 K/BB rate, but the good news for his owners is the Royals have a .233 AVG, .295 OBP and a league worst 2.5 HR/FB rate against lefties.  Elias should take advantage of SafeCo's pitcher friendly dimensions.

10. Jake Arrieta (Chicago Cubs)

Thursday at White Sox

Ownership: Yahoo! 2%, ESPN 1%. Arrieta is certainly not a long term option, but he's a good pickup if you're in need of Ks.  The White Sox have struck out a league high 239 times against right handers and even though it's a small- very small- sample size, Arrieta's 31.8% K rate will give his owners a nice boost.  Maybe with enough luck, the Cubs can continue their experiment of turning ex-Oriole pitchers into good pitchers.