Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Week 1

6 years ago by Michael Grennell

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The 2019 season is officially underway! After months of preparing for drafts, now owners will turn their attention to finding the best values off the waiver wire.

Owners looking for two-start pitchers in this first week of the season are going to have to dig their way through the back end of team's rotations. While this means that there won't be many worthwhile options in most formats this week, the ones who should provide value will be available in a majority of leagues. Only two of the pitchers on this week's list are owned in more than 10 percent of leagues, with Brad Peacock having the highest ownership percentage at 45 percent.

Don't expect dominant performances out of these guys, but they should still provide enough value to make a difference in Week 1. Let's take a look at who you should target to start off 2019.

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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.