How 'bout it RotoBallers? Let's talk pitchers for today. We have the usual full slate of baseball today, with plenty of good options on the mound. We won't insult your intelligence and recommend you start Jon Lester versus the Braves today, so instead we will be looking at recommended streamer options and DFS plays (and a fade) with much lower ownership percentages. The weather for today looks promising, with only a slight chance of rain occurring during the CIN-OAK game, but no one was planning on using one of those arms anyways.
In this article, I’ll be providing you with the top starting pitcher streamers for daily fantasy baseball (DFS) and for seasonal leagues for 6/12/16. These streamers will range from high-priced / high-ownership options to low-priced / low-ownership options, and will be sleepers and value picks for your cash games and GPPs on DraftKings and FanDuel, and also for seasonal leagues with daily lineups.
There will be three main sections of this article: our Pitcher Matchups Tool’s top plays, my value plays, and pitchers to fade. I highly recommend you check out the Daily Pitcher Matchups Ratings tool - it's an extremely useful tool for daily fantasy or seasonal streaming for finding the diamonds in the rough. Anyways, let's get rowdy.
Daily Pitcher Matchup Ratings Tool Top Plays
Michael Fulmer, DET at New York Yankees
Must Stream
Fulmer heads into this match-up red hot. He is scoreless over his last three starts, spanning 20.1 innings, in which he has allowed only seven hits while striking out 16. Today he faces a Yankees offense that ranks 28th in runs scored and 23rd in OPS versus RHP. He'll have a very high floor today, making him a safe streaming option. For DFS purposes he deserves consideration in cash games, but due to the Yanks third lowest strikeouts against righties, probably lacks the K potential you need in GPPs.
Rick Porcello, BOS at Minnesota Twins
Solid Stream
Porcello has been slowly slipping back to his 2015 ways after a stellar month of April in which he finished 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA. In his two starts in June, he has allowed eight runs and four HR in only 12 IP. But today, the 27 year old looks to get back on path against a Twins team that Boston has outscored 23-5 over the past two days. Minnesota ranks 22nd in runs and OPS versus RHP and has struck out the fifth most times. They certainly have a few power bats that will more than likely take Porcello deep at least once today, but with Pat Dean on the bump, Porcello has one of the highest chances of earning a W today.
JB’s Value Plays of the Day
Zach Davies, MIL versus New York Mets
Risky Stream
If you are down in a head to head match-up coming into today and are in need of a desperation streamer for pitching categories, or are looking for a super-sneaky GPP pitcher, Davies is your guy. He has allowed two runs or fewer in his last three starts, which included an eight shutout innings against the Cardinals and a no hitter broken up in the seventh against the Athletics. Davies squares off with the Mets today, who rank 23rd in runs scored and have the eighth most strikeouts against RHP. This is an offense that couldn't muster the run support needed to beat Wily Peralta yesterday. Davies will also be aided by the fact that he will be pitching in the familiar Miller Park today, where he owns a 3.27 ERA with a .221 BA allowed this season. The risk lies in his game log, which shows that four starts ago he allowed four runs in only 5.1 innings against this same team, but a lot has changed for both parties since May 21st.
Michael Pineda, NYY versus Detroit Tigers
Must Stream
A little over a week ago, Pineda struck out eight Tigers over 5.1 innings of one run ball. After looking completely lost on the mound in April and May (6.33, 7.52 ERA respectively), the 6'7" power righty has looked much more like has always been expected of him in June. Over his last two starts he owns a 2.84 ERA, with 12 K and only two walks over 12.2 innings. The "must stream" tag comes primarily from the K upside Pineda brings with him today, but unfortunately a W will be hard to come by in a duel with previously mentioned Michael Fulmer.
Starting Pitchers to Fade in Daily Fantasy Baseball
Dallas Keuchel, HOU at Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays may rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring this season, but have scored the ninth most runs and hit the third most HR against southpaws. A team with similar offensive numbers against LHP is the Texas Rangers, who have tormented Keuchel three times already in 2016. Everyone is already fully aware of the reigning AL Cy Young award winner's struggles this year, but he is especially having difficulty with right handed hitters. He is allowing a .297 BA and .832 OPS to the opposing-handed, which Tampa Bay has plenty of. There is still a chance Keuchel comes back around this season, but today will not be the day it begins.
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