Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Streamers for Week 17 (Part 1)

I’m pretty ecstatic that All-Star Week has concluded, as I took it on the chin over the last three days.  I honestly can’t remember having a worse weekend with pitcher projections.  I was so shell-shocked by Saturday afternoon that I locked myself in my bedroom, turned off all baseball alerts and proceeded to play the “Pagliacci” soundtrack on repeat while looking into a mirror and sobbing quietly.  With my “going Davola” feeling having finally subsided, I am holding firm in the belief that my one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad weekend was nothing more than an anomaly.

Below are some of my Week 17 picks for starting pitchers to consider streaming off the waiver wire. Some of these pitchers may be two-start pitchers, and all 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. As always, I categorize each of the streaming options as either Desperate, Risky, Solid or Must Stream.

Monday SP Streamers

Edinson Volquez (PIT vs. LAD)

Ownership: 22% Yahoo!, 17% ESPN

Pitching at PNC Park has obviously helped Volquez-- his rather low K rate and rather high BB rate scream of mediocrity, but batters are hitting just .238 against him with a .277 BABIP in the Steel City.  The dimensions are surely helping Volquez’s fantasy numbers, and he’ll need more of that magic when the fourth-best run-creating team on the road comes to town.

MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream

Tom Koehler (MIA at ATL)

Ownership: 17% Yahoo!, 5% ESPN

Koehler has been a disaster away from South Florida, but his next start is in pitcher-friendly Turner Field so maybe, just maybe, we fantasy pundits can get away with throwing away his road splits.

Even if he is cursed on the road, Atlanta is in the bottom five of most offensive categories against right-handed pitchers, so Koehler would have to be really bad to be detrimental to his fantasy owners.  That said, I did pick Kyle Kendrick against the Braves recently.

MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream

Tuesday SP Streamers

Vance Worley (PIT vs. LAD)

Ownership: 5% Yahoo!, 3% ESPN

Much like Volquez, Worley has semi-resurrected his career with healthy home splits at PNC Park.  He’s even been luckier, as hitters own a .231 BABIP and runners are being stranded to the tune of a 90.9% LOB rate.  Worley will probably give a solid 4-5 IP, however if he stays in much longer past the fifth inning there’s a strong possibility that he will get shellacked.

MATCHUP RATING: Risky Stream

Jake Odorizzi (TB at STL)

Ownership: 26% Yahoo!, 12% ESPN

Remember when Tampa Bay’s season was over about a month ago?  Those same Rays have climbed out of the cellar, are only six games under .500, six games out of the Wild Card and 7.5 games behind the pace of a very winnable AL East.  Odorizzi has certainly done his part, as he dominated June (2.40 ERA, 28.3% K rate, 0.97 WHIP) and has so far been consistent in July with a 3.44 ERA, 23.8% K rate and 1.36 WHIP.  Jake's away splits are still rather spotty, but he’s facing a Cardinals team against whom he pitched incredibly well on June 10.

MATCHUP RATING: Must Stream

Miguel Gonzalez (BAL at LAA)

Ownership: 3% Yahoo!, 1% ESPN

If you’re feeling incredibly Roto-ballsy looking for the inside edge, perhaps Gonzalez is your answer.  He’s been nearly unhittable during the month of July and he actually owns considerable success against the Angels projected lineup.  Of course, he’ll still be facing Mike Trout.

MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream

Wednesday SP Streamers

Mike Leake (CIN at MIL)

Ownership: 46% Yahoo!, 32% ESPN

Leake hasn’t wowed anyone over the last month or so, to the point that his fantasy owners probably forgot he was even on their team.  Fortunately, he’ll be facing a Brewers team that has been trending down since the beginning of June with no end in sight.  Look for Leake’s excellent 53.8% GB rate to finally help him out in Milwaukee.

MATCHUP RATING: Solid Stream

Jorge de la Rosa (COL vs. WAS)

Ownership: 18% Yahoo!, 9% ESPN

It seems like just last year de la Rosa yielded a 2.76 ERA at Coors Field over an entire season.  Oh wait-- that was last year.  He’s pitched extremely well over his last few starts, and he just may be back on the right track as a much needed home warrior pitcher for the Rockies.  He’ll need to be very, very good against the Nationals, as they possess a bunch of guys that can absolutely crush LHPs even without the help of thin Colorado air.  Realistically, the only reason de la Rosa makes this list is because some guy named TBD is scheduled to start for a handful of teams on Wednesday.  Even I’ll take de la Rosa over TBD.

MATCHUP RATING: Desperate Stream