RADIO
When is it too soon to start talking about contenders and pretenders? Memorial Day represents roughly one-quarter of the baseball season completed as most teams are around the 45 games played mark. It’s important to iterate that no team is knocked out at this point in the season, but one can get the feeling that certain teams are destined for the golf course come October. And the one underlying factor at play for most of the last place teams is pitching.
Of the six last place teams, four - Colorado, Toronto, Milwaukee and Chicago White Sox, in that order – are in the bottom six in team ERA, Miami is in at number nineteen and Oakland places at number fourteen. Looking at the reverse, every single division leaders is in the top eight in team ERA. St. Louis (first), Kansas City (third), Los Angeles Dodgers (fourth), Tampa Bay (sixth) and Washington (eight) all have at least a 3.70 ERA. It’s probably a little too cliché to say that pitching wins, but… well, you know the rest.
Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the first half of Week 8 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
Tsuyoshi Wada (CHC v. WAS)
Ownership: 7% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker
Wada made his first start of the season last week against San Diego and there were flashes of brilliance, sprinkled with a hint of ineptitude. He struck out nine in 4.2 innings but had an oh-so-high 33.3% HR/FB rate in cavernous PetCo Park. That HR rate will surely fall and Wada has shown in the past that he can push 10 K in every start. The one downside is that every pitcher on the planet right now is liable to earn a ticket on the Bryce Harper Airline, even on those lefty-lefty matchups.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Shaun Marcum (CLE v. TEX)
Ownership: 2% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker
A week ago this looked like an excellent streaming option. Marcum was not heavily owned, the Rangers offense was supposed to be sub-par, and he looked more like a legit rotation starter rather than a piece filling in for a spot. The first and the third are still true, but Texas has been swinging a hot bat over the last week as they’ve posted a .347 wOBA and league best 116 wRC+ over the last seven days. A large slice of that production pie comes from a 15 run outburst on Saturday in the Bronx, but there’s still enough evidence to support the theory that Texas is hot. On the plus side, the Rangers continue to strike out enough to give Marcum a bump up in the K category.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Charlie Morton (PIT v. MIA)
Ownership: 2% Yahoo!, 2% Fleaflicker
The gap between Pittsburgh’s top three and bottom two starters is quite staggering. Never a strikeout artist and more a groundball specialist, Morton has done well over the last two seasons to give some consistency to the rotation. It will be his first start of the year coming off a hip injury and that is always a fantasy start cause for concern. Of course, Miami does possess the Dan Jennings Factor.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Brett Anderson (LAD v. ATL)
Ownership: 8% Yahoo!, 10% Fleaflicker
Opposing batters are hitting .293 against Anderson, including a .346 BABIP, and runners are reaching the plate at a 35.2% rate, which is right around the league average. With all that info to support that Anderson has been a poor pitcher, he is 2-2 with a 3.61 ERA. Atlanta has struggled against LHP this season, hitting .231 with a .293 OBP. Look for help all around for Anderson’s fantasy owners.
Matchup Rating: Must Stream
Tuesday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Jerome Williams (PHI at NYM)
Ownership: 1% Yahoo!, 5% Fleaflicker
A thirty three year-old pitcher that currently owns a 5.44 ERA and yields a 13.3% HR/FB rate should never be owned or streamed in any capacity. Ever. Then again, when there’s a team that has scored only 42 runs in their last 14 games. That includes a 14 run explosion on May 16 against the Brewers. If you are keeping score, that’s 28 runs in 13 games should that Milwaukee outing not count. Take your chances with Williams in deeper leagues.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Wandy Rodriguez (TEX at CLE)
Ownership: 5% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker
The Indians are starting to find their groove offensively. Against southpaws, Cleveland’s .343 OBP is good enough for sixth in the league. Left-handed batters have given Rodriguez fits all season to the tune of a .267/.353/.467 slash line.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
J.A. Happ (SEA at TB)
Ownership: 22% Yahoo!, 19% Fleaflicker
Expect the Rays to throw out a legion of right-handers to combat the soft tossing lefty. Happ has done a solid job of limiting free passes this season. His 5.6% BB rate is amongst the lowest of his career and most likely a reason for his early season success. The Rays own a .336 wOBA and 121 wRC+ against LHP. Things may get dicey for Happ’s owners. Do not expect anything more than 5 IP, a handful of strikeouts, and about four earned runs.
Wednesday Starting Pitcher Streamers
Colby Lewis (TEX at CLE)
Ownership: 32% Yahoo!, 24% Fleaflicker
If this matchup looks familiar, it’s because it just happened about 10 days ago. Lewis was roughed up by the Indians on May 16. Though he did record seven strikeouts, Lewis gave up five earned runs, seven base hits, and three walks in only five innings as he recorded the loss. It’s doubtful he will give up those kind of numbers again, but he won’t improve too much against a solid offensive club.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Mike Leake (CIN v. COL)
Ownership: 45% Yahoo!, 26% Fleaflicker
Everyone’s favorite ground ball pitcher has continued to do what it is that he does. Unfortunately, he has some inconsistency maintaining control as his 7.4% BB rate is up nearly two points from last season. The good news is that Colorado is a much less dangerous team on the road. The Rockies own a fifth worst .285 OBP and a sub-oar 85 wRC+ away from Coors Field.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Marco Estrada (TOR v. CHW)
Ownership: 4% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker
There are a ton of TBDs listed for Wednesday’s slate so there is bound to be another option off the wire available. It’s not so much that Estrada has been bad this season, on the contrary. He owns a solid 22.6% K rate and is holding opposing hitters to a .213 AVG. Part of his success, however, is his .235 BABIP and that number simply will not continue in the Rogers Centre. Add in his ridiculous 10.2% BB rate and Estrada is headed for a start that gets blown up.
Matchup Rating: Desperate Stream
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