Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: It Takes Yu

Another week with a significant number of top-notch upper tier choices to insert for a pair of starts, while the middle tier contains an additional dozen options to pick from in Week 8. There are not so many arms to avoid in the bottom group, and a couple atop that set of hurlers that were undoubtedly drafted with higher expectations than have been received by their fantasy owners. Ah, well, patience can have rewards, as can wise use of the bench while the SPs figure out how to get back on track.

Please realize that these articles feature most recent rotation information available when the article is written, but that circumstances do change due to weather conditions, injuries and general craziness with managers. If a pitcher listed here as having two starts ends up with one (or perhaps none) in the upcoming week, apologies but this article is meant to provide analysis, it is up to the manager to set the lineups or rotations.

Without further ado, here are this week’s two start pitchers:

These pitchers are the starters that you want to trot out there for both their appearances, no questions asked. Walker has been proving his worth week in, week out, as has the Miami second-year southpaw, Rogers. Note that both Walker and Urquidy have a pair of road starts (as does Bumgarner, for that matter) but given their recent performance and track records, that is not a major concern.

Taillon has been racking up the K’s over his last three appearances, collecting 22 strikeouts in 16.0 IP. Granted, he has gone only 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA, letting eight earned runs cross the plate, so there is definitely room for improvement. His away contest is a good matchup, and he has been much better at home this season (and recently), so the second start against the visiting White Sox and Keuchel is not overly daunting, either.

DeSclafani is putting up great surface ratio stats, with a 2.14 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over his 46.1 IP. He does have some concerning underlying metrics, granted, with a lucky looking .211 BABIP and 84.7% LOB, but the 3.16 FIP suggests his success in not illusory, either. Getting the Dodgers at home tempers the matchup in his second start, and the start in Cincy is not terrible, despite the less than pitcher friendly venue.

Kikuchi has stepped up the swing and miss potential of late, with 25 Ks over his last 20.1 IP, while limiting the free passes issued to just four opposing hitters. He has a great home matchup to open the scoring period, with the Tigers in town, although the second game in San Diego against Yu Darvish as the opposing hurler is not exactly a walk in the park. So perhaps see how the first contest plays out before committing to both starts.

Brubaker has been a road warrior in his time with the Pirates, so two road games is not a huge concern in Week 8. The first opponent, first place St. Louis, is the worry, and the Braves in the second game of the week are not pushovers, either. Brubaker is the ace of the Pittsburgh staff, and his 2.58/1.12 ERA and WHIP are demonstrative of his effectiveness. The main thing impeding his value is pitching for a last place team.

Kelly has had two quality starts (QS) in his last four outings, and came within an out in the other two games of going four for four in such opportunities. His control needs work, as his BB/9 rate over that series of games sits at 4.2, and while he is striking out eight hitters per nine innings of work, he does have a pair of away games on his slate, and that lessens his value in Week 8, despite the two starts and his general overall effectiveness of recent vintage.

Rodriguez was finally tagged with a loss this season, “dropping” him to 5-1 on the year. He now has to deal with two away games in the coming week, which is a negative mark on the ledger for him although the Red Sox have been superb away from Fenway this season so far. The 42:7 K/BB ratio over his 39.0 IP softens the slightly elevated 4.15 ERA.

Gray generates a ton of groundballs, which plays well in his home park, making Coors Field a good location for him to be in your fantasy rotation, together with his ability to avoid the long ball (0.8 HR/9). His first trip to toe the rubber this coming week is at Petco Park in San Diego, not a bad road venue to ply his trade, especially as he racks up nearly K per inning (8.6 K/9 over his 46.0 IP in 2021).

Alzolay has gathered two QS in his last three appearances for the North Siders, although the last effort was a loss to the host Indians. His 10.1 K/9 rate and admirable 2.0 BB/9 ratio play into his utility as a two-start option, although his first start at home against the Nationals looks to be the better of his two times on the hill in Week 8.

Davies has an ugly 5.60 ERA and 1.78 WHIP, but he has been working to achieve those dubious marks by pitching well over his past three outings, holding opponents to just two earned runs over the last 16.1 IP. He has not allowed a homer in that three-game stretch, either. As with his rotation mate above, the better game to use his talents is the home contest when the Nats come to Chicago.

Lester faces the SP profiled a couple paragraphs above, and it is a coin flip which of the two arms you prefer, although the Cubbie righthander is the far better K source. Lester has a limited sample size in 2021 with just three starts under his belt before this coming scoring period, but his control has been a concern, leading to an inflated early WHIP (1.38). Unlike the two Cub SPs profiled directly above, though, he has a favorable late week matchup with the Orioles coming to visit.

Pineda is having an issue with the long ball, having allowed six dingers over his last four starts. The ratios still play great, with a 2.79 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through seven trips to the hill. The 39:10 K/BB ratio is attractive, too, but his underlying metrics hint that some regression is due: 4.54 FIP, .216 BABIP, 90% LOB. That, coupled with the homerun allowance propensity makes him a riskier proposition for two starts than appears on the surface.

Fried is pitching better than his numbers indicate, with a 24:9 K/BB ratio over his five starts, although his 4.91 FIP vs 6.55 ERA indicates he has been somewhat unlucky, it is not entirely all good news on the 27-year-old southpaw’s page, as a 4.91 FIP is still not ideal. He does have two home starts coming up in Week 8, and is collecting whiffs at better than one per inning (9.8 K/9).

There are not as many must-avoid suggestions this week, but the top two deserve mention. Keuchel is not a horrible real-life pitcher, he is just so bereft of strikeout potential to make him nearly unusable for fantasy purposes. Morton may finally be hitting the wall in his career, as he is not pitching deep enough in games to be of counting stat utility, and his ratios are killing his owners.

Potential Streaming Options for Week

There is no promise that each game day will provide a streaming option. First of all, the pitcher must be available in at least 50% of leagues to be a viable candidate to snag off the wire. Then, the pitchers discussed above are not included as they have a different sort of value, even though some might be available as free agents in your league. Plus, some days the matchups and/or venues just do not figure as positive enough factors to favor plugging the arm into your rotation, even for one start. That all being said, here are this week’s best streaming candidates:

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Austin Gomber COL @ SD Blake Snell

Gomber has been a fairly steady performer this season, with just a couple of ugly performances to mar his stat line (the nine earned runs over 1.2 IP at San Fran comes to mind). He is a quality source of strikeouts with a 9.2 K/9 through 39.1 IP, although the Padres, his opponent, rank in the bottom quarter of the league in that category.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Rich Hill TB @ BAL Dean Kremer

Hill has not allowed a run, let alone an earned tally, over his past three starts. He gets to face a less than intimidating opponent in the form of the Orioles, albeit on the road in a hitter’s park in Baltimore. If he pitches deep enough into the contest, he should rack up some decent strikeout numbers, too, with his 9.7 K/9 rate in hand.

Garrett Richards BOS @ TOR Ross Stripling

Both the streaming options on Wednesday this scoring period are on the road, and the Bosox veteran is working on three game win streak (with one no decision in the mix). Richard’s metrics suggest that his performance to date is certainly sustainable, although his K numbers may be a bit down against the Blue Jays in this particular trip to toe the rubber.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Johnny Cueto SF @ CIN Tyler Mahle

Before starting the veteran righty in this game, take a gander at how he fares against the Pirates in his second start after coming off the IL. The first outing in May was not pretty, with five earned runs being tallied by the visiting Padres, with a couple of round trips adding to that damage. Prior to his injury, though, Cueto was pitching well, so it may be a case of needing to shake off the rust.

Joe Ross WAS @ CHC Trevor Williams

Ross notched seven Ks in most recent start, although he also handed out five walks over those 5.0 IP, where he was not involved in the decision. Prior to that wild outing, however, he had been more of an average SP with regard to free passes. The Cubs are not a bad opponent in terms of K production, although the Chicago batters do exhibit patience at the plate, so Ross may not be in the game deep enough to help with either a QS or W.

Griffin Canning LAA vs MIN José Berríos

Canning is coming off a QS against the host Red Sox, and has been driving his inflated ERA down by limiting the opponents to just three earned runs over his past 17.0 IP. 20 K over that stretch is good work, as well, although the seven walks and 15 hits over that span is not helping him lower his WHIP much. He does get to pitch at home, where he has been better over his three-year career with the Angels.

Vince Velesquez PHI vs MIA Sandy Alcantara

The 28-year-old righty has been unlucky over the past three starts, allowing just one earned run in each contest but only collecting one victory (two no decisions). He gets the Marlins at home, who should contribute to his growing collection of whiffs (11.4 K/9 through 29.1 IP).

Jorge López BAL vs TB Tyler Glasnow

The Baltimore righthander does not draw a great matchup, facing off against the Ray ace, but he does get to pitch at home. The opponent is a free-swinging bunch, so even with an average 8.4 K/9 rate in his pocket, he should provide some punchouts while on the bump.

Friday, May 21, 2021

Tyler Anderson PIT @ ATL Huascar Ynoa

The Pirate southpaw has been a steady if unexciting pitching option this season, posting a useful 3.05 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 37:12 K/BB ratio. His FIP of 3.16 is right in line with his ERA, and his control has been good despite putting up a below league average K rate of 8.1 K/9. Pittsburgh arms are generally available to stream, but those who are generally dependable are worth pursing even with a less than stellar matchup.

Shane McClanahan TB @ TOR TBD

The rookie lefthander features an upper 90s fastball, and is striking out better than a batter per inning (11.3 K/9 over just 12.0 IP, so small sample size warning). The Blue Jays do not swing and miss a ton as a team, so the K numbers may be depressed in this road start.

Adrian Houser MIL @ CIN Jeff Hoffman

Houser gets a nod here based on his road/home splits, which even in a hitter’s park like Cincy favor the Brewer righty. He has tossed a couple of recent QS, although his K rate and BB rate are both below average (7.7, 3.6 respectively).

Brad Keller KC vs DET José Ureña

José Ureña DET @ KC Brad Keller

Taking both sides of a contest for streaming is not necessarily a wise decision, although both of these arms have been useful for fantasy purposes over their recent outings. Urena has notched four QS out of his last five appearances, while Keller has gone .500 in that respect over his last four starts. Beware as both have control issues and neither is a secure source of Ks.

Martín Pérez BOS @ PHI Aaron Nola

The Red Sox 30-year-old veteran is being limited in terms of his pitch count, with his manager worrying about righty/lefty matchups the third time through the lineup. He is therefore a risky option in situations where you are seeking a victory or QS from your SP. He is an average source of Ks, although facing the Phillies is a decent opportunity to see significant numbers of swings and misses.

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Chase Anderson PHI vs BOS Nathan Eovaldi

Anderson, like Perez just profiled above, is not pitching deep into games this season. Aside from allowing six earned in Coors Field (which can happen to just about any pitcher, admittedly), he has been effective in holding opponent hitters to limited home plate crossings. Pitching at home is a plus for the veteran righthander.

Ryan Weathers SD vs SEA Justus Sheffield

Weathers is getting the nod as the SP in Sunday’s game against the visiting Cardinals, although be wary of the Padres switching to Dinelson Lamet getting the nod in this contest, which obviates Weathers’ streaming usefulness. The sensational 0.81 ERA and 0.72 WHIP are due for some regression, naturally, although his 20 Ks through 22.1 IP is of use.

Feel free also to send any starting pitching or other fantasy baseball questions to ia@fantasyalarm.com for a private response to your specific issue. The more detail you can provide about your team and league, including settings (H2H vs roto, points or categories, weekly or daily moves, roster size, league size, etc.) the better the response will be suited to your individual situation. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in all your fantasy endeavors.