Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: deGrominant Week

Not quite so many top tier SPs to rely upon this week as the last couple of scoring periods. On the plus side, plenty of middle tier options that are for the most part useful for both their trips to the hill this coming week, and not quite so many for you to simply avoid in the bottom group.

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 seven arms are the ones you are happy to have on your roster this week for their two journeys to toe the rubber, as they are truly wind up and let go options. Especially deGrom-those of you who were derided at drafts for taking him with your first pick, are you basking in the sunshine now? We did initially have one more but the two off days in Week 6 for the Pale Hose pushed Carlos Rodón out of the two-start mix.

There are a boatload of middle tier options this scoring period to choose from. Admittedly, the bottom portion of this group are essentially one start opportunities if you are seeking potential useful results, but all are in this troupe because there is some positive aspect to their game that you can employ.

Happ is not a great source of Ks, to be certain, with just a 5.1 K/9 rate to his credit (?...debit?) so far this season, but he is not handing out free passes to opposing hitters and is the owner of a sparking set of ratio numbers: 1.96 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over his 23.0 IP. He also has collected two consecutive victories while pitching through the seventh inning in both those starts. Add to that his two great matchups this week, and he is the lead arm in the middle tier.

Ynoa has been overall stellar as a starter this season for the Braves, aside from a hiccup at Wrigley were he allowed six earned tallies in just 4.0 IP. Otherwise, the 11.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 rates play well for his fortunate fantasy owners. Beware, though, as the 88.9% LOB and .230 BABIP both hint at a coming negative adjustment to his successful early season results. His matchups work well, with the Phillies coming to visit at the end of the week being especially auspicious.

German has two home contests on tap for the coming week, the second against the struggling National team being extremely alluring for active roster purposes. Excellent control and improving strikeout rates are enticing, although the matchups in Week 6 are against two of the teams least likely to provide a lot of swings and misses. His ratios stats have been steadily improving, as well since his slow start to the season.

His advanced metrics indicate that Kim could be seeing ever better results on the hill than he has achieved so far this early 2021 season, although the improved K rate (10.5 K/9 through 13.2 IP) does seem to be likely for a slight negative regression in the future. He has shown great control, with just a single walk issued this season. His two upcoming contests are both at home, which is just another positive attribute to look to when deciding to plug him into your rotation for two Week 6 mound trips.

Gibson has a five consecutive QS streak that he will seek to extend during Week 6. His first game against the host Twins looks promising for those purposes, although facing the Mariners at home has its own charm. He offers only below average K potential, and would benefit from improved control, but his peripherals do not scream immediate regression on the horizon.

Junis finally pitched into the sixth inning this season, but due to lack of offense, ended up as the losing pitcher despite allowing just two earned runs. His stat line looks intriguing over all for fantasy purposes: 3.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 27:7 K/BB through 23.1 IP. He has two home games coming up against division opponents that need to be tamed to keep the Royals atop the division.

Anderson suffered a hard luck no-decision due to his offense’s late scoring production in a home game against the surging Royals. He gets to take the ball twice in the opponent’s park in Week 6, although neither venue is especially hostile to visiting pitchers. He is putting up good K numbers through his five starts (8.8 K/9 over 26.2 IP). The Pirate team has been playing close to .500 on the road this season so far, as well.

Wood has started three games for the Giants since mid-April, and all three have been credited in the win column for him. His first trip to the mound this coming week takes place in a hostile arena, Coors Field, but then he gets his next start at home against another division rival in the form of the Padres. The 6.67 K/BB ratio is off the charts superb, and the excellent ratios (1.50 ERA, 0.67 WHIP) are also sure to result in fantasy owners adding him to their rosters. The old bugaboo, negative regression, is looming on the horizon at some point, so just be aware.

Houser became a two-start option when the Brew Crew recalled Eric Lauer to replace the injured Zach Godley and his scheduled start was pushed back to Monday. Both is starts in the coming scoring period are road games, which plays into his road/home split strength. He is a below average K producer, so do not expect much help there in this dual-appearance week, despite facing two of the top 10 swing and miss offenses in the majors.

Unlike the Brewer hurler profiled immediately above, Fedde is a good source of Ks, producing better than a strikeout per inning pitched (10.1 K/9 through 22.1 IP). He also is coming off his first QS of the season against the Blue Jays. Neither of his matchups is especially appealing, and thus his status at the lower end of the middle tier.

Pivetta matched his season high K total in his victory over the host Mets, striking out seven while holding the opponent to a single hit (and three walks) over 5.0 IP. He gets to face two last place squads in his two trips to toe the rubber in Week 6, with the Tigers first visiting Fenway, and then taking a trip to Baltimore for his second start. The control issues continue, despite his good K production, making him less desirable as a starting option despite pitching for the division leader.

Montas has tossed three QS out his five starts, but those other two appearance have been ugly events. His ERA is bloated at 6.20 due to the 13 earned runs allowed by the Oakland righthander (only 4 allowed in the other three starts). He has shown good control and is striking out a hitter per inning, so if he can avoid the disaster, his starts are useful for his fantasy owners. Inconsistency is a perplexing issue, however, although on the plus side of the ledger,  both his games are at home this week.

McClanahan was limited to just 59 pitches in his first start for the Rays, although his swing and miss abilities were in evidence (11.3 K/9 rate in an extremely small sample size). His manager is talking about him serving in a traditional SP role, which if accurate, would lead to more value for him going forward, at least for fantasy purposes.

Martinez is the final entry in the middle tier, and he turned in his second consecutive QS by dominating the Phillies at home, limiting the Philadelphia team to just a single earned run over 7.1 IP, allowing just a pair of hits and walks each. He may be rounding into form finally, although the miniscule K-rate is a concern (5.4 K/9 through 28.1 IP). Both his starts are in St. Louis this week, a positive aspect to emphasize for the 29-year-old righty.

The top names here are tentative options to stream for their second starts, with the start against the visiting Pirates for Hendricks, the road game away from Coors Field for Marquez in San Francisco and Maeda heading to Comerica to take on the reeling Tigers and their anemic offense. The balance of this tier should be left on the bench or the wire, as their primary effect on your stat line will be negative. Avoid the hit to your ratios and minimal counting stat additions.

Also note that Paddock is currently listed on the IL, and thus, entirely unlikely to be a two-start option in any case this week.

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 4, 2021

Cole Irvin OAK vs TOR TBD

The Oakland 27-year-old southpaw has reeled off two QS as part of his last three strong outings, although he took the loss in the latest QS due to an inability of the A’s bats to provide enough offense to overcome the two earned runs he allowed. He gets to pitch at home against the Blue Jays, and will rely on his good control (1.33 BB/9) and good K rate to make him a decent streaming option.

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Josh Fleming TB @ LAA Andrew Heaney

Fleming is offering his owner great ratios: 1.23 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. The K rate is below mediocre at 4.9 K/9, so that is not why he is a streaming consideration, it is rather the hope he can keep the score low enough to generate a victory, as he is not likely pitching deep enough to offer a hope for a QS.

Friday, May 7, 2021

David Peterson NYM vs ARI Zac Gallen

Peterson has produced a pair of QS and a pair of not-so-quality appearances to date. He is an inconsistent mound option, to be certain, but he has the potential to shine, especially at home, as he is in this outing. The above-average Ks are a plus (9.8 K/9) and the control he demonstrates is enticing, as well.

Michael Wacha TB @ OAK Jesús Luzardo

Wacha sports good ratios for use as a fill-in SP: 3.86 ERA, 1.17 WHIP over the course of his 25.2 IP. He also offers a decent 23:8 K/BB. He just managed to hold the A’s to a single run on five hits and no walks in his last outing, albeit at home and also noting that he managed to rack up just two Ks in that contest.

Chris Flexen SEA @ TEX Mike Foltynewicz

Flexen baffled the Boston hitters two starts ago, but then was unable to pitch into the fifth inning against the Angels, allowing the Halos to score three earned tallies in just 4.0 IP. Overall, the 26-year-old righty has been superb in three outings and mediocre to terrible in the other two. An inconsistent track record is not overly inspiring when coupled with a below-average K rate (7.0 K/9 over 27.0 IP) but then again, this is a good matchup, which leads to his streaming potential later in the scoring period.

Saturday, May 8, 2021

Trevor Williams CHC vs PIT Wil Crowe

Williams is a bit too free handing out the free passes when he takes the hill (3.7 BB/9) but the 10.0 K/9 rate catches the eye. He has also held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in four of his five starts in 2021, and it was that one disaster on April 11^th that inflated his ratio stats, including his ERA which he is still working on repairing, sitting at a still unattractive 4.44 (WHIP is an ugly 1.52). He is facing his former team in this matchup, if you believe in revenge motivation.

Garrett Richards BOS @ BAL Bruce Zimmermann

In his last start, the righthanded veteran overwhelmed the Met hitters while collecting 10 Ks and for a nice change of pace, not allowing a single walk. Hope for the hot hand trend to continue as the new addition to the Boston rotation settles in, although taking his act to Baltimore and the less than friendly confines of Oriole Park at Camden Yards (what a mouthful) is a slightly risky proposition. But, so long as the veteran is healthy, he is worth an opportunity to employ for a start or two, hoping for a streak of production.

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.