Shelby Miller may be the safest of Wednesday’s plethora of risky pitchers
Each week this column will scour the waiver wire and look for pitchers who are less than 30% owned and could be useful streamers for your fantasy team. All ownership percentages come from Yahoo.
Please note the probable pitcher matchups could change throughout the week due to rainouts or other circumstances, so be sure to check back before picking up and starting one of these recommendations. All ownership percentages and statistics are current as of Friday, July 1.
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Sunday, July 3
Daniel Mengden (OAK) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Ownership: 22%
Mengden has been impressive over his first four big league starts. The rookie has flashed some strikeout upside thus far and has a 2.81 ERA over 25.2 innings of work.
The Pirates have solid season-long stats against right-handed pitching, but they struggled in the month of June, ranking in the bottom third of the league in several key offensive stats. Sunday is a good day to stream the Oakland rookie.
Monday, July 4
Junior Guerra (MIL) vs. Washington Nationals
Ownership: 20%
Guerra just gets more and more impressive as the season goes on. The right-hander carries a 5-1 record and a 3.25 ERA into a start against the Nationals.
Washington has not hit right-handed pitching all that well this season, ranking just 19th in batting average, 17th in wOBA and 15th in ISO. Ace Max Scherzer will oppose Guerra, so a win may be hard to come by, but he should still turn in a useful fantasy outing.
Tuesday, July 5
Sean Manaea (OAK) @ Minnesota Twins
Ownership: 4%
Manaea didn’t let a short stay on the DL interrupt his recent strong string of starts. The big left-hander pitched well in the month of June, outside of a rough outing against the Brewers, and draws a favorable matchup on Tuesday. The Twins have not handled left-handed pitching well this season, ranking just 23rd in wOBA, 10th in ISO, and posting the second-highest strikeout rate in the league.
Wednesday, July 6
Shelby Miller (ARI) vs. San Diego Padres
Ownership: 35%
So Miller is slightly higher owned than my 30% cutoff, but the options are dire for Wednesday, so we’ll break the rules a little. Recommending Miller is less an endorsement of him and more a calculated risk in that the Padres have been one of the worst teams in the league against right-handed pitching.
As a team, San Diego is ranked last in wOBA, 25th in ISO, and have a robust 23.8% strikeout rate. This is a risky stream as Miller has not pitched well this year, but at least the matchup is in Miller’s favor.
Thursday, July 7
Blake Snell (TB) vs. Los Angeles Angels
Ownership: 30%
Snell, one of Tampa’s top pitching prospects, will make his fifth big league start on Thursday. While it hasn’t yet translated to the major league level, the left-hander had excellent strikeout rates at every stop in the minors.
He will take on an Angels’ offense that is very average against left-handed pitching. As long as he can work around Mike Trout, Snell should be in line for a solid outing.
Friday, July 8
Jon Gray (COL) vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Ownership: 26%
Yes, Gray will be making this start at Coors Field. Normally I try to avoid Coors with pitchers, but this is a chance that is worth taking with the young right-hander.
The Phillies are extremely weak against right-handed pitching, and that should allow Gray to limit the runs scored in this outing. Gray has shown excellent strikeout upside this season, posting 83 in 76.1 innings of work.
Saturday, July 9
Adam Conley (MIA) vs. Cincinnati Reds
Ownership: 27%
Conley continues to be overlooked in fantasy leagues. He has an excellent strikeout rate, averaging 8.73 per nine innings while posting a solid 3.90 ERA.
The Reds are much less dangerous on the road, especially in spacious Marlins Park. Look for Conley to be a solid streaming option on Saturday.
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Matthew Terelle is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @supermt.
