A strategy that I have used with success in deeper leagues is streaming starting pitchers. That is, if you miss out on one or more of your high-end targets, you can piece together a fairly solid pitching staff by picking up guys each day and starting them in advantageous matchups to give you solid results.
Maybe you can’t replicate what Clayton Kershaw would do, but you can certainly put up solid numbers if you pick your spots while using the selections you’d have spent on middling starters to beef up your offense. I personally find it to be a very fun strategy that requires some persistence and a bit of being the early bird who gets the worm. The payoff can be particularly sweet.
To start the season, we’re going to set a 30 percent threshold for ownership and we’ll use ESPN to get us there. Feel free to guide us in the comments section if you think there’s a better way.
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Sunday, April 2
Thereare six pitchers starting on Sunday. They are all owned in at least 97 percent of ESPN leagues, with Zack Greinke (97.9 percent) as the low guy on the list. Not much luck there.
Monday, April 3
Junior Guerra (MIL) – v. Colorado Rockies (16.8 percent ESPN)
Guerra gets the nod for the Brew Crew on Opening Day roughly one year to the date that he was starting on the second day of the season — for Triple-A Colorado Springs. It’s been quite an ascension for the man who posted a 2.81 ERA in 20 starts for the Brewers as a 31-year-old rookie last season, and he gets the well-deserved honor of jumping on the bump to get the new year underway. Coming into 2016, Guerra’s entire major-league time had resulted in four innings, a 6.75 ERA, and a WHIP of 2.00. Pretty remarkable stuff, really. He’ll get the benefit of facing the Rockies on the road, where they’re traditionally much worse than at home — for obvious reasons.
Tuesday, April 4
Tyler Anderson (COL) – @ Milwaukee Brewers (10 percent ESPN)
On Tuesday we’ll flip the script, as I really like Anderson — whom I’ve drafted in multiple leagues — against a Brewers offense that should still be fairly good. The unassuming, 27-year-old Rockies lefty put together a really nice stretch last year in 19 starts, posting a 3.54 ERA that’s adequately backed by a 3.59 FIP. What I like about Anderson is that he gets a healthy number of strikeouts (7.8 K/9), keeps walks in check (2.2 BB/9), and keeps the ball on the ground (50.9 percent). The last of three is especially important in Colorado, where he posted a 3.00 ERA last season. Now, to work on that road ERA (4.71)….
Wednesday, April 5
Brandon Finnegan (CIN) – v. Philadelphia Phillies (10.2 percent ESPN)
Finnegan’s numbers from last year aren’t terribly impressive — 3.98 ERA (5.19 FIP), 1.36 WHIP and too many walks — but it can also be easy to expect too much from high-end pitching prospects. Finnegan, as many will remember, was a key part of the trade that sent Johnny Cueto to Kansas City in 2015. And while his numbers have been so-so thus far with the Reds — 4.00 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 — there remains the distinct possibility that he’s ready to break out in his age-24 season, with his birthday just a little over a week away. Finnegan was incredible in the second half last season, as he followed up a 4.71 ERA before the break with a 2.93 mark after it, with more than a strikeout per inning and a solid 1.29 WHIP. Even if the Reds are in the midst of a retool — it’s hard to call it a rebuild with Joey Votto staying put — there’s no reason not to be all over Finnegan in deep leagues this year.
Thursday, April 6
Jason Hammel (KC) – @ Minnesota Twins (25.9 percent ESPN)
We still can’t be really sure what Twins offense will show up, and in the meantime we do know that Hammel is coming off a strong season with the World Champions. His previous work in the AL hasn’t been as good as in the NL, but a lot of that is skewed from his iffy formative years as a member of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. Like the offseason he just spent whipping in the wind, Hammel is under-owned in ESPN leagues and that makes him ripe for the plucking as a streamer on Thursday.
Friday, April 7
Zack Wheeler (NYM) – v. Miami Marlins (11.5 percent ESPN)
There’s probably not much of a middle ground for Wheeler, who is tremendous when healthy but, well, that isn’t nearly often enough. If a pitcher with his pedigree was 100 percent healthy and people could bank on it, he’d be almost 100 percent owned. Instead, he hasn’t pitched in a big league game since Sept. 25, 2014 as he’s battled various physical maladies with his arm. With that said, for his career he’s struck out nearly a batter per inning with a 50 percent groundball rate. As far as streamers go, this is a risk you can afford to take.
Saturday, April 8
Ervin Santana (MIN) – @ Chicago White Sox (24.9 percent ESPN)
Not only is he taking on a rebuilding White Sox team that doesn’t project to have much of an offense, but Santana was quietly awesome for a really bad Twins team last year. The Twins may have lost 103 games, but don’t blame Big Erv, who had a 3.38 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and was nails in the second half: 2.65 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 1.14 WHIP. He may not finish the season in Twins colors, but that shouldn’t matter to you at this point, anyway. He’s got a primo matchup against the Pale Hose and you should exploit it.
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Brandon Warne is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Brandon, check out his archive and follow him @brandon_warne.
