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 some solid numbers if you pick your spots while using the picks 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, and the payoff can be particularly sweet.
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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Monday, April 17
Blake Snell (TB) – @ Boston Red Sox (20 percent ESPN)
It hasn’t been a perfect start for Snell, the 24-year-old lefty who has been a big-time prospect for quite a while, but there still are some signs of encouragement. One of them is that he’s facing off against Steven Wright, who was absolutely obliterated last time out (four home runs allowed). Secondly, despite more than iffy command (6-8 K/BB ratio in 11.1 innings), opposing batters still have been unable to solve Snell (.125 BAA, 1.15 WHIP and 3.18 ERA). Taking a chance on an uber-talented lefty seems like a good gamble on Monday.
Tuesday, April 18
Shelby Miller (ARI) – @ San Diego Padres (8.3 percent ESPN)
Miller has been alright in his first two starts this season — three earned in each — and I like his chances to pitch well against a Padres offense that clearly is not in the business of winning games this year. If he can avoid giving up a leadoff bomb to Manuel Margot, he’ll at least be off to a good start. With Miller, the talent has never been in question — it’s been the execution. I still like his chances to improve as he works with Jeff Mathis and friends behind the plate.
Wednesday, April 19
Edinson Volquez (MIA) – @ Seattle Mariners (19.3 percent ESPN)
Wednesday was kind of a tough day as I didn’t want to recommend Robert Gsellman again after he had a blow up outing last time. His ERA now sits over 9.00, so that probably wouldn’t sit well. Swap in Volquez, who gets a brutal Mariners offense (77 wRC+) and has been very good so far this year for the Marlins: 3.00 ERA, 17-6 K/BB ratio in 15 innings, .237 BAA. So far, Volquez has shown good velocity (93.6 mph average), and was good at mixing in grounders last time out (10) after a first start spent mostly in the air (four grounders).
Thursday, April 20
Daniel Norris (DET) – @ Tampa Bay Rays (11.6 percent ESPN)
Norris’ first start was only decent — three earned in 6.1 innings with two strikeouts and three walks — but I’m still looking for big things out of the lefty, who was traded for David Price, this season. Norris was excellent after the All-Star break last year, as he posted a 3.04 ERA in 10 starts with 8.8 strikeouts per nine and a 1.37 WHIP. The last number was a little shaky, but in light of his 1.54 mark in the first half, it certainly represents an improvement.
Friday, April 21
Charlie Morton (HOU) – @ Tampa Bay Rays (9.2 percent ESPN)
I keep reading about how sneaky good the Salt Man is going to be this season, and so far he’s delivered. He’s got a 10-4 K/BB ratio and respectable 4.09 ERA so far this season, and he’s done so while mixing a 95 mph heater — on average! — with a curve, cutter and changeup. Most of the excitement with Morton stems from the fact that he’s shown a propensity for grounders and strikeouts at one point in his career, with the strikeouts and velocity spike coming more recently. So far, his curveball has been really tough to solve (21.4 percent whiff rate), so there’s plenty to like here.
Saturday, April 22
Joe Ross (WSH) – @ New York Mets (23.1 percent ESPN)
The fact of the matter is that if Ross wasn’t making his first start of the season on Saturday, he’d be owned in at least twice as many leagues. Hopefully, your league mates sleep on him for the rest of the week, so you can snap him up just in time for a weekend start at Citi Field. Ross has a career ERA of 3.52, a K/9 mark of 8.0 and a WHIP of 1.22. Don’t walk — RUN to pick him up for this week if you can. He was awesome in his tune up against the PawSox on Thursday night, tossing seven strong innings with six strikeouts, no walks and just one earned run allowed.
Sunday, April 23
Jesse Hahn (OAK) – v. Seattle Mariners (0.9 percent ESPN)
There’s nobody in on Hahn right now, and I kind of get that since he hasn’t been particularly good even in a small burst since 2015. But the skill is still clearly there, and he’s shown at times to be a strikeouts-grounders guy with the ability to command the strike zone a bit, too. His first two starts have been solid, as he’s gone 12 innings with a 10-3 K/BB ratio as he’s done a fairly good job against Kansas City and Texas. He also gets the bad Mariners offense, which can’t hurt, either.
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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.
