Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers Week 9

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, May 29

Daniel Norris (DET) – @ Kansas City Royals (7.9 percent ESPN)
The immensely talented lefty has two really nice matchups this week, with the first being the Royals, who right now are registering as the second-worst offense in the game (76 wRC+). Norris has been pretty good in May, too: 4.13 ERA, 29 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.

Tuesday, May 30

Tyler Anderson (COL) – v. Seattle Mariners (10.9 percent ESPN)
The overall numbers aren’t very good — 5.40 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .272 BAA — but Anderson has been a man ablaze in May. He’s got a 2.55 ERA since May Day with 32 strikeouts and just seven walks in 24.2 innings. He’s also traditionally pitched much better at home (3.50 ERA in 16 starts) than on the road (5.09 in 13 starts).

Wednesday, May 31

Junior Guerra (MIL) – @ New York Mets (10.8 percent ESPN)
If Guerra had been healthy all season, chances are he wouldn’t be available in as many leagues as he is right now. Guerra was tremendous as a 31-year-old rookie last season, posting a 2.81 ERA in 20 starts with a 3.70 FIP and ample strikeouts (7.4 K/9). Guerra just has two starts under his belt this season, but has a 3.12 ERA with nine strikeouts and a 0.81 WHIP through 8.2 innings. His first start back was a pretty good one, as he held the Diamondbacks to one earned run in 5.2 innings on 98 pitches with 15 swinging strikes. He won’t last long at this ownership rate.

Thursday, June 1

J.C. Ramirez (LAA) – v. Minnesota Twins (28.6 percent ESPN)
Ramirez throws gas. His primary fastball is a two-seamer that comes in at 95.4 mph. Only Gerrit Cole (95.6 mph) throws his harder, and he throws it way, way less often. He’ll mix it largely with a slider and a curveball, with the slider (14.6 percent) being his premier swing-and-miss pitch. He also induces grounders at an above average rate. In other words, he does pretty much everything you’d like to see out of a starting pitcher. The Twins offense (104 road wRC+) will be a good challenge, but the upside is there.

Friday, June 2

Jerad Eickhoff (PHI) – v. San Francisco Giants (21.9 percent ESPN)
It’s been a fairly ugly run for Eickhoff so far this season, as the Phillies have lost eight of his nine starts. It hasn’t been entirely his fault, however, as he’s posted three quality starts and had a 3.56 ERA in April. It hasn’t been pretty in May (6.33 ERA), but the Giants offense can cure what ails you. No offense is worse than the Giants this year (71 wRC+).

Saturday, June 3

Tyler Chatwood (COL) – @ San Diego Padres (7.1 percent ESPN)
Here’s another matchup play, as the Padres boast the third-worst offense in the game (77 wRC+). Chatwood hasn’t pitched too badly this year, though walks have been his issue as his WHIP (1.33) is largely built on 31 walks over 60 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .229 against Chatwood this season. The Padres aren’t terribly patient, either (8.2 percent walk rate, 21st in MLB).

Sunday, June 4

Daniel Norris (DET) – v. Chicago White Sox (7.9 percent ESPN)
Hi, it’s Norris again. This time he gets the White Sox, who are the third-least patient team in MLB (7.1 percent walk rate) with a team wRC+ of 94 (20th). This is a nice week to roster Norris.

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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.

MLB Clayton Kershaw Daniel Norris Tyler Anderson Junior Guerra J.C. Ramirez Gerrit Cole Jerad Eickhoff Tyler Chatwood

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About Author

Brandon Warne

@brandon_warne

Warne covers the Minnesota Twins for ZoneCoverage.com and has had work published all across the national landscape. Locally, Warne has been published at both major metro dailies in the Twin Cities -- the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press -- and nationally he's done work for SB Nation, Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus and even been quoted in the Los Angeles Times. He has a weekly podcast called "Midwest Swing" on the Cold Omaha podcast network and has done radio work with the Twins' flagship station, Go96.3 under the mentorship of the late Rod Simons. Warne lives in the Twin Cities with his wife Amanda. They are expecting their first child, a daughter, this spring.