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Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Week 1

Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Week 1

Welcome to the “Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers” column for 2019. As a frequent streamer myself, I’m excited to be your guide in exploring the winding trails of ignored pitchers turned serviceable for a day. There will be many risks along the way, but this article will aim to dodge the landmines and uncover some hidden gems. Who knows, maybe the next breakout hurler will join your club via the stream.

Take note that we are looking for pitchers who are owned in less than 30 percent of Yahoo leagues. Occasionally a recommendation will exceed that threshold if they are in a particularly favorable streaming situation.

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Thursday, March 28

Eric Lauer (SD) vs. San Francisco Giants (17%)
San Diego has several underrated arms for fantasy baseball purposes. Joey Lucchesi and Matt Strahm stole the headlines in my “Starting Pitcher Sleepers” preview article, but Lauer makes for a plausible streamer in the Padres’ rotation. His peripheral numbers don’t look great (8.04 K/9, 4.51 xFIP), but nobody in this streamers column is going to have shiny track records. Lauer has big league experience (23 starts last year) while playing in a pitcher-friendly atmosphere as a small home favorite against a mediocre Giants offense. That’s enough to warrant streaming consideration.

Other Options: Brad Keller (KC) vs. Chicago White Sox (16%), Trevor Cahill (LAA) at Oakland (5%)

Friday, March 29

Freddy Peralta (MIL) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (28%)
There will be risks, as mentioned in the introduction. It didn’t take long for us to find one, as Peralta can be viewed as this week’s ultimate risk/reward streamer. The matchup is somewhat scary while facing a quality Cardinals lineup in the hitter-friendly environment of Miller Park. However, the 22-year-old righty held strong numbers with a 3.72 FIP and 11.03 K/9 in 2018. He’s a rare streamer who can actually post more than one strikeout per inning, and there’s upside for the rest of the season if Peralta can put things together. Even if you aren’t utilizing Peralta in fantasy, savvy gamers will want to see how he performs.

Other Options: Matthew Boyd (DET) at Toronto (29%), Trevor Richards (MIA) vs. Colorado (14%)

Saturday, March 30

Aaron Sanchez (TOR) vs. Detroit Tigers (11%)
The biggest knock against Sanchez revolves around his health. Well, he’s healthy at the moment after holding good form in spring training, and that’s all we care about when uncovering streamers. I’m assuming he’ll check in as a substantial home favorite against a subpar Detroit lineup that doesn’t have much to offer outside of Miguel Cabrera and Nicholas Castellanos. We could get a quality start and victory from the Toronto hurler in this spot.

Other Options: Tyler Anderson (COL) at Miami (2%), Brandon Woodruff (MIL) vs. St. Louis (27%)

Sunday, March 31

Lucas Giolito (CHW) at Kansas City Royals (3%)
Giolito was one of the worst (regular) starting pitchers through the first half of last season. However, he recovered down the stretch with a somewhat acceptable 4.31 xFIP to go along with an improved 2.07 K/BB ratio. Sure, he’s still a risky streaming option, but facing a Kansas City offense that projects as one of the worst in the league helps in this spot. The spacious digs of Kauffman Stadium could give him a boost as well. Definitely look to see if the other options listed below (Urias or Skaggs) are available in your league, then consider Giolito as a risk/reward fallback streamer if it makes sense for your situation.

Other Options: Julio Urias (LAD) vs. Arizona (46%), Tyler Skaggs (LAA) at Oakland (45%)

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Spencer Limbach is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Spencer, check out his archive and follow him @spencer_jl.

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