It’s time for Week 3 of the abbreviated fantasy baseball season. Maximizing each outing has become so important for your pitching categories, so putting an emphasis on streaming this year is even more important than ever.
Let’s see how we did last week, as it’s important to hold ourselves accountable.
Alec Mills (CHC): 7 IP, 1 W, 4 K, 0 ER, 3 BB
Tyler Mahle (CIN): 6 IP, 0 W, 6 K, 0 ER, 2 BB
Kyle Gibson (TEX): 6 IP, 0 W, 9 K, 3 ER, 2 BB
Spencer Turnbull (DET): 7 IP, 1 W, 4 K, 1 ER, 2 BB
Yusei Kikuchi (SEA): 5.2 IP, 0 W, 3 K, 4 ER, 1 BB
Austin Voth (WSH): 5 IP, 0 W, 5 K, 0 ER, 1 BB
Cristian Javier (HOU): 3 IP, 0 W, 5 K, 5 ER, 2 BB
Total: 39.2 IP, 2 W, 36 K, 13 ER, 13 BB
Take note that we are looking for pitchers who are rostered 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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Monday, August 10
Kyle Gibson (TEX) vs. SEA 18%
GIbson was on the list last week, and he gave fantasy managers a nine-strikeout quality start, which is exactly what you hope for in a streamer. He faces the Mariners to kick off the week, who have been struggling as an offense of late. It’s important to note that he’s lined up for a second start this week, too, but it’s in Colorado. Only go with him if it’s a daily league where you can swap him out.
Other options: None
Tuesday, August 11
Alex Cobb (BAL) at PHI 12%
Cobb gets a tough test Tuesday, but there’s a little more confidence with him against the Phillies than with Elieser Hernandez against the Blue Jays in Buffalo, simply because we haven’t seen how the ballpark will perform with big-league hitters. Cobb’s struggled with walks over his past two starts, but he’s limited the damage to just three combined earned runs over nine innings.
Other options: Elieser Hernandez (MIA) at TOR 3%
Wednesday, August 12
Dylan Cease (CHW) at DET 18%
The control issues popped up for Cease against Cleveland last week, as he walked five batters, but didn’t allow any runs. Chalk that up to a lot of luck going his way in the form of double plays. Still, the past two outings have had encouraging signs for Cease. He gets the Tigers in this matchup, who destroyed the Pirates pitching, and also lead the league in Hard-Hit rate.
What are you up to,🐯 pic.twitter.com/cdJeWmmEpr
– Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 10, 2020
Other options: Jordan Yamamoto (MIA) at TOR 3%
Thursday, August 13
Austin Voth (WAS) at NYM 7%
Like Gibson, Voth made an appearance on this list last week, as he blanked the Orioles over five innings while striking out five batters. He gets the Mets this week, who are in the bottom third in the league in team wOBA. His opposition, David Peterson, is also intriguing in this matchup.
Other options: David Peterson (NYM) vs. WAS 12%
Friday, August 14
Johnny Cueto (SF) vs. OAK 29%
Cueto hasn’t been great this season so far, but he has faced the Dodgers, Rockies (in Coors Field) and the Padres, so it’s worth keeping his season in context. Now, he gets the A’s, who are in the bottom third of the league in team SLG, AVG, and strikeout rate. They’ll also be without Ramon Laureano, which is a boost to Cueto.
Other options: Kyle Wright (ATL) at MIA 4%
Saturday, August 15
Kevin Gausman (SF) vs. OAK 7%
We are going to double-dip here with Giants pitchers, and Gausman has been better than Cueto has been so far. He has a 4.05 ERA, but a 2.27 FIP and 2.98 xFIP with a 28.1 percent strikeout rate. He looked fantastic against the Dodgers, and now gets a struggling A’s lineup at home. This is the lock of the week.
Other options: Chase Anderson (TOR) vs. TB 2%
Sunday, August 16
Matt Shoemaker (TOR) vs. TB 18%
Shoemaker’s most notable start was when he got crushed by Atlanta, giving up six earned runs in 4.2 innings, But that was sandwiched between two really good starts, where he allowed three combined earned runs, two walks, and 10 strikeouts over 12 innings against the Rays and Red Sox. He gets the Rays again this time in Buffalo. While we don’t know how the stadium will truly play yet (it seems very hitter friendly), the Rays offense has struggled this season. They do, however, have Austin Meadows back in the lineup. Still, Shoemaker is worth rolling out there.
Other options: Logan Webb (SF) vs. OAK 2%
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy baseball, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our Cheat Sheet Creator – which allows you to combine rankings from 100+ experts into one cheat sheet – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball draft season.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
