I made a funny mistake in last week’s article by misspelling Clarke Schmidt’s name. The reason I wrote Cole Schmidt is because that’s someone I went to high school with. I actually played baseball with Cole until I was 15 years old, and a few of my friends were talking about just how bad Cole was on our little league team. He’s a good person, but man, was he bad at baseball! In any case, we had a successful week from our streamers, with Schmidt, Pivetta, Ryu, Miley, Matz, and Meneses all playing well. That’s pretty much everyone we wrote up, and we’re ready to keep rolling here!
Favorable Team Matchups
7 Games
Arizona Diamondbacks (at COL, at SD)
New York Mets (vs. PIT, at STL)
San Diego Padres (vs. BAL, vs. ARI)
Seattle Mariners (at KC, at HOU)
St. Louis Cardinals (vs. NYM, vs. OAK)
6 Games
Boston Red Sox (at WAS, at NYY)
Cleveland Guardians (at CIN, vs. DET)
Colorado Rockies (vs. ARI, vs. CWS)
Pitching Streamers
Nick Pivetta, BOS (at WAS, at NYY)
This is the third time Pivetta has been in there over the month, and it’s hard to understand why he’s still available in so many leagues. The Red Sox righty has been remarkable for months, maintaining a 2.42 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 12.5 K/9 rate since the end of May. We’ve also seen his pitch count get to 106 pitches just a few starts ago, so it’s clear this guy is finally ready for a full workload as a regular starter. That makes him one of the most enticing streamers in a two-start week, particularly in matchups like these. Washington ranks 27th in xwOBA, while New York has the lowest batting average in baseball over the last two months.
Kyle Hendricks, CHC (vs. KC, vs. CWS)
Hendricks has been a regular as one of our streamers for years! This veteran has never been a strikeout pitcher, but he just continues to get the job done. He’s got a 3.96 ERA and 1.12 WHIP this season, which is right on par with his 3.49 ERA and 1.15 WHIP throughout his career. You can’t ask for any more from one of your streamers, especially when they get two starts in sensational matchups. The Royals rank bottom four in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and wOBA, while the White Sox sit 24th in runs scored, 29th in xwOBA, and 30th in OBP. Almost any pitcher would succeed in matchups like those, and you know Hendricks will pick up at least one win since he faces these atrocious offenses in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.
Graham Ashcraft, CIN (vs. CLE)
This is risky because of how bad Ashcraft was in the middle months of the season, but he’s rolling right now. The Reds righty has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts, accumulating a 1.94 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in that span. We saw him go on a similar run last season, and it’s clear Ashcraft has the stuff to be a solid pitcher for long stretches. That superb span should continue in this matchup against Cleveland, with the Guardians ranked 27th in runs scored and 26th in xwOBA. The only real concern is that Ashcraft has to pitch at home, but that should make him a favorite for a win as well!
Miles Mikolas, STL (vs. OAK)
Mikolas is all over the map in terms of consistency, but he’s always one of our favorite streamers in premium spots. That’s certainly the case here, with Oakland ranked last in runs scored, OBP, and xwOBA since the start of last year. That’s rough against a veteran like Mikolas, maintaining a 3.78 ERA and 1.17 WHIP throughout his career. He hasn’t quite been the same this season, but we love that Miles has a 2.57 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across his last two starts, throwing seven innings in both of those gems. That was against Minnesota and Tampa, who have significantly better offenses than Oakland. Not to mention, Mikolas could enter this matchup as a -200 favorite! The Streamonator adores Mikolas this week, projecting him to provide $21.3 worth of value.
Kyle Gibson, BAL (at OAK)
This could come back and bite us with how bad Gibson looked in his most recent start, but we’re willing to overlook that. Before that dud, Gibson allowed three runs or fewer in four straight starts, generating a 3.24 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 9.7 K/9 rate in that span. We rarely see Gibson post strikeout numbers like those, but he’s actually reached 11 Ks in two starts this year! One of those could be in play against a team like Oakland, ranked bottom three in every offensive category out there. That’s why he’s likely to enter this matchup as a -200 favorite with the way Baltimore is bludgeoning their opponents. The Streamonator agrees with our assessment, projecting Gibson to generate $15.3 worth of value this week.
Hitting Streamers
Nolan Jones, COL (vs. ARI, vs. CWS)
Anytime the Rockies have a full week at home, we’re going to write up one of their hitters as one of our streamers. Jones is actually looking like their best bat right now, tallying a .276 AVG, .358 OBP, .503 SLG, and .861 OPS in an impressive debut season. He’s also got 11 homers and seven steals across just 60 games, establishing himself as a true power-speed threat. Not to mention, he’s got a 1.054 OPS across his last eight fixtures. That makes him tough to fade since he has six games at Coors Field, with Colorado projected to score at least five runs in all of those games. The matchups aren’t too shabby either, projected to face six righties this week while fading Zac Gallen! With the platoon advantage in his favor, Jones has a .370 OBP, .511 SLG, and .881 OPS.
Tyler O’Neill, STL (vs. NYM, vs. OAK)
Look at this guy! I would take O’Neill with a second-round pick in my fantasy football draft! Injuries have forced him to the waiver wire in most fantasy baseball leagues, but we’re willing to pick him up as one of our streamers this week. His recent form is his biggest asset, posting a .362 OBP, .628 SLG, and .990 OPS across his last 13 outings.
That’s closer to the stud we saw in the past, with Tyler tallying 49 homers and 29 steals in the two previous seasons combined. He did that damage across just 234 games, and it’s clear O’Neill is a beast as long as he’s healthy. We also love that he’s one of the few players who has seven games this week, facing three lefties as well! O’Neill squares off with an Oakland staff that ranks last in ERA and WHIP and a New York team that traded all of their stud arms at the deadline.
SAGNOF (Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face)
Steals Specialists
Ezequiel Tovar (COL)
Tovar hasn’t flashed the speed we know he’s capable of, but getting six games in Coors Field should give him plenty of chances to steal some bags. He’s moved up in the order recently and had 58 steals throughout his minor league career.
Maikel Garcia (KC)
Garcia has been KC’s leadoff hitter recently, picking up four steals since August 1. He’s also flirting with a .400 OBP in that span and is eligible at numerous positions.
Saves Specialists
Gregory Santos (CWS)
With Liam Hendriks and Kendall Graveman both out of the picture, Santos looks like the closer in Chicago. He’s picked up two saves since Graveman was traded, totaling a 2.60 ERA and 1.25 WHIP on the year.
Trevor May (OAK)
It feels like we have May in here every week, and it’s hard to believe he’s still so widely available. The Oakland closer has a 2.45 ERA and 12 saves since June 7. Not many RPs have that many saves in that same span, and he’s a worthy add despite playing for the A’s.
Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!
