Now that we have a week of baseball under our belts, these streamer articles will be much easier. The first week was a complete crapshoot of guessing and now we finally have some set rotations. What we also have is the beautiful Streamonator provided by Rudy Gamble. This fantastic tool gives us a good idea of how we expect every starter to perform throughout the upcoming week and we’ll be using its projections to map out some streamers. The ownership percentages are a bit different in every league, so we’ll be focusing on guys who are low-owned throughout every format. With that in mind, let’s get started with a few two-start streamers.
Caleb Smith, MIA (vs. NYM, at ATL): Smith is likely our best bet for double-digit strikeouts among the streamers. Not only does he have some great stuff, Smith also gets some great matchups too. The first start is the one we want to key in on though, as he plays host to the New York Mets on Monday. Our Streamonator has him projected to pitch 5.3 innings, allowing six base runners and two runs. More importantly, it has him projected for 5.7 strikeouts. That alone is worth using, considering the fact that he owns a 9.94 K/9 for his career. Pitching in the best pitcher’s park in baseball is simply the icing on the cake, as those six projected strikeouts are his floor in this matchup. The second start against Atlanta is a bit more worrisome but we still have him projected for at least five strikeouts in that game as well.
Domingo German, NYY (vs. DET, at BAL): German entered the rotation for the injured Luis Severino and he could have a huge week with these tasty matchups. The first start against Detroit has a projected dollar value of $19.1. That happens to be one of the largest projections of any streamer for the week and it’s easy to see why. Not only will German be a monster favorite in that game, but he also gets to face one of the worst lineups in baseball. We actually have German projected to pitch 5.2 innings, allowing two runs with a WHIP of 1.10. We also have him projected to collect 6.4 K’s, which is no surprise with his 10.8 K/9 rate for his career. That one start would be worth streaming on its own but the fact that he faces the Orioles over the weekend makes him our streamer of the week. Those two offenses finished dead-last in scoring in the AL last season and many believe their offenses are even worse this season. Double-digit strikeouts and two wins are on the table for German and that’s all the incentive you need.
Steven Matz, NYM (at MIA, vs. WSH): This is probably the most concerning of our two-start streamers but Matz has some huge upside in these matchups. While neither start is projected to be huge, he does have a combined dollar value of $13.1. That alone makes him worth a shot, as we have him projected to accrue a 3.56 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 9.7 strikeouts across 11 innings of action. The Miami start is the one that could take the cake though, as he faces the lowest-scoring team in the majors from last season in the second- lowest scoring ballpark. He then travels back to New York for a Sunday start against the Nationals, which ranked as the lowest scoring park in the majors last season. Getting an average pitcher in two friendly ballparks makes him hard to fade, especially considering he’s available in most leagues.
Now that we have those two-start options out of the way, let’s get into some single-game streamers.
Collin McHugh, HOU vs. OAK: McHugh is our highest-graded one-start streamer of the week, as he’s projected to provide a dollar value of $19.5. The right-hander showed why in his first start on Saturday, as he allowed just four base runners across five innings while striking out nine batters against the Tampa Bay Rays. That K-rate should be no surprise when looking at last year’s numbers, with McHugh posting an 11.7 K/9 rate. He also had plenty of success against the Athletics, allowing a .148 AVG and striking out 11 batters across 7.1 innings. That’s obviously a small sample size but it just further solidifies the sort of strikeout upside he presents in what coukd be a low-scoring game.
Julio Urias, LAD vs. SF: Urias isn’t as readily available as most of these guys but the Streamonator has him at a very low ownership, so we’re going to ride the wave with him. One thing that we’re going to key in on all year is facing the Giants. That is going to be a special occasion for every pitcher this season, as they simply have the worst lineup in baseball. It would be one thing to have Steven Duggar as your leadoff hitter but it’s another to have Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford as your three and four-hole hitters. Not to mention, they have Connor Joe and Michael Reed joining Duggar in the outfield. Yeah, I don’t really know who these guys are either but trust me, they’re not major league bats.
So, let’s get into why we like Urias. This is a kid who was approaching 100 MPH on the radar gun in spring training and he ended preseason with a four-inning perfect game. He actually finished spring with a 1.72 ERA, strikeout out 15 batters across 15.2 innings. That shows the sort of upside he presents, as Urias is one of the most touted prospects in baseball. He’d probably be worth starting against anyone but he’s tough to fade against an offense like the one San Fransisco possesses. That’s why the Streamonator has him projected to finish with a 3.14 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in this game, en route to a $17.3 value.
Some other guys worth considering include:
Sean Newcomb vs. MIA
Brad Peacock vs. OAK
Matt Strahm vs. SF
Brad Keller, at DET, vs, MIN
Anibal Sanchez, vs. PHI, at NYM
