Last week’s article was bizarre. I was really pleased with the results, but some strange things happened on the way. Jake Odorizzi went down with an injury in his start, while Josh Winder was removed from the rotation altogether. Things like that are unpredictable, but we’re happy with Tyler Anderson, Corey Kluber, Cal Quantrill, and the bats that we recommended. That has me ready to keep rolling here, but I have to admit that the hitting options aren’t the best. Our hitting streamers have some severe risk, but I believe they’ll provide solid counting statistics. With that in mind, let’s kick things off with the pitchers!
Pitching Streamers
Marco Gonzales, SEA (vs. OAK)
Marco is a really boring pitcher, but boring guys don’t make the worst streamers. We’re talking about a pitcher with a 3.59 ERA and 1.16 WHIP since 2020, providing a 3.08 ERA so far this year. He’s been even better as of late, allowing three runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts, en route to a 2.75 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. We expect that WHIP to drop as the season progresses, and it should start here against Oakland. The A’s rank 29th in runs scored, and dead-last in OBP, OPS, and xwOBA. He actually faced them four times last season, allowing three runs or fewer in all of those. Not to mention, The Streamonator has Marco projected to provide $21.7 worth of value!
Dylan Bundy, MIN (vs. DET)
Bundy is one of those guys that can be awesome for a month and then completely blow up your ERA and WHIP with one disastrous week. The good news is that he already had that stretch, with Bundy allowing 15 runs in two starts before hitting the IL. We can overlook that because Bundy allowed just one combined run in his four other starts this season. We’re going to assume that he can carry that form over into this matchup, with Detroit ranked 29th in both OBP and xwOBA while sitting dead-last in runs scored. They actually have 19 fewer runs than any other team in baseball and simply have one of the worst lineups around. The Streamonator has him projected to provide $17.2 worth of value as well!
Reid Detmers, LAA (vs. TEX)
It’s strange that a pitcher with a no-hitter is so widely available, but that’s been the case with Detmers. The young lefty struggled in his first two starts but has a 2.96 ERA and 0.70 WHIP across his last five outings. That WHIP is truly unbelievable because it would still be below 1.00 even if you took out the no-hitter. That makes it hard to understand why Detemers is so widely available, but we’ll ride him as one of our streamers for the time being. The matchup with Texas is tremendous, too, with the Rangers ranked 28th in OBP, 27th in OPS, and 26th in wOBA.
JT Brubaker, PIT (vs. COL)
This is one of the riskiest streamers of the season, but there are things I like about Brubaker. The righty has an ugly 5.50 ERA and 1.42 WHIP but has allowed four runs or fewer in all eight of his starts. As long as he does that, those averages will plummet after allowing three runs or fewer in 16 of his 24 starts last year. We’re also encouraged by his 10 strikeouts in his most recent outing, giving him a 12.6 K/9 rate over his last three games. His biggest asset here is the matchup with the Rockies. Colorado has always been terrible outside of Coors Field, ranked dead-last in runs scored, OBP, and OPS on the road last season. That’s why The Streamonator has him projected to provide $21.7 worth of value, validating my recommendation.
Streamers to Consider
Martin Perez, TEX (at OAK)
Perez is amid the best season of his career, pitching to a 1.64 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. That should be easy to continue against Oakland.
Bailey Ober, MIN (vs. KC)
Ober just came off the IL, so there’s a chance he’s sitting on your waiver wire. This rookie was a stud before his injury, amassing a 2.75 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. We don’t expect Kansas City’s 28th-ranked offense to raise those averages.
Tyler Anderson, LAD (at ARI)
We’ve had Tyler in here three times this season. The left-hander has allowed two runs or fewer in six of seven starts this year, generating a 2.73 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in those six outings.
Cal Quantrill, CLE (at DET)
Cal has been one of Cleveland’s best pitchers this season, totaling a 3.49 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. We already discussed how disastrous Detroit’s offense had been, with Quantrill throwing seven scoreless innings against them in their last matchup.
Hitting Streamers
Max Kepler, MIN (vs. DET, vs. KC)
This is the worst group of hitting streamers we’ve had all year, but Kepler is easily my favorite of the week. Max has been a consummate hitter for most of his career, tallying a .325 OBP, .462 SLG, and .787 OPS since 2019. It’s his splits that make him so attractive, with Kepler compiling a .481 SLG and .818 OPS against righties in that same span. That consistently earns him a prominent spot in this lineup, and we love that since he faces five righties this week! It’s not like these are scary pitching staffs either, with the Royals ranked 26th in ERA and 27th in WHIP while Detroit sits 21st in xwOBA. Facing guys like Beau Brieske, Brad Keller, Daniel Lynch, Jon Heasley, Zack Greinke, and Brady Singer should put him in line for a big week!
Anthony Santander, BAL (at NYY, at BOS)
It’s rare to find a three-hole hitter widely available in every league, but that shows how horrible the O’s are. In any case, Santander is scorching right now and is one of the best streamers of the week. The switch-hitter has three doubles, four homers, and nine RBI over his last 12 games, generating a .810 SLG and 1.157 OPS over his last five outings. That sort of form has earned him an everyday spot in the heart of this lineup, and they should do some damage in two of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball. In his three games against Boston this year, Tony has a .500 OBP and .929 OPS. In his last seven meetings with NY, Santander has a .828 SLG and 1.118 OPS! These are all small sample sizes, but it’s clear he’s comfortable against his division foes.
Tommy Pham, CIN (vs. CHC, vs. SF)
Go look at Pham’s Baseball Savant page… Isn’t that impressive? This guy has been crushing the baseball all year, posting a 56 percent hard-hit rate, .519 xSLG, .391 xwOBA, and 94.4 average exit velocity. All of those advanced statistics tell us that Pham has some positive regression headed his way, and it could start this week. The reason we say that’s because Pham gets to face four lefties! That’s rare in a seven-game week, with Tommy totaling a .361 OBP against them since 2020. It’s not like he’s facing scary pitching staffs either, squaring off with guys like Drew Smyly, Justin Steele, and Kyle Hendricks. The matchups against San Fran’s pitching staff are much more challenging, but it shouldn’t be an issue since Pham gets seven games and four against lefties.
Feel free to comment to me here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!
