Nobody likes people who toot their own horn but I’m going to go ahead and do that right here. I’m in the middle of all of my fantasy baseball playoffs and responded with my best streamers of the season. Pablo Lopez, Mike Minor, Jose Urquidy, Griffin Canning and Tarik Skubal all had fantastic weeks, carrying me to numerous championships. I hope they did the same for you and we’ll look to keep that momentum rolling here. I also want to thank all of you for reading throughout this chaotic season and hopefully, I provided you with some good picks and humor! With that said, this is the final week of the regular season, so, chaos is inevitable. Let’s go ahead and get into it!
If you have any comments or questions, write me here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel
Two-Start Streamers
Brady Singer, KC (vs. STL, vs. DET)
I rarely get into how pitchers pitches alter their results but this one is interesting. Singer has scrapped his change-up and has decided to become a slider-fastball pitcher. That change directly correlates with his massive uptick in production, pitching to a 0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP and 10.3 K/9 rate over his last two starts. While that is a small sample size, it’s hard to argue with his 2.85 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 rate for his minor league career too.
The best part about using Singer this week is his matchups though. Not only does he get two home starts in pitcher-friendly Kauffman Stadium, Singer also gets two great matchups. In fact, St Louis currently ranks 27th in runs scored and 21st in wOBA while Detroit sits 26th in runs scored and dead-last in K rate. He actually faced the Motor City Kitties recently, allowing just three baserunners across six scoreless innings while striking out eight batters. That makes him one of the best two-start streamers of the season. The Streamonator certainly agrees, projecting him to provide $8.6 worth of value for this final week.
Caleb Smith, AZ (vs. TEX, vs. COL)
This one is certainly risky but there’s a ton of potential here. The thing that makes him risky is the fact that he just came back from injury. The good news is that he threw 40 pitches in his return and got to 61 pitches in his most recent start. That would make one assume that he’ll be ready for 70-80pitches in the next start and potentially 80-90 in the final start. That’s nearly a full workload and that’s all we can ask for from a guy who broke out at the beginning of last season.
In Smith’s first 18 starts last season, he pitched to a 3.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10.9 K/9 rate. Those are honestly All-Star-type numbers and I truly believe this kid can get to that game at some point in his career behind his nasty stuff. What also limits his risk are these matchups, making two starts in the humified Chase Field. Not only does Texas rank 29th in both wOBA and OBP, they also sit 26th in K rate and dead-last in runs scored. Colorado is certainly not scary on the road either, ranked 27th in road wOBA this season after owning the worst road OPS in baseball last year. The Streamonator thinks he’s a great play too, projecting him for 11.4 Ks en route to $14.8 worth of value.
One-Start Streamers
Alec Mills, CHC (vs. PIT)
It’s insane that we consider a guy who just threw a no-hitter as one of our streamers but nobody trusts this kid. He remains below 50 percent ownership on most sites and one has to wonder what people are thinking. The thing that worries people is his inconsistency, recording three duds in his 10 starts this year. Two of those duds were tough matchups though and a 1.98 ERA and 0.83 WHIP across the other starts is still hard to overlook. Our favorite part about using him this week is the matchup though, facing a Pirates club who sits bottom-three in runs scored, OBP, OPS and wOBA.
Tyler Mahle, CIN (vs. MIL)
It still feels strange to say this but the Brewers have one of the worst offenses in baseball. Milwaukee currently sits 24th in runs scored, 27th in K rate, 28th in BA and 23rd in wOBA. Those are shocking numbers from a team that’s usually dominant with the bats but it’s really no surprise when you take a look at the lackluster lineup. All of that puts a guy like Mahle squarely in play, who’s allowed three runs or fewer in all nine of his appearances this season en route to a 3.97 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 11.1 K/9 rate. I actually think he’d get more credit if it weren’t for the rest of this absurd rotation and it’s clear he’s in the midst of a breakout season.
Jose Urquidy, HOU (at TEX)
When someone is good to you, you can’t just leave them behind. That’s certainly what Urquidy was to us last week, now pitching to a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP for the season. He actually carried that form over from last season, allowing one run or fewer in six of his final seven starts last year. All of that makes him hard to fade as one of our streamers, especially when you consider the ugly Rangers statistics from the Smith write-up. In addition, the Streamonator has him projected for over $11 for the third consecutive start.
Deivi Garcia, NYY (vs. MIA)
This name is wild and it’s undoubtedly why he has such nasty stuff. In the first-half at Double-A last season, Garcia provided an absurd 37 percent K rate. While he did struggle a bit in the second half, he still ended up with a 1.17 WHIP and 35 percent K rate for his minor league career. That earned him a call-up with Luis Severino and James Paxton sidelined, pitching to a 3.28 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 rate over his first four starts.
That means the Yankees might have a stud on their hands for years to come and facing the Marlins is a good way to keep him rolling. Miami sat at the bottom of nearly every offensive statistic last season and currently sit 23rd in runs scored, 22nd in OPS and 19th in K rate this year. Not to mention, this is the Streamonator’s favorite one-start streamer of the week, projecting him for 6.8 Ks while providing $15 worth of value.
