Let’s get right into it this week.
Here’s how I did last week:
- Jesús Luzardo: W 1, L 0, QS 0, ER 5, K 6, BB 4
- Alec Mills: W 0, L 1, QS 0, ER 2, K 4, BB 1
- Luis Patiño: W 0, L 0, QS 0, ER 2, K 2, BB 5
- Luis Gil: W 0, L 0, QS 0, ER 0, K 4, BB 4
- Tyler Anderson: W 1, L 0, QS 1, ER 1, K 4, BB 0
- Adbert Alzolay: N/A
- Total: W 2, L 1, QS 1, ER 10, K 20, BB 14
Another bad week here. Luzardo got us the win, but the rest of the numbers were terrible. Anderson came through for us, but the rest let us down.
As a reminder, 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.
Let’s get to it for Week 20.
Monday, August 23
Wil Crowe (PIT) vs. ARI 2%
There aren’t really any good options this week, and while I’d prefer to use Caleb Smith, who is the listed probably pitcher for Arizona in this game, he may be suspended for foreign substance use. We’ll go with Crowe here and hope he can take advantage of a terrific matchup.
Other option: N/A
Tuesday, August 24
Tylor Megill (NYM) vs. SF 25%
When I’m all in on someone, I’m all in all the way. You know this from my obsession with the young Marlins pitchers in this column for the past few years. Megill is going to be one of my guys going into 2022, and while I hate the matchup against the best team in baseball, he just held them to one run over six innings his last time out.
Other option: J.T. Brubaker (PIT) vs. ARI 12%
Wednesday, August 25
Tyler Gilbert (ARI) at PIT 20%
Look, I won’t sit here and pretend to know if Gilbert is good. I never heard of him until he threw his no-hitter. His second date is in Colorado, so we still won’t know if he’s good. What I do know is that he faces a Pirates team that is outright terrible, making even the worst pitcher a viable streaming option.
Other option: N/A
Thursday, August 26
Miles Mikolas (STL) at PIT 15%
The spoiler here is that I’m writing this before Mikolas makes his second appearance of the season against these same Pirates. He completed a rehab assignment and averaged just under five innings per outing. He should be good for five or six innings when this start rolls around.
Other option: Nester Cortes (NYY) at OAK 27%
Friday, August 27
Jake Odorizzi (HOU) at TEX 30%
He’s had a true Jekyll and Hyde campaign in 2021, but the Texas matchup is really, really good. Here’s hoping for good Odorizzi to appear, at least twice through the lineup.
Other option: Steven Brault (PIT) vs. STL 3%
Saturday, August 28
Carlos Hernández (KC) at SEA 12%
Hernández actually looked good his last time out against the Cubs, but he had a couple of sandwiched innings that made the line look worse than the actual performance we saw. The downside, though, was that he only recorded one strikeout. I’m rolling him out again in a plus-matchup, but it’s fine to cut bait if he struggles here.
Other option: Griffin Jax (MIN) vs. MIL 13%
Sunday, August 29
Adrian Houser (MIL) at MIN 15%
Houser missed time due to COVID, but he’s back with the team now and in line to make a start next Sunday. He’s quietly been a solid, floor-type streamer with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP on the season. He’s not getting you strikeouts, but he’s a safe ratio-type streamer.
Other option: N/A
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.