Sometimes pitchers graduate to 30% rostership in Yahoo, and we must bid them a fond farewell from streamer availability. Remember that I must choose pitchers with a smaller rostership. Let’s take a moment to say goodbye to some of the pitchers we’ve lost, and if for some reason they’re still on a waiver wire near you, give them a look. Nestor Cortes went from 36% to 80% rostership. Josiah Gray went from 22% to 41%. Even Merrill Kelly went from 27% to 55%. Here’s to you. And if you stumble along the way, we may see you again down here in Streamerville.
Here’s how we did in last week’s matchups (this article is published before Justin Steele‘s game on Sunday). This is about a 1.34 ERA, which is much better than last week.
- Josiah Gray (WSH) W 1, QS 0, ER 1 , K 8, BB 2, IP 5.1
- Merrill Kelly (ARI) W 1, QS 1, ER 1, K 5, BB 1, IP 6
- Daulton Jefferies (OAK) W 0, QS 1, ER 0, K 5, BB 0, IP 6
- Miles Mikolas (STL) W 0, QS 0, ER 0, K 5, BB 0, IP 5
- David Peterson (NYM) W 0, QS 0, ER 1, K 3, BB 1, IP 5.2
- Nestor Cortes (NYY) W 0, QS 1, ER 2 K 8, BB 2, IP 6.1
Total: W 2, QS 2, ER 5, K 34, BB 6, IP 33.4
Let’s get to it. Hopefully, we can repeat the success!
*At publication, we use probable starters listed on CBS Sports on Saturday, April 23rd.
Monday, April 25
Michael Lorenzen (LAA) vs CLE 16%
My first impulse is to avoid streaming today. The matchups are not great. But I’ll stick to the unwritten rule: I must stream a guy. We could cheat a little and stream Miles Mikolas against the Mets. But the Mets have a solid lineup. I’m tempted to put Eric Lauer in, but the White Sox scare me. That leaves me with a two-way player, Michael Lorenzen. He hasn’t started many games in his career, but he had a solid outing against the Marlins and a bad outing against the Astros. Lorenzen has a six-pitch mix! And he has publicly stated that the pix-mitch is better suited to a starting role. His sinker is the driving force, but he seems to modify his mix based on the splits. Let’s hope he can handle a weaker Cleveland lineup.
Other option: None
Tuesday, April 26
Zach Eflin (PHI) vs. COL 22%
Again, the options seem limited. If you’re all in on Jordan Hicks, you could stream him today. But he’s gone fewer than 4 innings in each of his last three outings, and he faced Miami, Milwaukee, and Kansas City, so I’m waiting for consistency against stronger lineups. I feel most confident with Zach Eflin‘s stuff. Even though he struggled in his last two outings, we should remember that he just came back from knee surgery and he’s shaking off some rust. He noticeably settles into a groove during a game, and he’s a control pitcher traditionally. His xERA last year was 3.84, his FIP was 3.68 and his xFIP was 3.61. Let’s hope he can settle in faster this time.
Other option: None
Wednesday, April 27
Michael Pineda (DET) at MIN 7%
I’m going with the veteran here. He pitched five scoreless innings against the Yankees in his last start, but he only struck out two batters. His xFIP was 4.09 in that small sample. Under no circumstances should you think that we’ve struck gold. Of the options available to us based on the rules, the matchups, etc., putting Pineda in against a so-so offense seems like a decent plan.
Other option: Marco Gonzales (SEA) at TB 29%
Thursday, April 28
Jameson Taillon (NYY) vs. BAL 37%
I’m cheating a little on this one. His rostership is currently 7% above our requirement. But let’s take advantage while we still can. He’s now a couple years removed from Tommy John surgery, and last year we could see his growth in two halves, with an ERA of 5.43 in the first and 3.25 in the second. His swinging strike percentage was higher than it’s ever been in his career. If you want to argue that he didn’t go five innings in his previous start, there was a rain delay that changed the game situation.
Other option: None
Friday, April 29
Elieser Hernandez (MIA) vs SEA 8%
More options today. I should probably put Eric Lauer here, but I’m going with Hernandez. He is a flyball pitcher, and the flyball percentage is actually UP in his first two games. But he doesn’t walk many guys, and that helps mitigate some of the danger. He has struggled versus left-handed hitting and carved up right-handed hitting. But the top five left-handed guys in the Seattle lineup right now are Adam Frazier, Jesse Winker, and JP Crawford. I’m only scared of Winker and he’s been cold to start the season.
Other option: Eric Lauer (MIL) vs CHC 17% or possibly Rich Hill (BOS) at BAL 5%
Saturday, April 30
Miles Mikolas (STL) vs. ARI 36%
Hey how do I know he won’t be rostered in fewer than 30% of Yahoo leagues by next Saturday. Since I started writing this article, his rostership went down 1%. So I’m cheating a little, but the first rule of Fight Club is…wait, that’s something else. The first rule of streaming is to choose decent pitchers against weak matchups. This is an obvious target for Saturday.
Other option: Let’s leave it.
Sunday, May 1
Jordan Hicks (STL) vs ARI 24%
I know that I avoided Hicks on Tuesday, but let’s assume he did well and he’ll get a longer leash by Sunday. Plus, as with Mikolas on Saturday, we want to play the matchup. The man can throw a triple-digit fastball and maintains a wonderful groundball percentage traditionally, but he has limited experience in this role. By May, he’s experienced a few outings and the defense behind him is strong. Just in case, check how he did last Tuesday.
Other option: Nah.
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