Pitching Streamers for Week 4 (August 10 – 16)

Framber Valdez rejoins the Houston Astros rotation after Josh James came down with a severe case of “on three of Mick’s teams” last week. It was nearly fatal. For me, not him. But I digress. Anyway, James is out (mercifully) and Valdez is in. Valdez will take on a Seattle offense that has struggled thus far in 2020. Their .279 wOBA and 84 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers are in the bottom third of the league in the early going. Valdez has had success against Seattle in his brief career and will look to build upon that on Friday night. Houston suddenly needs some pitching, so they will be relying heavily on Valdez, and I expect him to come through in this contest.

Even though the season is 20 percent over, you must take many of the year-to-date numbers with a grain of salt. That is especially true when you see that Washington has scored the fewest runs per game in the National League. I have a funny feeling the absence of a certain 21-year old phenom may have a little something to do with that. Juan Soto is back and looked like his normal self on Wednesday. His return should make things a bit more challenging for David Peterson next week. I still think he is a solid streaming option in next week’s series finale considering his fast start to the season. Peterson will also likely avoid one of Washington’s top three pitchers, which certainly does not hurt his chances for a win.

Brad Keller got his season off on the right foot when he shut down and shut out the Chicago Cubs for five innings on Thursday. Keller scattered three hits and fanned seven Cubs to earn the victory. He will now head to Cincinnati to face a Reds squad that has been up and down offensively. They had been shut out for 24 innings before breaking out against Milwaukee on Friday. It remains to be seen whether that was an apparition or if the offense is coming out of its slump. Either way, Keller should have plenty of confidence after his last performance. Keller should oppose Luis Castillo, which will reduce his win potential, But I would not be surprised if he had another solid outing on Wednesday.

Austin Voth (Thursday at New York Mets, 42 percent rostered)

Austin Voth won a job in the rotation in Summer Camp and should be able to stick even with the impending return of Stephen Strasburg. Voth should get another chance to fortify his role on the team when the Nationals face Baltimore next week. Even though the Orioles have been a solid offensive club thus far, it makes sense to target pitchers who face the O’s. They lost 108 games a season ago and are not expected to compete for a playoff berth this year. Picking on bad teams is by no means a foolproof endeavor, but it is a good place to start when looking for weekly pitching streamers. For his part, Voth was solid in spot duty last season and was a popular flier at the end of 2020 fantasy drafts, so it is worth it to see if he can stick.

Zack Godley (Thursday v. Tampa Bay, 11 percent rostered)

Zack Godley pitched four shutout innings in his Red Sox debut out of the bullpen two weeks ago while striking out seven Mets hitters. That game earned him a start against the Yankees, but that did not go nearly as well. Godley gave up five runs in just 3.1 innings. He will get another opportunity on Saturday against Toronto and presumably pitch against Tampa Bay on Thursday. The Jays and Rays are struggling a bit offensively, so this could present Godley with a chance to establish himself in what is arguably the worst starting rotation in all of baseball. He is just two years removed from making 32 starts for Arizona, so Godley could be a streaming candidate for most of the short season.

Michael Wacha has been a replacement-level pitcher through his first two starts as a New York Met. That sadly represents a slight improvement on his 2019 exploits. Wacha will toe the rubber on Wednesday against the Nationals. His opponent on the mound is yet to be determined, though Anibal Sanchez looks like the best bet. Sanchez has been a train wreck, so that may bode well for
Wacha in this one. When it comes to streaming pitchers, beggars cannot be choosers. If you need someone to fill a spot or if you are just trying to stack innings together, Wacha could be a serviceable option next week.

Jordan Lyles has not impressed thus far in 2020. The journeyman has allowed just three hits over six frames but has walked six in that span while striking out just three. Lyles has a plus matchup against Seattle next week, but it will be difficult to trust him considering how he has pitched. This was written just before his start against the Angels on Friday night, so perhaps that performance will help fantasy managers decide whether to pick Lyles up for this start. Lyles will oppose Taijuan Walker, who has done a Jekyll and Hyde impression over his first three starts. Lyles could be in for an ugly win if nothing else if he can find the strike zone.

I try to avoid pitchers who face the Dodgers if I can help it, so hopefully, you have better choices. If not, though, Zach Davies is not the worst option as a pitching streamer this week. How is that for a ringing endorsement? Davies pitches to contact and will not get himself in a ton of trouble by walking hitters. That is an important trait when facing the Dodgers, who have patient hitters throughout the lineup who are not afraid to draw a walk. The Dodgers’ collective BABIP is just .264, putting them in the bottom half of the league. Davies has always done a decent job of holding opposing hitters to a low BABIP, as he did on Friday against Arizona. He will certainly be put to the test in this matchup, but he might just be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat in this game.

Touki Toussaint has made two starts this season and seems like he has recaptured some of the magic that made him such a highly-touted prospect a few years ago. His curveball and splitter have been quite effective, while his fastball has been steady if not overpowering. Toussaint’s new slider still needs work, but at least he is showing us something. However, he must now face the New York Yankees. New York is beatable, but this will be a tough task. This will be a good test to see if his hot start can catapult him back to fantasy relevance. He would get two starts the following week and will be unavailable by this time next week if he can stymie the Yankees on Tuesday. So you may need to take the plunge and hope he can keep rolling.

Kris Bubic had a very serviceable Major League debut and followed that up with an even better start the second time around. He suffered his consecutive defeat but held the Cubs to just two runs in six innings while recording six strikeouts. The 22-year old will make his first-ever road start on Tuesday against the Reds. It is not a scary matchup, but not one that demands a significant bid or waiver priority, either. Bubic does stand to line up for two starts the following week, but it appears at first glance to be a worst-case scenario. Not only does he stand to face the same team in both starts, but that team is the Minnesota Twins. I would try to let someone else in my league take that risk if possible.

I was surprised to see that Jordan Yamamoto is rostered in nearly twice as many leagues as his teammate Elieser Hernandez when the latter gets two starts next week and Yamamoto has been decidedly average since bursting onto the scene last year. Following his blistering start to his Major League career, Yamamoto has flopped to the tune of an 0-5 record and 6.84 ERA over his last 10 starts. He does get a favorable matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays next week. The Jays have scored the fewest runs per game in the Majors through two weeks of the season. Perhaps their cold bats are just what the doctor ordered for Yamamoto and his fantasy managers.

Asher Wojciechowski has taken the loss in each of his first two starts, but he has not pitched particularly poorly. He served up three homers to the Yankees, but he is not the only pitcher who has struggled in that department against New York. Wojciechowski has a tidy 1.10 WHIP and an 18.6 K-BB rate through two outings. He must take on a powerful Phillies lineup on the road on Friday. That will be a tall order considering Woj’s propensity to serve up the big fly. I would prefer to get another look at Wojciechowski in an adverse environment to see if he has made legitimate strides before trusting him as a streamer in a matchup like this one.

Kyle Wright (Friday at Miami, 48 percent rostered)

Not Even With Your Team

Antonio Senzatela (Wednesday v. Arizona, 34 percent rostered)

To his credit, Antonio Senzatela has looked like an improved pitcher early in 2020. He has toyed with his pitch mix in the past, and this year it looks like he is utilizing his changeup more often. After throwing the pitch on 6.8 percent of his 2019 offerings, he has upped its usage to 12.2 percent so far in 2020. However, his underlying metrics suggest his hot start is less than legitimate. His 4.78 xFIP is near twice the size of his actual ERA (2.45). Plus, even if his improvements are sticky, I am not throwing a pitcher in Coors Field unless he is a bonafide ace. He does get two road starts the following week, but they are against the Astros and Dodgers. I would leave him on the wire for now and see if someone else will take the bait.

Tyler Anderson (Tuesday at Houston, 7 percent rostered)

Tyler Anderson’s walk rate has increased in each of his four MLB seasons. That is not exactly a recipe for a long career. He has started 2020 off on the wrong foot in that regard as well. Through 12.1 innings, he has already walked eight hitters. Now he must face a Houston Astros lineup that has the best K-BB percentage in all of baseball. I ceded earlier that Brandon Bielak may struggle more than expected in this game, but that does not mean I am willing to take the other side. Anderson’s weaknesses (walks and homers) play right into Houston’s strengths, especially when you consider their ballpark and how heavily skewed their lineup is towards the right side of the batter’s box.

Ryan Weber (Wednesday v. Tampa Bay, 4 percent rostered)

Ryan Weber pitched three innings in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed two runs and seven baserunners and improved both his ERA and WHIP. That should tell you all you need to know about how the right-hander has performed so far in 2020. Tampa Bay’s offense has been below average through their first dozen games. But I am sure there are better streaming options available in your league unless you are in a deep or AL-only league.

Kolby Allard (Friday at Colorado, 20 percent rostered)

I realize Coors Field has not exactly played like Coors Field yet. And Kolby Allard has done an admirable job of keeping the ball in the park as a member of the Rangers. But you do not want to be the manager who decides to test Coors with a pitcher who carries a career 7.5 percent swinging-strike rate.

Brett Anderson (Thursday at Chicago Cubs, 22 percent rostered)

Brett Anderson went just three innings in his first start as he is still working on his stamina. I cannot see him going more than five innings against the Cubs, and that is if he can avoid significant damage. That is no sure bet against the team that, at least before this weekend, led the National League with 10 wins. Chicago has sported an above-average offense even though it feels like they have not fully clicked yet. This start could go very badly for Anderson, especially if the winds are blowing out at Wrigley. Anderson does not even offer enough strikeout upside to warrant consideration in this game. I do not have any desire to toss him out there next week. 

Wade LeBlanc (Thursday at Philadelphia, 15 percent rostered)

Wade LeBlanc has some, shall we say, interesting number through three starts this season. He has walked just two of 61 batters faced. On the flip side, he has only struck out eight. Quite simply, LeBlanc makes Zack Davies look like Josh James. Then, of course, there is the home run ball. LeBlanc has served up four already, after giving up 28 in just 121.1 innings last season. The Phillies have the best walk rate and the best strikeout rate in the Majors, so do not expect many whiffs from LeBlanc in this one. He has always had good control, so I think he can force Philadelphia to swing the bats. The problem for LeBlanc is that the Phillies have the second-best ISO against left-handed pitchers in all of baseball. This feels like it will be one of those days where the Phillies put up some crooked numbers.