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Straight Cheese Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 7

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Wade Miley, HOU

Houston Astros Wade Miley hasn’t pitched for the same team in consecutive seasons since 2013-14. While we know he is not good, for this week Chris says pick him up, stream him, and then throw him back.

This is my weekly column where I suggest low-owned starting pitchers that have a matchup in their favor in the coming week to help your fantasy baseball team. Most of these hurlers are to be used and tossed back to the waiver wire. Some of them will graduate from the wire and find a permanent space on a roster, hopefully yours. This week we are looking at streaming starting pitchers week 7.

My process is to look at wOBA, ISO and K% to identify weak-hitting lineups. Conversely, for pitchers I look at wOBA, ISO against and their K%.

Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 5 Review

Before we get into next week’s pitchers to stream let’s look back at my previous recommendations, streaming starting pitchers week 5. Note we have to look back two weeks since last week’s Straight Cheese is for the current week. Got it? Good.

Name Date G IP ER H BB K DEC ERA WHIP
Aaron Brooks, OAK 4/24 vs TEX 1 5.00 3 6 0 7 ND 5.40 1.20
Brandon Woodruff, MIL 4/27 @ NYM 1 5.00 1 6 1 6 W 1.80 1.40
Erik Swanson, SEA 4/28 vs TEX 1 4.00 6 11 0 2 L 13.50 2.75
Total 3 14.00 10 23 1 15 1 – 1 6.43 1.71

Damn you, Swanson. I had a pretty good thing going until you came in on Sunday and crushed my hopes; much like Arya crushing the Night King’s hopes of an endless night.

Instead, I had an endless night of restlessness second guessing my Swanson pick. Speaking of GOT, could I get the camera crew to go back and make it so I can’t see Swanson’s performance, much like they did with the Battle of Winterfell?

All statistics, ownership and projected starting dates are as of Thursday morning, May 2.

Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 7

Continuing on with the GoT thread… we still have more to get to, so here’s three pitchers I’m telling you to stream next week.

LHP Wade Miley, HOU
Owned Y15%/E10% · vs. Texas Rangers – Thursday, May 9th

Okay, there is a reason that Miley is sitting out on your waiver wire. Everyone knows that his current 3.52 ERA and 1.14 WHIP are not who he is. Dude doesn’t even strike anyone out (15.2 K% and 5.67 K/9). His 4.52 xFIP this year and a career 4.23 ERA tell me that things are going to eventually get ugly.

But not next week when Texas comes to town. The Rangers struggle mightily against southpaws on the road: 0.229 wOBA (29th), 0.70 ISO (30th) and 33.6 K% (30th). Let’s all do the right thing here and stream Miley for this start and toss him back to the free agent pool where he belongs.

RHP Jake Odorizzi, MIN
Owned Y22%/E10% · vs. Detroit Tigers – Friday, May 10th

Odorizzi is similar to Miley in that everyone knows that he is probably worse than his stats indicate (3.34 ERA, 4.68 xFIP and 1.11 WHIP). What he brings to the table that Miley doesn’t is strikeouts: 25.0 K% and 9.10 K/9.

Those K’s will come into play when Detroit comes to town. The Tigers are currently last in MLB with 30.7 K% vs. RHP on the road. They also rank towards the bottom in wOBA (0.275 / 27th) and ISO (0.127 / 27th) in the same split.

You know what to do, now go do it.

LHP Manny Banuelos, CHW
Owned Y3%/E2% · at Toronto Blue Jays – Friday, May 10th at Cleveland Indians – Thursday, May 9th

Banuelos was recently moved to the starting rotation filling in the vacated spot when Ervin Santana was released. In two starts he has a 1.86 ERA, 3.44 xFIP, 1.45 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 9.2 innings (24.4 K%). The WHIP is a little high but everything else I like. Now, if you ask me if he is worth keeping long term, I’ll say no because he is 28 years old and only has 46.1 MLB innings. In those innings he has a 4.26 xFIP and 18.7 K%.

What I am telling you to do though is stream him against the Blue Jays next week. Toronto comes into the contest struggling against LHP at home: 0.247 wOBA (29th), 0.087 ISO (29th) and 26.1 K% (21st).

Now that we know his start has been moved up to Thursday in Cleveland I want to recommend him even more! The Indians are even worse than the Blue Jays against LHP at home: through Monday’s games they had a 0.250 wOBA (28th), 0.74 ISO (28th) and strikeout 36.7% of the time (worst in MLB)! Stream him confidently and thank me later.

Extra Cheese

Here is where I recommend a two-start pitcher for you to stream. Please bear in mind that things can change after this article is posted. Injuries, rain delays, managerial moves, etc. can happen.

Well, make it two weeks in a row where the dude I’m telling you to get in there for two starts only ends up with one. Unfortunately, the one start we got from Pineda, in a word, painful.

Name Date G IP ER H BB K DEC ERA WHIP
Michael Pineda, MIN 4/23 @ HOU 1 5.33 4 8 2 4 ND 6.75 1.88
Total 1 5.33 4 8 2 4 0 – 0 6.75 1.88
Disco Stu

Disco Stu is a big fan of Anthony “Disco Tony” DeSclafani

RHP Anthony DeSclafani, CIN
Owned Y11%/E7% – vs. San Francisco (Mon May 6) & at SF (Sat May 11)

I recently found out that DeSclafini’s nickname is ‘Tony Disco’ and that made me like him more. Desclafini comes into the two matchups with a 3.48 ERA, 4.36 xFIP, 1.16 WHIP and 36 strikeouts in 3 innings (27.7 K%). More impressively is that his last three starts have been splendid: 0.51 ERA, 2.42 xFIP, 1.06 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 17.2 innings (32.6 K%).

Let’s ride this hot streak as he takes on the Giants twice next week:

  • SF vs. RHP on the road: 0.311 wOBA (17th), 0.193 ISO (11th) and 20.2 K% (5th)
  • SF vs. RHP at home: 0.235 wOBA (30th), 0.100 ISO (30th) and 25.7 K% (24th)

Yeah, I know those numbers on the road are a little surprising but, beggars can’t be choosers. Let’s roll Disco Tony out there next week and “Knock on Wood” that “I Will Survive” and keep on “Stayin’ Alive”.

Straight Cheese Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 6

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Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers Brandon Woodruff earns the distinct honor of a Straight Cheese recommendation for two straight weeks. He joins two more Brewers starters as they face the Colorado Rockies at home next week.

This is my weekly column where I suggest low-owned starting pitchers that have a matchup in their favor in the coming week to help your fantasy baseball team. Most of these hurlers are to be used and tossed back to the waiver wire. Some of them will graduate from the wire and find a permanent space on a roster, hopefully yours. This week we are looking at streaming starting pitchers week 6.

My process is to look at wOBA, ISO and K% to identify weak-hitting lineups. Conversely, for pitchers I look at wOBA, ISO against and their K%.

Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 4 Review

Before we get into next week’s pitchers to stream let’s look back at my previous recommendations, streaming starting pitchers week 4. Note we have to look back two weeks since last week’s Straight Cheese is for the current week. Got it? Good.

Name Date G IP ER H BB K DEC ERA WHIP
Anibal Sanchez 4/19 at MIA 1 5.67 3 5 4 6 L 4.76 1.59
Yonny Chirinos 4/17 vs BAL 1 5.00 0 1 1 5 W 0.00 0.40
Total   2 10.67 3 6 5 11 1 – 1 2.53 1.03

You’ll notice Trevor Williams is missing. I recommended him when he was slotted to face the San Francisco Giants on April 19th. Well his start was bumped up to the 17th in Detroit and although he did alright (2 earned runs and 5 strikeouts in 6 innings) I wouldn’t have recommended him.

My analysis is very dependent on the opponent of the pitcher. If his start moves and results in a different opponent, stream him at your own risk but don’t come crying to me if things go sideways.

All statistics, ownership and projected starting dates are as of Thursday morning, April 25.

Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 6

This week the stars have aligned and we’ve been given a gift from the MLB scheduling Gods. That gift is the Colorado Rockies on the road facing a pitching staff heavy with righties.

Colorado on the road versus RHP so far in 2019 (282 plate appearances): 0.219 wOBA (worst in MLB), 0.080 ISO (worst in MLB) and striking out 28.0% of the time (26th). Wow, they are struggling at this baseball thing on the road. And just so you know that this isn’t a recent trend, last season they finished worst in wOBA (0.281), 25th in ISO (0.141) and 26th in K% (25.3%).

So, without further ado I’m advising you to take advantage by streaming these three Milwaukee Brewers pitchers.

RHP Jhoulys Chacin, MIL
Owned Y34%/E36% · vs Colorado Rockies – Tuesday, April 30th

When you look at Chacin’s 6.35 ERA, 5.34 xFIP, 1.41 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings (20.5 K%) you’ll probably second guess why I am recommending him to you. What if I told you that since the start of the 2018 season at home in Milwaukee he has a 3.87 ERA, 4.58 xFIP, 1.19 WHIP and a 19.7 K%? I know, still not great but serviceable for someone available in about two out of every three leagues.

Take his home stats and combine them with Colorado’s woes on the road vs. RHP and you get a nice little pitcher to stream.

RHP Freddy Peralta, MIL
Owned Y19%/E7% · vs. Colorado Rockies – Thursday, May 2nd

Okay, stay with me on this one. Peralta could be the one that blows up in our face here. His line so far through 17.2 innings: 7.13 ERA, 5.05 xFIP, 1.53 WHIP and 22 strikeouts (26.5 K%). Deep breath – here’s where I get my hope that he’ll reward us. Last year at home he had a 2.73 ERA, 4.05 xFIP, 0.79 WHIP and 33.1 K%. We can definitely use that, right?

Well, his two home starts this year were both against the St. Louis Cardinals and he was lit up like a Christmas tree to the tune of a 9.95 ERA, 11.17 xFIP, 2.53 WHIP and only a 15.8 K%. Deeper breath – well, Colorado is no St. Louis. The Cards are currently ranked high in our three key metrics: 0.358 wOBA (7th), 0.233 (6th) and 25.7 K% (22nd).

I truly believe that the Rockies’ suckiness will outweigh Peralta’s and we, the fantasy baseball players, will benefit.

RHP Brandon Woodruff, MIL
Owned Y26%/E14% · vs. Colorado Rockies – Thursday, May 2nd

** NOTE – Woodruff’s start has been pushed back to Friday vs. Mets. Start at your own risk **

Woodruff makes it into back-to-back editions of Straight Cheese! Through 5 starts (26.1 innings) he has a 5.81 ERA, 3.81 xFIP, 1.48 WHIP and 32 strikeouts (27.1 K%). Much like Peralta he hasn’t been all that great at home: 5.75 ERA, 4.03 xFIP, 1.67 WHIP and 26.3 K%.

He faced some tough opponents: Cardinals (2x), Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. All three are Top 12 in wOBA and ISO. The Cubs and Dodgers are Top 9 in K%. Again, it bears repeating that the Rockies aren’t as good as the opponents Woodruff faced at home.

You could also make the argument to start RHP Chase Anderson vs. the Rockies on Wednesday, May 1st. His overall numbers are slightly worse than the three I’m telling you to start but he’s a viable option due to Colorado’s struggles against RHP on the road.

Extra Cheese

Here is where I recommend a two-start pitcher for you to stream. Please bear in mind that things can change after this article is posted. Injuries, rain delays, managerial moves, etc. can happen.

A perfect example was in week 4 when I told you to roll out Detroit Tigers’ Matthew Boyd. The Tigers were rained out on Saturday, so Boyd’s Sunday start was bumped to Monday (ultimately Tuesday after another rainout!).

I’m still going to track the starts of the guys I’m recommending to stream for two starts. Typically, we’re looking for two-start pitchers because we’re locking lineups for the week.

Name Date G IP ER H BB K DEC ERA WHIP
Matthew Boyd 4/16 vs PIT 1 7.00 3 6 1 7 ND 3.86 1.00
Total   1 7.00 3 6 1 7 0 – 0 3.86 1.00

RHP Michael Soroka, ATL
Owned Y35%/E16% – vs. San Diego (Mon Apr 29) & at Miami Marlins (Sat May 4)

Well, Soroka has only had two starts in 2019 but they were significantly better than average: 1.69 ERA, 3.00 xFIP, 1.31 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings (26.5 K%). Last season in five MLB starts he put up a 3.51 ERA, 3.63 xFIP, 1.44 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 25.2 innings (18.6 K%).

He’s a fine young talented pitcher that the Atlanta Braves are very high on, and for good reason. In 307.2 minor league innings since 2015 he has a 2.84 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 331 strikeouts (22.0 K%).

The San Diego Padres are currently posting a 0.307 wOBA (19th), 0.208 ISO (10th) and 27.3 K% (25th) through 300 plate appearances on the road vs RHP. The Marlins, meanwhile, have a 0.284 wOBA (27th), 0.118 ISO (27th) and 29.9 K% (29th) at home vs. RHP.

The Padres start could be bumpy but the Marlins should prove no problem for Soroka. Get him in your lineup for both starts and, who knows, he might be someone you hang on to for longer.

Straight Cheese Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 5

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Aaron Brooks, Oakland A's

Not Aaron Brooks, former New Orleans Saints QB and up-and-down fantasy football star. Straight Cheese recommends streaming starting pitcher Aaron Brooks, Oakland Athletics.

This is my weekly column where I suggest low-owned starting pitchers that have a matchup in their favor in the coming week to help your fantasy baseball team. Most of these hurlers are to be used and tossed back to the waiver wire. Some of them will graduate from the wire and find a permanent space on a roster, hopefully yours. This week we are looking at streaming starting pitchers week 5.

My process is to look at wOBA, ISO and K% to identify weak-hitting lineups. Conversely, for pitchers I look at wOBA, ISO against and their K%. For more detail on this process check out last week’s Straight Cheese.

Starting next week you’ll see the results of my previous recommendations in this space. That’s right, I hold myself fully accountable. Here are my final totals from the 2018 season:

31 Wins, 388 Strikeouts, 3.64 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 400.0 innings (71 starts)

Not bad if I do say so myself… and I, um, just did.

All statistics, ownership and projected starting dates are as of Thursday morning, April 18.

Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 5

RHP Aaron Brooks, OAK
Owned Y2%/E2% · vs. Texas Rangers – Wednesday, April 24th

When the Rangers come to town there is an opportunity for RHP to take advantage. Last season they posted a 0.301 wOBA (20th), 0.160 ISO (17th) and 24.9 K% (23rd). Through 179 plate appearances this season they have a 0.335 wOBA (10th), 0.152 ISO (15th) and 28.5 K% (27th).

I think I had Brooks on my fantasy football team when he was the New Orleans Saints quarterback… What’s that? Different Aaron Brooks? Looks up Aaron Brooks on FanGraphs. Okay, I’m not going to try and convince you that Aaron Brooks is good: 4.24 ERA, 5.30 xFIP, 1.12 WHIP, 11 strikeouts in 17 innings (16.4 K%).

Call this a hunch but I don’t think the Rangers are that good and Brooks could surprise us here. I’m not saying he is going to no-hit them but, more like, be serviceable.

RHP Brandon Woodruff, MIL
Owned Y30%/E16% · at New York Mets – Saturday, April 27th

Through his first four starts this season Woodruff has a 5.23 ERA, 3.54 xFIP, 1.40 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 20.2 innings (28.6 K%). The kid only has 106 total Major League innings but they have been promising.

Last season the Mets struggled against RHP at home to the tune of 0.290 wOBA (29th), 0.152 ISO (20th) and struck out 22.5% of the time (22nd). So far in 2019, they have turned things around with a 0.347 wOBA (6th) and 0.209 ISO (7th) in 137 plate appearances. They are still prone to the strikeouts though (20th with a 24.8 K%).

Starting Woodruff on the road against a resurgent Mets lineup will be risky, but I ultimately believe he will reward you for taking the chance.

RHP Erik Swanson, SEA
Owned Y1%/E1% · vs. Texas Rangers – Saturday, April 27th

Everything I said about the Rangers on the road against RHP applies here. The difference is Swanson > Brooks. He only has one Major league start as I write this, and it was a good one.

Last season in the minors he struck out 139 batters in 121.2 innings (29.2 K%). He has the ability to make batters miss and the Rangers have the ability to make their bats miss. This should be good for us.

Extra Cheese

Here is where I recommend a two-start pitcher for you to stream. Please bear in mind that things can change after this article is posted. Injuries, rain delays, managerial moves, etc. can happen. We are looking at this over a week in advance of the pitcher’s second projected start.

Michael Pineda, Minnesota Twins

High five for Twins’ Michael Pineda two-starts in Week 5.

RHP Michael Pineda, MIN
Owned Y50%/E33% · @ Houston Astros (Tue Apr 23) & vs. Baltimore Orioles (Sun Apr 28)

First let’s talk about Pineda. After missing the entire 2018 season recovering from Tommy John surgery he’s strung together three nice starts to begin his Twins career: 3.00 ERA, 3.48 xFIP, 1.00 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 15 innings (26.3 K%).

Houston against RHP at home are currently sporting a 0.389 wOBA (2nd), 0.220 (5th) and 20.2 K% (9th) over 193 plate appearances. Those numbers are better than last season for sure: 0.314 wOBA (18th), 0.153 (19th) and 18.7 K% (4th).

So far in 2019 the Orioles have a 0.305 wOBA (18th), 0.135 ISO (21st) and 26.0 K% (22nd) against RHP on the road. That’s pretty much more of the same since 2018: 0.296 wOBA (24th), 0.154 (21st) and 26.0 K% (28th). They are exploitable. Pure and simple.

His first start at Houston could get messy but that home start against Baltimore should be worth it.