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Straight Cheese Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 6

April 26, 2019 By Chris Spencer Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Fantasy Baseball

Straight Cheese Week 24 Streaming Starting Pitchers – Lauer, Erlin, Bieber

September 13, 2018 By Chris Spencer Leave a Comment

Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians Shane “Don’t Call Me Justin” Bieber baffled the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday in 6-2/3 of shutout ball. Chris picks him as a prime streaming option this weekend facing the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Fantasy baseball owners, this is the place where you come to get the Straight Cheese on less than desirable, questionably talented, less than 50% owned starting pitchers you can use for a spot start. Streaming pitchers is necessary to get those all-important counting stats for your roto league without drop-kicking your ratio stats into submission.

Before we dive into the dumpster looking for week 24 streaming starting pitchers, let’s take a look back at my picks from last week.

Week 23 Review

Warning: the summary below may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Name Date GS IP ER H BB K Dec ERA WHIP
Anthony DeSclafini CIN 9/7 vs SDP 1 4.00 4 8 0 3 – 9.00 2.00
Vince Velasquez PHI 9/9 @ NYM 1 4.00 5 7 1 4 L 11.25 2.00
Trevor Cahill OAK 9/9 vs TEX 1 2.67 3 2 6 1 – 10.13 3.00
Total for Week   3 10.67 12 17 7 8 1-2 10.13 2.25
Running Total   67 381.67 150 330 127 370 31-16 3.54 1.20

Wow and I thought the week before last was bad. Utter failure all the way around. I think what we are witnessing is some tragic regression with the Stream-O-Matic 2000. The July and August success was too much to sustain. Well, there is only one thing to do: PANIC! I’m giving you my last four pitchers to stream this week in a dire attempt to bring my September numbers back to something close to respectable.

Week 24 Streaming Starting Pitchers

The pitchers are listed in order of appearance as of Wednesday Friday (The Padres reshuffled their starting pitchers after this article posted on Thursday). Ownership info from Yahoo! (Y) and ESPN (E) and all 2018 stats are through Tuesday, September 11th.

LHP Eric Lauer, SDP
Owned Y2%/E2% · vs Texas Rangers – Friday Saturday, September 15th

Listen, there is a reason Lauer is sitting out on your waiver wire. He’s struggling a bit in his rookie season. Struggling to the tune of a 4.80 era (4.51 xFIP), 1.62 whip, 19.5 k% and 8.00 k/9 in 95 2/3 innings.

So why am I bringing him up here? Well, he’s facing the Rangers. I’ve been screaming from the mountaintops all season about the benefits of streaming against the Rangers when on the road. Against LHP on the road they have a 0.270 wOBA (29th), a 0.109 iso (29th) and strike out 26.1% of the time (last in mlb). I’m the least confident in Lauer of the four pitchers I’m suggesting this week but I’m tossing the dice a bit in hopes of avoiding snake eyes.

RHP Vince Velasquez, PHI
Owned Y39%/E30% · vs Miami Marlins – Saturday, September 15th

Vince was not kind to me last week when I targeted him on the road versus the Mets. I’m willing to forgive and forget this weekend as he faces the Marlins at home. He comes into the matchup with a 4.30 era (4.06 xFIP), 1.28 whip, 26.0 k% and 9.91 k/9 in 138 innings. The Marlins come in with a 0.298 wOBA (23rd), 0.144 iso (26th) and striking out 24.6% of the time (23rd). I’m looking (hoping) that Vince rebounds this weekend in this favorable matchup.

LHP Robbie Erlin, SDP
Owned Y3%/E1% · vs Texas Rangers – Sunday Friday, September 14th

Take everything I said about the Rangers on the road versus southpaws and apply to Erlin’s matchup on Friday. The difference is that Erlin has something Lauer didn’t: better home splits. Overall Lauer has a 4.42 era (3.47 xFIP), 1.14 whip, 20.0 k% and 7.21 k/9 in 93 2/3 innings. At home his numbers look like this: 2.92 era (3.54 xFIP), 0.95 whip, 19.8 k% and 6.75 k/9 in 49 1/3 innings. The strikeouts go down but the free swinging Rangers should give him a bump in that department.

RHP Shane Bieber, CLE
Owned Y37%/E41% · vs Detroit Tigers – Sunday, September 16th

Shane “Don’t Call Me Justin” Bieber currently has a 4.32 era (3.27 xFIP), 1.33 whip, 25.1 k% and 9.55 k/9 in 98 innings. Even with the high era and whip you can make the argument for rostering him for his strikeouts. His reasonable 3.27 xFIP (or what I like to call “true era”) indicates that he may have been unlucky and could be due for better days. Well, his last outing may be an indication that those better days are here. On Tuesday he baffled the Rays to the tune of 11 strikeouts, 3 hits and 3 walks in 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball.

This weekend he faces the Tigers and their 0.286 wOBA (last in mlb), 0.136 iso (28th) and 24.6 k% (22nd). Roll Bieber out there and thank me later.

Remember, these suggestions aren’t ludicrous. They’re @Roto_Chris.

Filed Under: Fantasy Baseball

Straight Cheese Week 23 Streaming Starting Pitchers – DeSclafani, Velasquez, Cahill

September 6, 2018 By Chris Spencer 1 Comment

Anthony DeSclafani, Cincinnati Reds

Rough week last week for streaming pitchers but looking for a rebound this week, going back to the well with right hander Anthony DeSclafani of the Cincinnati Reds, facing the San Diego Padres Friday.

Fantasy baseball owners, this is the place where you come to get the Straight Cheese on less than desirable, questionably talented, less than 50% owned starting pitchers you can use for a spot start. Streaming pitchers is necessary to get those all-important counting stats for your roto league without drop-kicking your ratio stats into submission.

Before we dive into the dumpster looking for week 23 streaming starting pitchers, let’s take a look back at my picks from last week.

Week 22 Review

Name Date GS IP ER H BB K Dec ERA WHIP
Brad Keller KCR 8/31 vs BAL 1 8.00 2 4 2 4 W 2.25 0.75
Brian Johnson BOS 9/2 @ CHW 1 1.33 4 7 1 2 L 27.00 6.00
Lance Lynn NYY 9/2 vs DET 1 3.67 6 9 1 6 L 14.73 2.73
Total for Week   3 13.00 12 20 4 12 1-2 8.31 1.85
Running Total   64 371.00 138 313 120 362 31-15 3.35 1.17

To say Sunday blew up in my face is an understatement. Wow, who would have guessed that both starting pitchers from the Red Sox and Yankees would end up completely crapping the bed? I was on a very nice roll there and slammed into a brick wall when the calendar flipped to September. Don’t worry, Hoss. I really like this week’s trio of hurlers and believe we’ll be back on our feet.

Week 23 Streaming Starting Pitchers

The pitchers are listed in order of appearance as of Wednesday morning. Ownership info from Yahoo! (Y) and ESPN (E) and all 2018 stats are through Tuesday, September 4th.

RHP Anthony DeSclafani, CIN
Owned Y20%/E19% · vs San Diego Padres – Friday, September 7th

Maybe it is because they are too acclimated to the beautiful San Diego weather? How else can you explain the ineptitude away from Petco Park? Against RHP on the road they are currently posting a 0.285 wOBA (29th), 0.128 iso (last) and striking out 26.3% of the time (also last).

DeSclafani comes into the matchup with a 4.37 era (3.99 xFIP), 1.24 whip and striking out batters 21.0% of the time in 90 2/3 innings (7.84 k/9). He’s slightly better at home with a 4.34 era (3.33 xFIP), 1.24 whip and 24.3 k% (9.00 k/9).

RHP Vince Velasquez, PHI
Owned Y44%/E35% · @ New York Mets – Sunday, September 9th

Through Tuesday the Mets have a 0.283 wOBA (last in mlb), 0.139 iso (26th) and a striking out 22.6% of the time (22nd) when facing RHP at home. Enter Velasquez and his 4.10 era (3.99 xFIP), 1.25 whip and striking out batters 26.3% of the time (9.94 k/9). This is a situation where he should excel.

RHP Trevor Cahill, OAK
Owned Y33%/E30% · vs Texas Rangers – Sunday, September 9th

The Rangers struggle on the road. This is the 10th time I’ve written that this season. The previous 9 times I suggested streaming a pitcher against the Rangers resulted in a 1.94 era, 1.22 whip, 6 wins and 46 strikeouts in 51 innings. Currently versus RHP on the road they have a 0.305 wOBA (20th), 0.162 iso (16th) and strikeout 25.3% of the time (27th).

Cahill currently has a 3.60 era (3.59 xFIP), 1.16 whip and is striking out batters 22.7% of the time (8.28 k/9). Even better are his home numbers: 3.60 era (2.83 xFIP), 0.78 whip and 28.4 k% (9.36 k/9). This is the 3rd time I’m suggesting streaming Cahill. The other two times he pitched absolute gems: 22 strikeouts in 12 scoreless innings. Let’s make it three.

Remember, these suggestions aren’t ludicrous. They’re @Roto_Chris.

Filed Under: Fantasy Baseball

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