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Straight Cheese Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 7

May 2, 2019 By Chris Spencer Leave a Comment

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”.

Filed Under: Fantasy Baseball

Straight Cheese Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 4 + Pick Up Matthew Boyd

April 11, 2019 By Chris Spencer Leave a Comment

Detroit Tigers Matthew Boyd

Detroit Tigers Matthew Boyd says, “yeah baby, made the first edition of Straight Cheese in 2019.”*

* Not an actual quote from Matthew Boyd

Welcome back to another year of Straight Cheese! This is my weekly column where I suggest starting pitchers that have a matchup in their favor for the upcoming week. For the most part, I try and suggest players with low ownership. This week we are looking at streaming starting pitchers week 4.

Identifying Weak Hitting Lineups

I like to look at wOBA, ISO and K% to identify weak lineups and conversely, for pitchers I look at wOBA, ISO against and their K%.

With it being so early in the season not enough data has accumulated to look exclusively at 2019 stats. A solution is to look back at 2018 and these first few weeks of 2019 to get an idea of teams to pick on. Here are the bottom third teams in each stat from 2018 along with their current 2019 numbers.

All statistics, ownership and projected starting dates are as of Thursday morning, April 11.

wOBA 2018 2019 ISO 2018 2019 K% 2018 2019
Marlins 0.289 (30th) 0.277 (24th) Marlins 0.119 (30th) 0.132 (25th) White Sox 26.3% (30th) 26.1% (25th)
Giants 0.290 (29th) 0.257 (30th) Giants 0.129 (29th) 0.115 (29th) Padres 25.1% (29th) 22.9% (16th)
Padres 0.294 (28th) 0.309 (18th) Tigers 0.138 (28th) 0.112 (30th) Phillies 24.8% (28th) 21.5% (10th)
Tigers 0.295 (27th) 0.268 (27th) Padres 0.145 (27th) 0.178 (13th) Rangers 24.1% (27th) 27.6% (28th)
Orioles 0.299 (26th) 0.295 (22nd) Royals 0.146 (26th) 0.156 (18th) Giants 24.0% (26th) 25.0% (20th)
Royals 0.303 (25th) 0.296 (21st) Reds 0.148 (25th) 0.177 (15th) Diamondbacks 23.7% (25th) 21.9% (11th)
White Sox 0.304 (24th) 0.304 (19th) Rays 0.148 (24th) 0.146 (20th) Brewers 23.5% (24th) 22.8% (15th)
Mets 0.305 (23rd) 0.345 (10th) Orioles 0.152 (23rd) 0.146 (21st) Orioles 23.4% (23rd) 22.6% (14th)
Diamondbacks 0.306 (22nd) 0.352 (6th) Cubs 0.152 (22nd) 0.190 (10th) Blue Jays 22.8% (22nd) 28.0% (29th)
Phillies 0.307 (21st) 0.341 (12th) Pirates 0.154 (21st) 0.135 (24th) Marlins 22.8% (21st) 24.7% (19th)

Here are the teams still in bottom third in all three stats: San Francisco Giants. The Miami Marlins are really close. So, I’m going to start with these two teams to pick on by identifying starting pitchers facing the Giants and Marlins next week. Next week’s schedules:

  • Giants: Washington Nationals (away) and Pittsburgh Pirates (away)
  • Marlins: Chicago Cubs (home) and Washington Nationals (home)

Streaming Starting Pitchers Week 4

RHP Anibal Sanchez, WAS
Owned Y20%/E12% · at Miami Marlins – Friday, April 19th

Marlins are posting a 0.284 wOBA (21st), 0.116 ISO (27th) and 31.8 K% (29th) at home versus RHP so far in 2019. Now that is only 49 plate appearances, but rest assured they were just as bad last season when facing RHP at home: 0.290 wOBA (30th), 0.106 ISO (30th) and only striking out 21.0% of the time (13th). They are ripe to be taken advantage of.

Sanchez should do just that. His numbers aren’t great after two starts (both against a very dangerous Phillies lineup): 6.52 era, 4.83 xFIP, 1.76 whip, 20.0 K% in 9.2 innings. He’s coming off a brilliant year with Atlanta and matchups don’t get any better then this.

RHP Trevor Williams, PIT
Owned Y46%/E40% · vs. San Francisco Giants – Friday, April 19th

Giants are currently posting a 0.283 wOBA (20th), 0.171 ISO (13th) and 23.7 K% (19th) when facing RHP on the road. Last season, in the same split, they put up a 0.287 wOBA (28th), 0.130 ISO (29th) and 26.3 K% (30th). I don’t need to tell you that their numbers are better this season than last. But… can you trust them? They didn’t really improve their lineup in the off season (and, Kevin Pillar isn’t the answer, either).

Williams is coming off two starts, both against the underperforming Reds. Through 12 innings he’s got a 2.25 era, 3.86 xFIP, 0.92 whip and a 19.6 K%. Those numbers are even better than last season’s 3.11 ERA, 4.54 xFIP, 1.18 WHIP and 18.0 K% in 170.2 innings. Many were predicting Williams to regress back down to earth in 2019. It hasn’t happened yet, and the Giants don’t seem to be the team to pull him back down either.

I still need one more starting pitcher to recommend for you, my loyal readers. I always like to give you three. I’m going to look at teams still in bottom third in two of the three stats: Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles. The Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox are really close. Next week’s schedules:

  • Tigers: Pittsburgh (home) and White Sox (home)
  • Orioles: Boston Red Sox (away), Tampa Rays (away) and Minnesota Twins (home)
  • Royals: White Sox (away) and New York Yankees (away)
  • White Sox: Royals (home ) and Tigers (away)

RHP Yonny Chirinos, TB
Owned Y62%/E33% · vs. Baltimore Orioles – Wednesday, April 17th

Through 151 plate appearances in 2019, the Orioles are currently putting up 0.294 wOBA (18th), 0.130 ISO (22nd) and striking out 28.5% of the time (23rd) against RHP on the road. Because you want to know, last year in the same split they posted a 0.296 wOBA (24th), 0.154 ISO (21st) and struck out 26.0% of the time (28th). The Orioles are skill-challenged.

Chirinos has come out of the gate strong. Through two starts (Astros at home and Giants on the road) he has a 0.75 ERA, 3.53 xFIP, 0.42 WHIP and 29.0K% in 12 innings. Last season in 89.2 innings he put up a 3.5 ERA, 4.04 xFIP, 1.22 WHIP and 20.3 K%. He’s not a strikeout machine but he gets the job done and that should continue against the Orioles.

Extra Cheese

Starting this season I’ll be suggesting a two-start pitcher for the upcoming week. Please bear in mind that things can change after this article is posted. Injuries, rain delays, managerial moves, etc. can happen. The world is an imperfect place; screws fall out all the time.

LHP Matthew Boyd, DET
Owned Y69%/E44% · vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (Tue Apr 16) & vs. Chicago White Sox (Sun Apr 21)

While the opponents offer something to take advantage of, this is more about Boyd himself. His ownership has been climbing steadily since the beginning of the season and rightfully so. He’s seems to be truly breaking out in 2019. Through three starts (17.1 innings) he has a 2.60 ERA, 2.57 xFIP, 1.15 WHIP and 40.3 K%. Last season he put up a 4.39 ERA, 4.72 xFIP, 1.16 WHIP and 22.4 K%. He’s worth owning in all formats at this point.

Next week he faces the Pirates who did alright facing southpaws in 2018: 0.315 wOBA (15th), 0.163 ISO (11th) and 21.2 K% (7th). So far in 2019 they aren’t faring as well: 0.269 wOBA (27th), 0.024 ISO (30th) and 22.4 K% (14th).

Next weekend he gets the White Sox who were in the bottom third of the league versus LHP: 0.306 wOBA (20th), 0.143 ISO (20th) and 27.8 K% (30th). They aren’t doing much better so far in 2019: 0.294 wOBA (22nd), 0.128 ISO (19th) and 26.9 K% (24th).

If Boyd is on your waiver wire then pick him up now and thank me later.

Filed Under: Fantasy Baseball

Straight Cheese Week 21 Streaming Starting Pitchers – Sanchez, Suarez, Holland

August 23, 2018 By Chris Spencer Leave a Comment

Andrew Suarez, San Francisco Giants

Week 21 of fantasy baseball season! Keep plugging away! Chris has three pitchers for us to stream this weekend, including San Francisco Giants Andrew Suarez scheduled Saturday against the Texas Rangers.

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 21 streaming starting pitchers, let’s take a look back at my picks from last week.

Week 20 Review

Name Date GS IP ER H BB K Dec ERA WHIP
Kyle Gibson MIN 8/17 vs DET 1 7.00 3 8 3 5 W 3.86 1.57
Anthony DeSclafini CIN 8/17 vs SFG 1 7.67 1 6 1 5 – 1.17 0.91
Jake Odorizzi MIN 8/19 vs DET 1 5.00 4 4 2 7 – 7.20 1.20
Luis Castillo CIN 8/19 vs SFG 1 6.67 1 3 0 9 W 1.35 0.45
Total for Week   4 26.33 9 21 6 26 2-0 3.08 1.03
Running Total   58 339.00 124 283 108 339 26-12 3.29 1.15

Well, we stumbled a bit this week thanks to Odorizzi’s rough outing. But for the week overall, the numbers were effective.

Week 21 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, August 21st.

RHP Anibal Sanchez, ATL
Owned Y55%/E46% – @ Miami Marlins – Saturday, August 25th

Its been a while since I’ve picked on the Miami Marlins but here we are. The fish are currently struggling against RHP at home to the tune of a 0.289 wOBA (29th) and 0.104 iso (last in mlb). They are only striking out 20.6% of the time (11th) but Sanchez is someone that should take advantage of this matchup.

Anibal Sanchez currently has a 3.13 era, 1.09 whip and 98 strikeouts in 97 2/3 innings. That’s a 9.03 k/9 and 24.7 k%. Away from SunTrust Park he has a 3.00 era, 1.08 whip and 54 strikeouts in 48 innings. That works out to a 10.13 k/9 and 27.8 k%.

LHP Andrew Suarez, SF
Owned Y7%/E6% – vs Texas Rangers – Saturday, August 25th

LHP Derek Holland, SF
Owned Y20%/E20% – vs Texas Rangers – Sunday, August 26th

On the road versus southpaws, Texas Rangers are posting a 0.275 wOBA (29th), 0.115 iso (26th) and are striking out 26.7% of the time (worst in mlb). They are the reason I write this weekly article. In fact, I’ve picked on the Rangers the most so far this season. In those 7 games my line comes out to 2.39 era, 1.33 whip, 4 wins and 37 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. Most of the damage was done in the first two games. If you only look at the 5 games since Memorial Day you’ll see this: 0.63 era, 1.15 whip, 4 wins and 29 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.

The 25 year-old Andrew Suarez comes into the weekend series with a 4.68 era, 1.36 whip and 103 strikeouts in 119 1/3 innings (7.77 k/9 and 20.6 k%). At home he’s pitching better (3.79 era, 1.10 whip and 51 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings). That’s a 7.74 k/9 and 22.0 k%.

The 31 year-old Derrick Holland’s overall numbers are better with a 3.75 era, 1.30 whip and 137 strikeouts in 134 1/3 innings for a 9.18 k/9 and 24.0 k%. His home numbers are slightly worse with a 4.18 era and 1.20 whip but he’s striking out batters at a 10.13 k/9 and 27.3 k% clip. For what it is worth his home xFIP sits at 3.13 so you could say that he’s been somewhat unlucky at home so far in 2018. I have a feeling that his luck will turn around this weekend against he Rangers.

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

Filed Under: Fantasy Baseball

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