Off another great streaming week for Roto_Chris, he gives us a rookie, a stiff and a rejuvenated veteran. This is the rookie, Kansas City Royals Brad Keller, owned in less than 10% of leagues and facing the bad at baseball Baltimore Orioles on 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 22 streaming starting pitchers, let’s take a look back at my picks from last week.
Week 21 Review
| Name | Date | GS | IP | ER | H | BB | K | Dec | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anibal Sanchez ATL | 8/25 @ MIA | 1 | 5.67 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | L | 1.59 | 1.06 |
| Andrew Suarez SFG | 8/25 vs TEX | 1 | 7.00 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | W | 0.00 | 0.86 |
| Derek Holland SFG | 8/26 vs TEX | 1 | 6.33 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | W | 1.42 | 0.95 |
| Total for Week | 3 | 19.00 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 2-0 | 0.95 | 0.95 | |
| Running Total | 61 | 358.00 | 126 | 293 | 116 | 350 | 30-13 | 3.17 | 1.14 |
Another week and another solid three starts. Frankly I’m just as shocked as you are at my success with these picks but the Stream-O-matic 2000 will not be denied in its quest for perfection.
Week 22 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 28th.
RHP Brad Keller, KC
Owned Y9%/E9% – vs Baltimore Orioles – Friday, August 31st
Stop me if you’ve heard this already but in 2018 Baltimore is bad at baseball. So bad that I’m suggesting that you stream Brad Keller, who’s a free agent in 90% of the leagues out there, against them this weekend. He currently has a 3.33 era, 1.35 whip and only 72 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings (6.15 k/9 and 16.4 k%). At home he is slightly better with a 3.23 era, 1.26 whip and a 6.31 k/9 and 17.2 k% in 55 2/3 innings pitched. What I like even better is that at home he is limiting batters to a 0.282 wOBA and 0.085 iso.
Enter the Orioles who are currently putting up a 0.293 wOBA (26th), 0.155 iso (21st) and striking out 26.3% of the time (worst in mlb) against RHP on the road. What we have here is a slightly under-owned pitcher with some favorable home/road splits facing a lineup that is struggling mightily in this matchup.
LHP Brian Johnson, BOS
Owned Y9%/E12% – @ Chicago White Sox – Sunday, September 2nd
Where I said Keller might be slightly under-owned, Johnson might actually be owned in too many leagues. He’s being drafted because of his uniform not his stats. Heading into this weekend’s tilt with Chicago he has a 4.02 era, 1.37 whip, 8.04 k/9 and 20.7 k% in 87 1/3 innings pitched. On the road his era dips to 3.06 but everything else gets worse (1.45 whip, 7.24 k/9 and 18.4 k%).
Why am I suggesting streaming this stiff? Because the White Sox versus southpaws at home. That’s why. In that situation they have a 0.281 wOBA (27th), 0.113 iso (27th) and strikeout 28.8% of the time (last in mlb). Bad pitcher on a good team in a great matchup.
RHP Lance Lynn, NYY
Owned Y46%/E47% – vs Detroit Tigers – Sunday, September 2nd
A 3.98 era, 1.36 whip, 10.8 k/9 and a 27.7 k% is what Lynn has put up in 31 2/3 innings with the Yankees. Dude had a 5.10 era, 1.63 whip, 8.79 k/9 and 21.3 k% before the trade. I guess all he needed was a change of scenery?
This weekend he finds himself in a great matchup with the Tigers who are currently dead last in major league baseball with a 0.276 wOBA and 0.121 iso against RHP on the road. They are striking out 23.6% of the time (19th). You have a pitcher that’s rejuvenated being on a contender facing a bad lineup.
Remember, these suggestions aren’t ludicrous. They’re @Roto_Chris.