Chris wouldn’t think of rostering Wade LeBlanc under normal circumstances, but facing the Texas Rangers provides the right circumstances to include LeBlanc in his week 9 streaming pitchers.
Straight Cheese, an exercise identifying less than desirable, questionably talented, low-owned pitchers that you can use for a spot start for your fantasy baseball team. These are week 9 streaming pitchers.
First, lets take a look back at my picks from last week.
Week 8 Review
| Name | Date | GS | IP | ER | H | BB | K | Dec | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Stripling | 5/25 vs. SDP | 1 | 6.67 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | W | 0.00 | 0.90 |
| Daniel Mengden | 5/26 vs. ARI | 1 | 9.00 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | W | 0.00 | 0.22 |
| Marco Gonzalez | 5/28 vs. TEX | 1 | 6.67 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | W | 0.00 | 1.20 |
| Week 8 Total | 3 | 22.33 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 19 | 3-0 | 0.00 | 0.72 | |
| Season Total | 29 | 161.33 | 79 | 155 | 54 | 155 | 9-9 | 4.41 | 1.30 |
Well, like the new Han Solo movie, that went better than I anticipated. Cahill’s start was pushed to Monday vs. the Rays but I wouldn’t have recommended him since they actually do alright vs. RHP on the road. Didn’t matter as he went out and tossed 8 scoreless innings; striking out 6 and only giving up 4 hits with no walks. The only real blemish from last week was falling further under my self-imposed strikeout per inning goal.
With that out of the way, let’s check all our jean pockets looking for a few dollars!!!
Week 9 Streaming 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, May 29th.
LHP Wade LeBlanc, SEA
Owned Y11%/E7% · vs. Texas Rangers – Thursday, May 31st
Recommending LeBlanc is more about pointing out just how bad the Rangers are vs. LHP on the road. Through Tuesday in that situation they are putting up a 0.250 wOBA (worst in MLB), 0.124 iso (25th) and striking out 28.8% of the time (worst in MLB).
Let me make it clear. I wouldn’t think of rostering Wade LeBlanc under normal circumstances. His 2.70 era and 1.10 whip are an illusion. His 4.38 xFIP, 0.277 babip and 83.8 lob% are all signs telling the buyer to beware. Stuff like this could be overlooked if he was striking batters out… but he isn’t (19.1 k%). The Rangers are the perfect team to stream an otherwise unattractive pitcher against.
RHP Jordan Lyles, SD
Owned Y16%/E8% · vs. Miami Marlins – Thursday, May 31st
Much like LeBlanc, Jordan Lyles is a middling starter finding himself in an advantageous situation this week. I’ve picked on the Marlins numerous times in this column and for good reason. They struggle on the road and especially against righties. Currently vs. RHP on the road they have a 0.272 wOBA (29th), 0.119 iso (worst in MLB) and 25.7 k% (26th).
Lyles currently has an overall 3.83 era, 1.16 whip and 40 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings. I like him better since joining the rotation recently. In his 4 starts he has a 3.90 xFIP and 25.5 k%. As a reliever he has a 4.84 xFIP and 20.0 k%. I look for him to continue putting up good, usable numbers against the Marlins.
LHP Tyler Skaggs, LAA
Owned Y51%/E47% · vs. Texas Rangers – Sunday, June 3rd
Take everything I said earlier about how bad the Rangers are on the road vs. LHP and add it to how well Skaggs is pitching and you have news you can use. Through 11 starts, Tyler has a 3.60 era, 1.28 whip and 64 strikeouts in 60 innings. I’m not going to waste any more of your time on this one.
Unlike Rizzo’s slide, there is no debate here. Roll Skaggs out there confidently.
RHP Kyle Gibson, MIN
Owned Y18%/E20% · vs. Cleveland Indians – Sunday, June 3rd
It might be time to take a look at what Gibson is doing and graduate him from streaming. Through 11 starts he has a 3.57 era, 1.25 whip and 66 strikeouts in 63 innings. He’s striking out batters at a 24.8% clip while also holding them to a 0.290 wOBA and 0.132 iso.
The Indians are awful on the road. They are averaging a full TWO RUNS less in road games than home games (most in MLB). In fact their 5.93 runs per game at home is 2nd in MLB while their 3.88 runs per game on the road ranks 23rd in MLB. What’s even better for Gibson (and for us) is that on the road vs. RHP they have a 0.280 wOBA (25th), 0.160 iso (15th) and 25.3 k% (23rd). The stars are aligned for Gibson this weekend. Take advantage.
Remember, these suggestions aren’t ludicrous. They’re @Roto_Chris [Editor’s Note: Oy 🙄]