Welcome back to Streaming Away, a twice weekly column serving all your fantasy streaming needs. I’ll be using DFS techniques to help you select players for your normal fantasy leagues. With careful execution, you’ll be one step closer to a fantasy championship. As always, the column will run on Sundays and Wednesdays to better prepare you for the thin Monday and Thursday schedules.
For more info about how and why to stream, check out the first edition of Streaming Away.
Thursday, June 8
Twelve games make for a pretty substantial Thursday slate. With a couple savvy waiver moves, you should have no problem accruing a normal volume of stats.
Pitchers to Use
Only three pitchers pass muster on Thursday. Ideally, you won’t need any of them. The elephant in the room is Edinson Volquez. He’s only 16 percent owned despite tossing a no hitter against the Diamondbacks last week. His low ownership rate is a testament to the inroads made by sabermetric thinking. Five years ago, an unowned pitcher throwing a no hitter would lead to an instant dash to the wire.
Volquez doesn’t figure to help in any specific category, but he is capable of posting roughly fantasy average numbers over the rest of the season. I anticipate something similar to a 4.00 ERA, 7.00 K/9, and 1.30 WHIP. As long as you target him against the right opponents, he should post an acceptable win rate too. While I don’t advocate permanent ownership of Volquez, he’s a fine target for volume and innings. Just be sure to replace him between starts. He’ll see the Pirates on Thursday.
Derek Holland is a similar brand of boring old veteran. He’s less likely to find success going forward. Projection systems peg him for around a 5.00 ERA over the remainder of the season. I don’t necessarily disagree with that assessment. However, it’s worth noting that his opponent – the Rays – have the highest strikeout rate versus left-handed pitching. Holland isn’t a big strikeout guy, but he could supply six innings, six strikeouts, and an acceptable run total tomorrow. Working at Tropicana Field should help him to avoid big flies.
JC Ramirez has emerged as a streamable starter. The hard throwing righty can pin his success upon a sharp decline in his fastball usage. Even though he throws a 96 mph heater, it’s an extremely hittable offering. Ramirez has replaced his fastballs with a slew of bendy stuff. The result is a 4.11 ERA with 6.85 K/9 and 1.92 BB/9. Home runs remain a problem – he’s allowed 1.51 HR/9. The Tigers are a tough opponent with several big power bats.
Pitchers to Abuse
The Orioles continue to lean on Alec Asher in a swingman role. The righty has superior command of middling stuff. To this point, he’s posted a solid 3.62 ERA with 6.75 K/9 and 1.93 BB/9. Asher is a fly ball pitcher with a possible home run problem. The Nationals have a potent lineup. Watch for them to chase Asher early.
Clayton Richard would be rosterable if conditions were just slightly different. He’s visiting the Diamondbacks. Chase Field has a rock hard infield which produces extra hits on ground balls. Richard has a 58 percent ground ball rate. A bigger issue is his infield defense – it’s arguably the worst in the league. Richard is opposed by another exploitable pitcher, southpaw Pat Corbin. Since the start of May, Corbin has a 9.00 ERA in six starts (31 innings).
I suspect some of you expected to see Joe Ross in the “to use” section of the column. I’ve never been a big fan of his poor fastball and above average slider as a repertoire. Frequent injuries have prevented the league from adjusting to him. However, more and more pitchers are adopting Ross’ low fastball rate. And hitters are getting better at picking out the most mashable pitches. The biggest issue for Ross is probably a two mph decline on his fastball. The slider is still inducing whiffs as evidenced by his 8.51 K/9. He has a maximum risk, high reward matchup with the Orioles.
Phillies prospect Ben Lively survived his debut, allowing one run in seven innings. Lively failed to record a single strikeout. He’s long been described as a deceptive pitcher who limits hard contact, but it’s absolutely necessary to record some punch outs. The Braves have a weak offense, yet they’re still likely to thrive versus Lively. The Phillies offense may answer run-for-run opposite R.A. Dickey.
Other pitchers to exploit include Scott Feldman hosting the Cardinals, German Marquez at Wrigley Field, and Christian Bergman in Seattle versus the Twins.
Hitters: Power
As always, there are plenty of power threats on the waiver. None are as potent as Hunter Renfroe. After homering thrice over his last two games, he now has eight home runs since mid-May. He’s slashing .284/.361/.703 over the 83 plate appearance surge. Renfroe remains available in 70 percent of Yahoo leagues. His power is comparable to all the best sluggers.
The Cardinals visit to Great American Ballpark has yielded the expected barrage of home runs. The unexpected part was Scooter Gennett supplying most of the thump. He hammered four homers on Tuesday as part of a historic performance. Two off them wouldn’t have left most venues which is why it’s great to target power bats in Cincinnati. Gennett is slashing .302/.336/.578 in 122 plate appearances. He deserves a chance to start, but the Reds are unlikely to sit Jose Peraza for long. For now, Gennett can temporarily fill in for Scott Schebler. He’s expected to return as soon as today.
Across the aisle, Stephen Piscotty is a hair under 50 percent owned despite serving in the heart of the Cardinals lineup. A combination of injury and merely decent performance led to the drop in ownership. It’s time to jump back on the bandwagon for a game against Feldman. Tommy Pham and Paul DeJong are worth a look too.
Seth Smith bats leadoff for the Orioles. He’s a high floor, low ceiling option anytime he’s opposed by a righty.
Mitch Moreland could benefit from Yankee Stadium and Michael Pineda‘s 1.81 HR/9. Moreland is probably an all-or-nothing pick given Pineda’s success this season.
Other power threats include John Jaso, Josh Harrison, http://www.nbcsports.com/edge/player/MLB/6709/Josh-BellJosh Bell, Melky Cabrera, Matt Adams, and Max Kepler.
Hitters: Speed
True speed remains rare. You might think it’s a good idea to target a knuckleballer for swipes. Dickey has allowed only one steal this season. Maybe Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis can succeed where others have failed.
http://www.nbcsports.com/edge/player/MLB/7085/Michael-TaylorMichael Taylor is probably the most likely to steal a bag versus Asher. Taylor’s biggest issues are aggression and a high whiff rate. Asher pitches to contact which should help Taylor find his way aboard.
Adam Frazier thinks he’s a rabbit. He has a long history of getting caught on his way to second base. He’s only 2-for-6 this year. He’s opposed by Volquez.
Brandon Phillips (7-for-10) could try for a base against Lively.
