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Week 14 of the Fantasy Baseball season is coming to a close and we have the weekend and a nice four day break before we get back into the swing of things. If you need starting pitching I have some streaming suggestions for you to consider.
Each of the following options is available in over 50 percent of Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Friday
Chase Anderson and the Arizona Diamondbacks travel to New York to take on the Mets in a Friday night game at Citi Field. Anderson is 2-1 over his last three starts with a 6.46 ERA, FIP of 6.88 and xFIP of 4.97. Anderson has 11 strikeouts, 7 walks and 7 bombs over those 23.2 innings pitched. He’ll face an awful Mets team who strikeout 24 percent of the time at home with a wOBA of .283 and wRC+ of 83. It won’t be pretty by any stretch of the imagination but Anderson is at least worthy of a look against the offensively challenged Mets on Friday.
Marco Estrada and the Toronto Blue Jays are in Kansas City to play the Royals on Friday night. Estrada is 1-1 over his past three starts with a 2.25 ERA, 3.89 FIP and 4.53 xFIP. Over those three starts Estrada has fanned 14 and walked 5 and 2 long balls over 16 innings pitched. The Royals have a 14 percent home strikeout rate to go along with a wOBA of .301 and wRC+ of 85. This could be good for a win and a bunch of strikeouts as the Blue Jays KILL lefty pitchers such as Estrada’s counterpart Danny Duffy. Estrada might be a better play than Anderson on Friday.
Saturday
Kendall Graveman and the Oakland Athletics are in Cleveland to play the Indians in a Saturday evening contest. Graveman is 3-0 in his last three starts with a 0.86 ERA, 3.17 FIP and 4.56 xFIP. Graveman has also struck out 8, walked 6 with zero bombs in his last 21 innings pitched. The Indians at home have a 16 percent strikeout rate with a wOBA of .334 and wRC+ of 118. I know the odds don’t look very good here but while Graveman may not strikeout many hitters he’s had six straight quality starts and I look for this to continue on Saturday.
Anthony DeSclafani and the Cincinnati Reds travel to Miami to face the Marlins in a Saturday afternoon matchup. DeSclafani is 0-1 over his last three starts with a 4.42 ERA and 3.84 FIP with a xFIP of 3.41. DeSclafani has also whiffed 18, walked 8 and served up 2 bombs in his past 18.1 innings pitched. Miami strikes out 19 percent of the time at home with a wOBA of .354 and 122 wRC+. This is a great matchup if you need strikeouts as DeSclafani racks them up at nearly 7 of them per nine innings.
Sunday
Rubby De La Rosa and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in New York to play the Mets in a Sunday afternoon contest. De La Rosa is 0-1 over his last three starts with an ERA of 4.58, FIP of 4.95 and xFIP of 3.26. De La Rosa has struck out 14, walked 3 and has given up 4 bombs. We’ve already told you how bad the Mets offense is but just in case you missed it the Mets team has strikeout 24 percent of the time at home with a wOBA of .283 and wRC+ of 83. Look for plenty of strikeouts and maybe even a win for De La Rosa on Sunday!
Wei Yin Chen and the Baltimore Orioles have a Sunday afternoon home game against the Washington Nationals. Chen is 1-0 over his past three starts with a 2.57 ERA with a 6.51 FIP and 4.45 xFIP. Chen has struck out 12 in those last three starts, walked 6 and allowed 6 bombs in 21 innings pitched. The Nationals have a 21 percent strikeout rate against lefties and a wOBA of .340 and wRC+ of 114. Chen is 3-3 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP with 51 punch outs over 67 innings pitched at home. I think he has a good day on Sunday.