Fantasy Baseball: Week 19 Weekend Starting Pitching Streaming Options

Week 19 of the Fantasy Baseball season is headed to a close. The playoffs are right around the corner and if you need starting pitching this weekend I have some options for you to consider.

Friday

Mike Fiers and the Houston Astros play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a Friday night contest. Over his past 3 games (2 starts) Fiers has posted a 0-0 record with a 3.71 ERA on 15 strikeouts, 6 walks and 2 bombs over 17 innings pitched. Average 1.31 WHIP and acceptable .300 BABIP with a solid 3.93 FIP and 3.83 xFIP. Since the break the Dodgers have slashed a .276/.342/.432/.774 line with a 20 percent strikeout rate, .156 ISO, .326 BABIP with a wOBA of .337 and wRC+ of 117. The Dodgers have been hot but they do tend to strikeout a bit and this bodes well for Fiers and the Astros on Friday.

Chris Bassitt and the Oakland Athletics play host to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in a Friday night affair. Over his past 3 starts Bassitt has posted a 1-0 record with a 1.66 ERA with 23 strikeouts, 5 walks and 2 bombs over 21.2 innings pitched.Excellent .083 WHIP and .224 BABIP with a great 3.01 FIP and even better 2.87 xFIP. He'll face a Rays offense that has slashed a .273/.331/.445/.776 line since the break with a 21 percent strikeout rate, .172 ISO, .323 BABIP with a wOBA of .336 and wRC+ of 118. Bassitt has been on fired and the Rays while hot over the last month are too streaky and strike out way to much for us not to consider Bassitt on Friday.

Saturday

Kendall Graveman and the Oakland Athletics host the Tampa Bay Rays in a Saturday evening contest. Over his past 3 starts Graveman is 0-2 with a 7.24 ERA on 11 strikeouts, 3 walks and 3 bombs over 13.2 innings pitched. High 1.61 WHIP and .348 BABIP with a 5.23 FIP and much better 3.63 xFIP. He'll face a Rays offense that has slashed a .273/.331/.445/.776 line since the break with a 21 percent strikeout rate, .172 ISO, .323 BABIP with a wOBA of .336 and wRC+ of 118. Don't let Graveman's last start against the Orioles deter you from considering Graveman against the Rays on Saturday.

Joe Ross and the Washington Nationals play host to the Milwaukee Brewers in a Saturday afternoon contest. Ross is 1-2 over his last 3 starts with a 6.14 ERA on 14 strikeouts, 5 walks and 3 bombs over 14.2 innings pitched. Below average 1.50 WHIP and .318 BABIP with a 4.88 FIP and xFIP of 4.46. He'll face a Brewers team that since the break has slashed a .244/.305/.360/.665 line with a 20 percent strikeout rate, .117 ISO, .297 BABIP with a wOBA of .291 and wRC+ of 79. The Brewers are in an offensive freefall and Ross should be good straight across the board on Saturday.

Sunday

Colin Rea and the San Diego Padres host the visiting St Louis Cardinals in a Sunday afternoon matchup. Rea has made just 2 MLB starts but he's 2-0 with a 4.32 ERA on 8 strikeouts, 2 walks and 1 bomb over 10.2 innings pitched. Average 1.31 WHIP and not so great .333 BABIP with a 3.39 FIP and 3.37 xFIP. Since the break the Cardinals have slashed a .246/.313/.396/.709 line with  a 18 percent strikeout rate, .150 ISO, .281 BABIP with a wOBA of .308 and wRC+ of 96 the Cardinals right now are beatable and I think Rea is a good option to do just that on Sunday.

Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies are in Miami to play the Marlins in a Sunday afternoon game. Over his last 3 starts Nola has a 2-0 record with an ERA of 5.06 on 11 strikeouts, 3 walks and 1 bomb over 16 innings pitched. Below average 1.44 WHIP and high .345 BABIP with a 3.48 FIP and 4.27 xFIP. The Marlins since the break have slashed a .253/.310/.354/.664 line with a 16 percent strikeout rate, .101 ISO, .297 BABIP with a wOBA of .292 and wRC+ of 81. The Marlins are ripe for the picking and Nola might be worthy of your consideration on Sunday.

On this week's Phil's Fantasy Sports Fake Teams Ray Guilfoyle joins me to discuss the strategy involved in picking what starting pitching streamer to add to you Fantasy Baseball roster. Rotowire NHL writer Brian Rutherford joins me to discuss the top defenseman in this seasons Fantasy Hockey Draft. Draft Kings Playbook writer Jason Walker and I discuss the top Fantasy Football running backs and SLC Dunk managing Editor Amar joins me to discuss the several top NBA players who've changed teams and what their Fantasy Value might be this season. You can download the show from my site or listen on the player below.

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