Streaming Pitchers for Friday 8/16: Vince Velasquez, Adrian Houser, and more

Not meant to be an epic, the Streamer Report will provide you with three starting pitcher selections and then call it a proverbial day. The criteria is starting pitchers who are 50% owned or less in Yahoo leagues. We’ll consider matchup, track record versus opponent, recent performance, and more.

I bailed on Thursday streamers (real life wins sometimes) but Wednesday worked out well with all three pitchers snagging a win. Hoping we can carry that goodness on into Friday.

How did Wednesday’s streamers fare?

Cal Quantrill: 5 ¹⁄₃ innings, 3 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 1 homer, 1 win
Dakota Hudson: 6 innings, 5 hits, 0 ER, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 0 homers, 1 win
Dillon Peters: 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 0 homers, 1 win

And here is how all 94 “streamer innings” stack up against the MLB league average for all starters so far:

I think it seems reasonable to have a tad fewer strikeouts and a higher walk rate from my streamers...maybe. I mean, I am playing the wire. But I’d love to work my way up to that league average at minimum, if not exceed those marks. That’s the goal. For now, it’s nice to have a respectable enough ERA and and WHIP...you know, compared to the league average. Still not a huge sample size that we have here in this streamer experiment. Let’s keep moving.

Friday’s Streamers

First off, I can’t believe Rick Porcello is 52% owned in Yahoo leagues. I was literally trying to talk myself into him as a streamer before I looked up his percentage. Thank you to all of you who still roster him. You saved me from a colossal mistake.

Adrian Houser at Washington Nationals (9% owned)

Houser has a tough draw against Corbin, but every viable streamer I can find today has a tough draw, so here we are. Houser is red-hot, coming in with a 4.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 75 strikeouts over his 69 ²⁄₃ innings. Those numbers are better than league average already, and Houser is fresh off of the most dominant start of his big league career. He logged 10 strikeouts over six innings against the Rangers, and had a no-hitter into the fifth inning. The Nationals do rank 8th in strikeout rate versus righties, at only 21.7%. However, this isn’t the powerful Nats of recent history, as the .179 ISO ranks 19th. Washington also ranks 13th in wOBA and 15th in wRC+, so aside from the ability to limit strikeouts this isn’t an overly formidable matchup. Given the dearth of streaming candidates today, he’s got to be one of your primary targets. I dig Houser’s 54.5% ground ball rate and tolerable 10.7% swinging strike rate. Happy to take shot on him today.

Vince Velasquez vs. San Diego Padres (19% owned)

First off, scope out this Bryce Harper moment from last night:

The Phillies should be riding high after that epic come-from-behind win last night, and having Bryce Harper on your side should tilt the scales in your favor...even if you’re facing Chris Paddack of the Padres. When Bryce Harper is hitting walk-off moonshots to Neptune, you buckle up, play 100% Harper in DFS, AND consider Vince V against the the team with the second-highest strikeout rate in the MLB against right-handed pitching. That’s right, the Padres strike out 26.4% of the time against righties, worse than everyone except the White Sox (26.5%). So, basically a tie for worst in the league. The difference is the power, of course, as the Padres have some, with a .185 ISO. Some of that is misleading though, as Franmil Reyes’ .306 ISO is no longer in San Diego (after his trade to Cleveland). Anyway, on strikeout upside alone, Vince V is viable. Add in epic Bryce Harper moments and I’m just a total sucker. Just don’t watch, okay? Velasquez has struggles with walks and with the home run ball. I’m banking on enough run support to give him time to rack up plenty of strikeouts and to nab the win. We shall see.

LHP Patrick Sandoval vs. Chicago White Sox (2% owned)

The White Sox strike out 23.9% of the time against southpaws, and honestly I’m rolling with this matchup due to what I perceive as a lack of options below 50% today. Sandoval has had a solid history of generating strikeouts in the minors, and currently has 12 strikeouts across his 9 ²⁄₃ innings thus far in the big leagues. However, he was on the road against the Reds and the Red Sox in those two starts...I’m feeling good enough about taking a chance on him at home in this matchup. I love the strikeout upside, as it covers plenty of other deficiencies. That, and some guy named Mike Trout is on Sandoval’s team. Trout cracked his 40th homer of the season last night. 40 dingers already. Whew boy. Yeah, I’ll be taking a shot on Sandoval for sure.

Who are you guys leaning on that meets criteria today? Did I miss anyone?