Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers for 8/29: Alex Wood, Felix Hernandez, Daniel Norris

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.

How did previous streamers fare?

It’s been awhile...and I cannot hold my head up high after that performance by Vince Velasquez.

Vince Velasquez at MIA: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR
Zach Plesac vs. KC: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR, 1 W
Mike Foltynewicz at NYM: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR

Ahh, Vince V. Killing our ratios. He’s had a string of average or below average opponents, and always seems to underwhelm. Think I’m off that train for right now. Although, it’s been so long since I posted streamers, Vince got to redeem himself a bit with a solid turn yesterday. Kudos to him, but for now he’s off my streaming list.

Thursday’s Streamers

Alex Wood at Miami Marlins (35% owned)

I”ll put it this way: I added Wood in our Fake Teams and Friends league specifically for this start. It has been a rocky road for Wood thus far, but a matchup against the Marlins makes him viable. The Marlins rank 18th in strikeout rate at 22.5%, which isn’t terrible. But they don’t have power, ranking dead last in the MLB against southpaws with a .135 ISO. And remember, Brian Anderson’s .205 ISO is no longer a part of that lineup due to a broken left hand.

Felix Hernandez at Texas Rangers (5% owned)

Whew, not for the faint of heart! But “King Felix” is fresh off of a quality outing against the Blue Jays, and he is still just 33 years old. I don’t think it’s insane that the wily veteran falls into some usefulness, today and in the future. The Rangers have a 25.5% strikeout rate against right-handers, the third-worst mark in the MLB. They are also middling with a .182 ISO, ranking 16th in the majors. This is a pretty top-heavy lineup, and the top is getting a bit long in the tooth. It’s definitely a risk but there aren’t a ton of other viable options today.

Daniel Norris vs. Cleveland Indians (3% owned)

It’s a short day so we have to dig deep. The Tigers have figured out how to use Norris (in shorter bursts). Of course, that means he probably won’t pitch long enough to snag a win—not against Clevinger, anyway—but there’s a decent chance he can give you a few scoreless innings with a handful of strikeouts. Would have to be a deep league...

The only other guy I considered was Dereck Rodriguez (SF) at home against the Padres. But Rodriguez has not been good overall or recently, and doesn’t have strikeout stuff to lean on. The only reason you’d consider him is the home park and the San Diego ability to strike out...but I think I’d rather just play Norris, who seems to have a better shot at multiple clean innings with a few strikeouts.

That’s it for today, it’s pretty grim out there. Ideally you could just roll with Alex Wood and call it a day. Good luck!