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This weekly piece focuses on the best two-start pitchers and streamer waiver wire pickups for the upcoming week of fantasy baseball. These under-the-radar, two-start pitchers can be sleepers off the waiver wire depending on your league format, including NL-Only and AL-Only formats, and you can consider adding them to your head-to-head and daily-league lineups. These pitchers are near or below 50% ownership in Yahoo! leagues, some ideal for shallow leagues, some ideal for deep leagues.
Week 13 Lineup Tools: Two Start Streaming Options
There are a lot of good two-start streaming options to choose from for Week 13. Below are just five that caught my attention. Good luck this week RotoBallers!
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- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball player comparisons
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Andrew Heaney, MIA – 46% owned
Projected starts: Tuesday @PHI, Sunday vs. OAK
The highly-touted Marlins prospect pitched well in his MLB debut on Thursday, despite earning a loss. He threw six innings of one-run ball, allowing only four hits.
It’s certainly a good start for Heaney, who rarely struggled in his rise up the Marlins’ minor league system. It obviously says something that after just one big league start, he’s nearly 50% owned, so many other fantasy owners are buying into the hype.
He is certainly worth a pickup, given his upside, but he is also a two-start streaming option for next week. He’ll go up against the Phillies, whose anemic offense I discuss further below, and while he does get a date versus a good Oakland lineup, the start does come at home.
Aaron Harang, ATL – 48% owned
Projected starts: Tuesday @HOU, Sunday @PHI
“Harangatang” got absolutely blown up on Wednesday against the Phillies, allowing eight earned over just five innings. But prior to that, he had been very good, allowing three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. Even after Wednesday’s debacle, he still supports a 3.83 ERA with 83 strikeouts in just over 89 innings.
I wouldn’t let one bad apple spoil the entire barrel with Harang, as he is still a very viable two-start option for next week. And at less than 50% ownership, he’s likely available in your league, especially with no one clamoring to add him after Wednesday. Next week, the Braves face lighter-hitting Houston and Philadelphia on the road, who both are in the bottom third of the league in runs scored and team batting average.
Drew Hutchison, TOR – 28% owned
Projected starts: Tuesday vs. NYY, Sunday vs. CWS
Hutchison has been completely hit or miss lately. Over his last seven starts, his earned runs output goes as follows: zero, one, five, zero, five, one, four. So if the pattern continues, he should hopefully throw a gem his next time out on Tuesday against the Yankees.
Hutchison’s overall numbers are pretty good, with an ERA of less than four, and a respectable 1.25 WHIP, despite his tendency to get walk-happy sometimes (three starts with more than four walks allowed). Nevertheless, he will have two home starts next week, one against the Yankees, who just smacked him around on Thursday, so you figure there will be some extra motivation to pitch well. Then he will get the White Sox over the weekend, whose bats have cooled off some since a hot start to the year. Hutchison isn’t a bad streaming option for week 13.
Drew Smyly, DET – 24% owned
Projected starts: Tuesday @TEX, Sunday @HOU
Smyly has quietly put together a pretty good season in Detriot. With names like Verlander and Scherzer in your rotation, it’s easy to get overlooked sometimes, even with Verlander’s struggles so far. Smyly’s last time out against the Royals was a good one, going seven innings and only allowing two runs, while striking out six and walking zero. The start prior to that he went six innings allowing just one earned.
The Tigers have struggled recently to provide him, or any pitcher for that matter, with decent run support - which is the primary reason he only has three wins on the year, but is still pitching well with an ERA of 3.48. Next week, Smyly will take part in the Texas-Two Step with the Rangers and the Astros. And at just 24% ownership, he could be a nice pickup off the waiver wire for week 13 if he's still available in your league.
Jeff Locke, PIT – 5% owned
Projected starts: Tuesday @Rays, Sunday vs. NYM
Here is my matchup play of the week. (Not-so-breaking) News: The Rays and Mets stink. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league in runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging percentage, homers, total hits… must I go on?
I’d start pretty much any pitcher who gets the Rays and Mets in the same week, but it doesn’t hurt that Locke has also been pitching well lately. His last three starts have all been quality, giving up only five earned runs over 21 innings, with a 14:2 K:BB ratio over that span. At 5% ownership, he’s almost guaranteed to be sitting on your waiver wire, so go grab him now and reap the benefits later.
