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Fantasy baseball managers continue to deal with starting pitching injuries down the stretch. Some of the more recent names to hit the injured list are Robbie Ray (hamstring) and Clayton Kershaw (toe).
For those who need starting pitching reinforcements, streaming the right players could be key. Are Shane Baz, Javier Assad, Albert Suarez, Matthew Boyd, and Joey Estes just viable streaming options, or could any of them be worth rostering for the remainder of the season?
Let’s dig into the stats for these five starters and discuss if they can sustain their current level of success. All roster percentages are via Yahoo.
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Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays (43% rostered)
Baz has made just nine starts this season because of his recovery from Tommy John surgery and an oblique injury. He jumped right into a significant workload, throwing 92 pitches across six innings in his first start. Over his nine outings, he has logged at least five innings six times. The result has been a 3.49 ERA, 4.12 FIP, and a 1.29 WHIP.
Shane Baz, 97mph Paint. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/dLNkLhRaK5
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 21, 2024
A concern with Baz is that his strikeout rate is just 19.9%. Before this season, he had recorded 48 strikeouts over 40.1 career innings in the majors. Until he gets his strikeout production back on track, he’s not a must-roster player in 12-team leagues. However, the former first-round pick in the 2017 draft has enough upside to at least be a viable streaming option.
Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs (36% rostered)
Assad has given up three or fewer runs in each of his last nine starts. That’s certainly encouraging, but he logged fewer than five innings in five of those outings. After spending the majority of last season working out the bullpen, Assad has thrown at least 100 pitches in just two of his 25 starts this year.
Assad has produced a 3.21 ERA this year, but his 4.53 FIP indicates that he hasn’t pitched that well. His 1.36 WHIP isn’t helping fantasy managers, and his strikeout rate is only 19.6%. He’s worth streaming for favorable matchups, but expect him to continue to have limited upside.
Albert Suarez, Baltimore Orioles (36% rostered)
With injuries plaguing their starting rotation for much of the season, the Orioles have been forced to rely more on Suarez. He has both started and come out of the bullpen, logging a total of 109 innings. Over his last five outings, he has a 1.19 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP across 30.1 innings.
#Orioles RHP Albert Suárez's 99th and final pitch today was a 97.3 mph fastball he blew past Connor Wong for a strikeout.
It was Suárez's fastest pitch of the day and the 6th fastest of his MLB career (all coming this season). His top velo was 97.8 on April 17, his O's debut. pic.twitter.com/ntI0oX50pT
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) August 18, 2024
The downside with Suarez is that he doesn’t miss many bats. His strikeout rate is only 18.6%. However, he has given up just eight home runs and produced a respectable 1.27 WHIP.
With the hot streak that he’s on right now, he’s worth streaming when matchups work in his favor. However, be sure to avoid him if he’s facing a difficult foe because his lack of strikeouts doesn’t leave him with much margin for error.
Matthew Boyd, Cleveland Guardians (26% rostered)
Injuries have derailed Boyd’s career. Since the start of the 2021 season, he has pitched a total of just 185.2 innings. He finally made his debut with the Guardians in August after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He has looked sharp, allowing six runs and producing a 0.84 WHIP over 22.2 innings.
Home runs have been an issue for Boyd during his career. In 2019, he was taken deep 39 times over 185.1 innings. Last year, he gave up 11 home runs over 71 innings for the Tigers. Despite how well he has looked in his initial return, his propensity for giving up the long ball makes him someone to only consider streaming against teams without a lot of power.
Joey Estes, Oakland Athletics (15% rostered)
Estes had an outing in early July in which he gave up eight runs over 1.2 innings against the Red Sox. Since then, he has a 2.88 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP across his last nine outings. He didn’t allow more than three earned runs in any of them and walked a total of just nine batters.
Estes has a 1.11 WHIP for the season, but his 4.29 ERA and 4.41 FIP aren’t great. His strikeout rate is just 18.9%, and even though he has been pitching well lately, he has allowed at least one home run in eight of his last nine starts. Still, stream him for his next projected start at home Thursday against the Mariners. They have scored the fifth-fewest runs in baseball.
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