RADIO
The baseball season is a long one. Fantasy owners need to keep this in mind when looking at their rosters during the first week of April, contemplating whether or not to drop a wily veteran for a young stud that comes out of the spring training gates firing. Guys in the majors are the best in the world at what they do, but even Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw will go on cold streaks. It is extremely important for fantasy players to not overreact after the first two weeks and drop or trade someone who starts sluggish.
Unfortunately, this could also pose problems when utilizing the streamer strategy that is so coveted by yours truly. The oh-so-difficult task of properly analyzing metrics becomes even more dangerous when there simply aren’t a lot of statistics to examine. Even more frustrating is the overabundance of the starting pitcher “TBD,” the fantasy nemesis. And make no mistake, TBD makes quite the appearance for several teams on Sunday.
Below are some of my starting pitcher streamer sleepers for the second half of Week1 to consider adding off your league’s waiver wire. Some of these SP options can be considered sleepers for your team depending on the league format and depth, including NL-Only, AL-Only and head-to-head formats.
Thursday SP Streamers
Shane Greene (DET v. MIN)
Ownership: 12% Yahoo!, 11% Fleaflicker
Clearly Greene felt the fatigue of pitching a full year last season as his numbers across the board ballooned in the second half. When he is on though he can be quite unhittable when facing right-handed batters. The former Yankee showed some strength in spring training and the Tigers are banking on him to last the year.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Trevor Bauer (CLE at HOU)
Ownership: 39% Yahoo!, 13% Fleaflicker
The Indians are many pundits’ preseason darlings and Bauer is a big reason why. The 24-year-old has shown considerable improvement over the last two seasons especially with his control. Houston’s lineup will give a lot of guys headaches in the years to come, but many of the Astro hitters are simply too raw right now. Soon Houston fans, soon.
Matchup Rating: Must Stream
Kendall Graveman (OAK vs. TEX)
Ownership: 19% Yahoo!, 15% Fleaflicker
Get used to seeing this kid’s name a lot around here. It’s no secret that many of Rotoballer’s experts are high on Graveman and with good cause. He cruised through all levels of minor league ball last year and was specifically targeted by Oakland as a part of the Josh Donaldson deal. There will more than likely be growing pains but Graveman should hold his own against weaker lineups.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Friday SP Streamers
Zach McAllister (CLE vs. DET)
Ownership: 4% Yahoo!, 4% Fleaflicker
If spring training is any degree of measurement of how a pitcher performs in April, then the outlook is good for McAllister. He struck out 28 batters in 25.1 IP to lead the team in the almighty K category. If Detroit can complete the sweep of the Twins on Thursday and you are a subscriber to the law of averages, then you have to like Detroit’s loss probability against Cleveland.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Dan Haren (MIA vs. TB)
Ownership: 8% Yahoo!, 15% Fleaflicker
Oh, Dan Haren. Will this be the year in which you lead the league in home runs allowed? Better yet, are you capable of leading the league in home runs allowed in cavernous Marlins Park? All of the above may be true, but not likely in his first start of the season against a weak lineup. Still, it is Dan Haren.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Brandon Morrow (SD vs. SF)
Ownership: 3% Yahoo!, 6% Fleaflicker
Perhaps the most intriguing pitcher on this list, Morrow is coming off an injury-plagued 2014 campaign and signed a one year deal with San Diego. At first glance one would assume that he will see better numbers pitching in Petco Park as opposed to the SkyDome Rogers Centre. That being said he has struggled with his control for the better part of three seasons and the Giants are surely a team that knows how to get on base.
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Saturday SP Streamers
Jarred Cosart (MIA vs. TB)
Ownership: 5% Yahoo!, 7% Fleaflicker
After he was moved to the Marlins at the trade deadline last season, Cosart pitched very well and began showings signs of possessing the ability to strike out major league batters. His spring training was another story however as he walked 11 batters in 17.2 IP and yielded a 5.60 ERA. Of course it is just spring training, right?
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Dillon Gee (NYM at ATL)
Ownership: 4% Yahoo!, 10% Fleaflicker
Dillon Gee is not my lover/ He’s just a guy who claims that I am the one/ But the kid is not my son. Not really sure how the lyrics to “Billie Jean” fit in here other than rhyming of Gee’s name. Looks like this will be the number one challenge of the year as it is looking increasingly probable that Gee will not be owned by 50% of all owners and hence will be a top streaming candidate for the 2015 season.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Kyle Kendrick (COL vs. CHC)
Ownership: 4% Yahoo!, 14% Fleaflicker
Kendrick looked very good on Opening Day against the Brewers. The Rockies don’t really have strong starting pitching so they will certainly need that from him on a weekly basis. However, do you trust his career 11.2% HR/RB rate at Coors Field?
Matchup Rating: Risky Stream
Sunday SP Streamers
Carlos Martinez (STL at CIN)
Ownership: 40% Yahoo!, 26% Fleaflicker
It won’t be long before Martinez is no longer eligible to be a streaming candidate. He is simply too good for most leagues to pass up on him and he should have no problem sticking it to the Reds on Sunday. Even if it is in Great American Ballpark.
Matchup Rating: Solid Stream
Kyle Hendricks (CHC at COL)
Ownership: 23% Yahoo!, 14% Fleaflicker
Our friend TBD had a direct effect on Hendricks making this list. In all honesty, if it comes between no one and Hendricks, you would be better off not starting anyone. By no means is it Hendricks’s fault that he may get crushed on Sunday at Coors field. It is mostly because the Rockies are seemingly always at their best in April and May.
Matchup Rating: Desperate Stream
