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Starting pitchers to add and stream in Week 23 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season. Michael Grennell analyzes the top SP streamers to pick up off waivers.
Another week, another column and five more two-start streamers to take a look at. There's only a few weeks left in the season, so now more than ever these two-start streamers are going to be important when it comes to making a last minute push in the standings.
Before we get to Week 23, let's recap the last two weeks. The winner in Week 21 was Cal Quantrill by a landslide, as not only did he go 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 13 strikeouts, he ended up being the only pitcher in that column to make both of his projected starts. As for Week 22, Bailey Ober and Josiah Gray are currently leading the way, with Ober striking out seven over five scoreless innings against Boston, while Gray struck out seven and allowed just two runs in six innings against Miami.
And now without further ado, let's check out Week 23's two-start streamers.
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Week 23 Streamers — Under 50% Rostered
Chris Flexen, SEA - 50% rostered
Probable Opponents: vs HOU, @ ARI
After years of struggling with the Mets, Flexen has had a breakout year in Seattle in 2021. Over 24 starts this season, Flexen has gone 11-5 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.236 WHIP and 16.5 percent strikeout rate across 140 innings pitched. He's had a particularly nice performance in August, where over five starts he has gone 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.181 WHIP and 20 percent strikeout rate.
He'll start off the week with his third matchup of the season against the Astros. The first two outings have gone wildly different, as he held the Astros to one run over six innings his first time out, but then allowed seven runs over four innings in his latest matchup with Houston. The Astros have been hitting well over their last 14 games, slashing .287/.349/.459 while averaging 5.3 runs per game. Despite their hot streak, Flexen should get a small boost in value as the Astros are hitting worse against right-handed pitching (.265/.339/.443, 20.1 K%) than against lefties (.273/.340/.439, 18.6 K%). Flexen has also pitched much better at home (2.70 ERA, 1.070 WHIP) than on the road (4.55 ERA, 1.437 WHIP), which should also help his value.
Flexen will end the week against an Arizona squad that had been struggling for most of the season, but has started to catch fire recently. Over their last 14 games now, the Diamondbacks are slashing .288/.359/.474 and averaging 5.1 runs per game. While they are hitting better at home this season (.255/.327/.404) than on the road (.222/.300/.365), Flexen should still have a nice matchup with Arizona as they are hitting significantly worse against right-handed pitching (.231/.306/.368, 24.8 K%) than against left-handed pitching (.257/.333/.426, 21.4 K%).
The big key to Flexen's value this week will be in how he performs against the Astros. If he can put up numbers similar to his first time against them, then Flexen looks to be in line to be one of the top two-start streamers in Week 23. At the very least, he's worth picking up in the majority of formats for that Arizona start.
Austin Gomber, COL - 34% rostered
Probable Opponents: @ TEX, vs ATL
Gomber has looked pretty solid on the mound in his first year with Colorado, going 9-8 with a 4.38 ERA, 1.198 WHIP and 23.9 percent strikeout rate across 111 innings of work. Interestingly enough, most of Gomber's struggles have come on the road, as he has pitched far better at Coors Field this year (2.09 ERA, 0.951 WHIP) than on the road (6.08 ERA, 1.382 WHIP).
With that being said, Gomber will have to overcome those road struggles in his first outing this week against the Rangers. The Rangers have been hitting well over their last 10 games (.371/.312/.430, 4.6 runs per game), and on top of that they are hitting better at home (.232/.296/.386) than on the road (.222/.287/.361). Gomber will also have to deal with the fact that the Rangers are hitting better against left-handed pitching (.236/.291/.369, 22.4 K%) than against right-handers (.222/.291/.374, 24.2 K%).
In his second trip to the mound this week, Gomber will return to Coors Field to face off against the Braves. As mentioned before, Gomber has pitched significantly better at home this season, which should help him out against an Atlanta team that is averaging 5.5 runs per game over their last 14 games while slashing .242/.335/.444 over that span. This should be a favorable matchup for Gomber, as the Braves are not only hitting worse against left-handers (.240/.313/.424) than against right-handers (.243/.327/.432), but they are also hitting worse on the road (.237/.321/.420) than at home (.248/.326/.440).
It's another one good start, one bad start scenario here with Gomber. That Texas matchup could cause him some problems, but he appears in line to put up nice numbers against Atlanta. Managers looking for strikeout help should consider picking up Gomber this week, especially as Atlanta sports the 10th-highest strikeout rate in the majors at 23.8 percent.
Edward Cabrera, MIA - 29% rostered
Probable Opponents: @ NYM, vs PHI
One of Miami's highly touted pitching prospects, Cabrera put up decent but not great numbers in his major league debut on Wednesday, where he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two over 6 1/3 innings of work against Washington. While he didn't show much in the way of strikeouts in his debut, he's shown the potential to be a strikeout machine over his last two seasons in the minors where he's recorded a 32.9 percent strikeout rate over a combined 158 innings of work.
He'll open things up with what should be a nice matchup against a struggling Mets squad that is slashing .221/.287/.338 and averaging 2.6 runs per game over their last 10 games. There won't be any clear benefit for Cabrera pitching on the road, as New York is putting up near identical numbers on the road and at home this season. However he should see a slight boost in value as the Mets are hitting worse against right-handers (.231/.307/.378) than against left-handers this season (.241/.321/.375).
Cabrera will then face off against another struggling team in the Phillies, as not only have they lost their slugging first baseman Rhys Hoskins for the rest of the year, but they are also slashing .194/.289/.364 and averaging 3.9 runs per game over their last 10 games. Much like with the Mets, the Phillies are putting up nearly identical numbers on the road and at home this year. But also like the Mets, Philadelphia is hitting significantly worse against right-handed pitching this year (.231/.310/.394) than against lefties (.250/.329/.418).
While his first outing wasn't necessarily the kind of performance managers were hoping for, it looks like Cabrera could be in line to end up as the best option out of this week's column. Going up against a pair of struggling offenses that have had troubles against right-handed pitching this season, it seems like a perfect week to start Cabrera, and managers could be rewarded greatly if he can show off the strikeout potential he has flashed in the minors.
Week 23 Streamers — Under 25% Rostered
Zach Davies, CHC - 25% rostered
Probable Opponents: @ MIN, vs PIT
It's been a rough year for Davies, who currently sports a 6-10 record, 5.00 ERA and 1.485 WHIP. He had a nice stretch through June and July, and after back-to-back disastrous starts to open August, Davies has posted a 3.24 ERA, 0.900 WHIP and 27.3 percent strikeout rate over his last three trips to the mound. His first start will be a difficult matchup, as the Twins have been on a hot streak recently where they're slashing .254/.347/.458 and averaging 5.7 runs per game over their last 10 games. The Twins are hitting slightly worse at home this year (.242/.323/.429), but they're hitting better against right-handed pitching (.244/.322/.434) than against lefties (.243/.311/.415). He should have much better success in his second outing when he takes on the Pirates, who are slashing .208/.270/.341 and averaging 3.1 runs per game over their last 15 games. They're putting up nearly identical numbers against lefties and righties, but they're hitting worse on the road (.229/.293/.349) than at home (.237/.313/.373).
It's a one good start, one bad start scenario for Davies this week. It's very likely the start in Minnesota could be a rough one, but he should have a nice matchup against the Pirates. Managers should bank on this recent success, and if he can make it through Minnesota with limited damage, he should be a solid option in deeper league formats.
Tyler Gilbert, ARI - 16% rostered
Probable Opponents: vs SDP, vs SEA
While he hasn't repeated the performance from his first career start, Gilbert has still been solid on the mound over three starts now, going 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.000 WHIP and 14.9 percent strikeout rate over 19 innings of work. He'll open up the week against the slumping Padres, who are slashing .199/.281/.341 and averaging 3.4 runs per game over their last 14 games. Gilbert will have a slight edge as the Padres are hitting slightly worse against lefties (.241/.324/.388, 22.4 K%) than right-handers (.243/.324/.411, 21.7 K%), but they're putting up nearly identical numbers whether they're at home or on the road. He'll then face off against a Seattle squad that has been hitting better as of late, as they're slashing .228/.298/.406 and averaging 4.7 runs per game over their last 10 games. They're putting up nearly identical numbers versus left-handers and right-handers, but in a potential knock against Gilbert, they are hitting significantly better on the road (.234/.305/.396) than at home (.210/.292/.367).
It's funny, a month ago one would think that San Diego would be the difficult matchup for Gilbert and Seattle would be the easy one. But in Week 23 it appears the opposite is true. He'll be a better option to target in deeper formats this week, but he should be in line for a couple nice outings.
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