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Starting pitchers to add and stream in Week 26 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season. Michael Grennell analyzes the top SP streamers to pick up off waivers.
Honestly the hardest part of writing this column sometimes is trying to come up with an intro before getting into the meat and potatoes of the article. And it's made even harder having to come up with intros for two columns a week. So I guess this is my way of saying I don't really have much to say here, and let's just move on to the recaps.
Despite a rougher performance in his second start, Steven Matz was the winning pick in Week 24, as he went 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 12 innings of work. As for Week 25, Joe Ryan is leading the way after limiting the Indians to one run on three hits and one walk with five strikeouts over five innings of work.
Now that that's out of the way, here's who you should be targeting in Week 26.
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Week 26 Streamers — Under 50% Rostered
Nestor Cortes Jr., NYY - 50% rostered
Probable Opponents: vs TEX, @ BOS
It's taken several stints in the majors since 2018, but Cortes seems to have figured things out on the mound this season. Over 79 2/3 innings of work this year, Cortes has gone 2-2 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.054 WHIP and 27.3 percent strikeout rate. He's looked good over his last three starts with a 2.00 ERA, 0.944 WHIP and 23 strikeouts over 18 innings — including an 11-strikeout performance his last time out against the Orioles.
He'll open up the week at home, which will be a boost to his value as he's pitched far better in New York this year (1.93 ERA, 0.938 WHIP) than on the road (3.19 ERA, 1.157 WHIP). He'll be facing off against the Rangers, who are averaging 5.0 runs per game and slashing .253/.304/.394 over their last 10 games. While that could make it somewhat of a challenging start for Cortes, he'll be aided by the fact that not only are the Rangers hitting worse against left-handed pitchers this year (.232/.288/.363), they are also hitting worse on the road (.226/.286/.363) than at home (.236/.300/.393).
Afterwards he'll head out on the road to Boston, where he'll face the red-hot Red Sox who are slashing .267/.335/.463 and averaging 5.8 runs per game over their last 10 games. Cortes will not benefit from any home-road splits, because along with pitching worse on the road, the Red Sox are hitting much better at home (.278/.348/.477) than on the road (.242/.305/.417). He'll have a slight benefit though as a left-hander, as Boston is hitting slightly worse against southpaws (.261/.328/.426) than against right-handers (.259/.326/.457).
The outing against Texas should be a solid one for Cortes — especially coming off his stellar performance against the Orioles. The Red Sox matchup will be a tougher one, but Cortes could still provide decent value there. Cortes is likely the top two-start streaming option managers can find this week, and he should be targeted in all formats.
Vladimir Gutierrez, CIN - 39% rostered
Probable Opponents: vs PIT, vs WSN
Gutierrez has been inconsistent at times this year, but over his last 10 outings he's been pretty solid on the mound where he's gone 5-3 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.211 WHIP and 20.2 percent strikeout rate over 53 2/3 innings of work.
He'll open up the week with a rematch against the Pirates, as he looks for revenge after allowing four runs over 3 2/3 innings of work in his last start against Pittsburgh. The Pirates have been hot at the plate over their last 10 games, where they're slashing .277/.370/.405 and averaging 5.1 runs per game. However they are hitting significantly worse on the road (.229/.295/.351) than at home (.242/.319/.376). And while it didn't help much his last time out, Gutierrez should potentially have a slight advantage as Pittsburgh is hitting slightly worse against right-handers (.234/.307/.363) than against lefties (.240/.306/.366).
Closing out Week 26, Gutierrez should have a nice matchup with the Nationals — despite their recent hot streak at the plate that has seen them average 4.9 runs per game and slash .269/.360/.446 over their last 10 games. First off he'll benefit from the fact that the Nationals are hitting worse on the road this year (.250/.329/.404) than at home (.266/.340/.435). And then on top of that, Washington is hitting significantly worse against right-handers (.250/.324/.404, 21.7 K%) than against left-handers (.277/.359/.455, 20.7 K%).
The Pirates and Nationals have been hitting well recently, but Gutierrez should still be able to put up solid value against them based on their splits. If you're willing to take a gamble, Gutierrez should be a good play in most formats this week.
Week 26 Streamers — Under 25% Rostered
Tyler Anderson, SEA - 17% rostered
Probable Opponents: @ OAK, @ LAA
Anderson has shown up in this column several times this season, and while he has been inconsistent at times he has been one of the better pitchers in the league since the beginning of July, as he's gone 3-1 with a 3.36 ERA, 1.179 WHIP and 19.0 percent strikeout rate over 67 innings of work. He'll kick things off against the hot-hitting Athletics who are slashing .267/.336/.396 and averaging 5.6 runs per game over their last 10 games. Oakland is hitting better against left-handers this year (.243/.317/.412), but they're also hitting worse at home (.228/.313/.387) than on the road (.250/.322/.431). Anderson should get a better matchup against the Angels, as they have struggled over their last 10 games with a .216/.301/.384 triple-slash line while averaging 3.7 runs per game. While the matchup looks good, Anderson will be on the wrong end of their splits as they're hitting better against lefties (.248/.313/.427) and they're hitting better at home (.258/.321/.438).
This week could go either way for Anderson. On one hand the splits don't look great for these matchups, but on the other hand he's been consistently solid on the mound lately. He's more of a gamble than Gutierrez, but he should still be a solid play in Week 26.
Erick Fedde, WSN - 6% rostered
Probable Opponents: @ MIA, @ CIN
It's been a rough year for Fedde, but there have been some brief flashes of potential from him. He looked solid in his latest outing against Miami, where he held them to one run over five innings with eight strikeouts. He'll look to build off that when he opens up this week with another game against the Marlins, who are slashing .222/.274/.371 and averaging 3.6 runs per game over their last 10 games. The main thing with this matchup is that it'll be in Miami this time, and the Marlins are hitting better at home this year (.241/.306/.369) than on the road (.230/.297/.381). The news gets better for Fedde in his second start of the week, as the Reds have been mired in a slump over their last 10 games where they're slashing .209/.266/.335 and averaging 2.7 runs per game. Although that being said he's on the wrong side of Cincinnati's splits, as the Reds are hitting better against right-handed pitchers (.256/.334/.445) and they're hitting better at home (.260/.343/.462).
This is probably the best opportunity for managers to utilize Fedde in what's left of this season. Obviously there's a bit of a gamble given Fedde's struggles this year, but these are some nice matchups against weak offenses. He's one of the better options to target in deeper formats this week.
Mitch Keller, PIT - 3% rostered
Probable Opponents: @ CIN, @ PHI
Given how much Keller has struggled this year, it's somewhat of a surprise to see him as a potentially viable two-start streamer this week. But he's looked pretty solid over his last three starts with a 3.38 ERA, 1.438 WHIP and 24.6 percent strikeout rate over 16 innings of work. He'll open up the week against Cincinnati, as he'll be in the same situation as Fedde in this matchup with the Reds. He'll have a more challenging start at the end of the week against Philadelphia, as they're slashing .264/.342/.460 and averaging 5.6 runs per game over their last 10 games. Keller could have a slight advantage in this outing though, as the Phillies are hitting worse against right-handers (.239/.316/.407) than against left-handers (.249/.329/.421).
Based on his track record alone, Keller has to be the riskiest play in this week's column. But with the improvement he's shown on the mound over his past few starts, plus going up against a weak Cincinnati lineup, Keller could end up as a decent play in deeper formats in Week 26.
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