10-Team Leagues

Shane Bieber (CLE) – Well Biebs popped the streamers list last week in the deeper league section and to absolutely no surprise his ownership spiked after another solid performance against St. Louis. It’s a small sample size for Bieber because he’s only had four starts, but he’s averaging almost 10.0 K/9 with a stellar 1.48 BB/9. He’s recorded a win in each of his last three starts and this will likely be the last time he appears as a streamer. It’s highly suggested if you stream him for his next two starts (Kansas City and Cincinnati) you should probably hang on to him heading into the All Star break. Keep in mind he just turned 23 years old and this is his rookie season. That means an innings limit may be something to keep an eye on as we approach September, but as of right now he’s only logged 24.1 innings through June. Plus he plays for Cleveland who have a comfortable lead on their division and will probably rely on him heading into the postseason.

Nick Pivetta (PHI) – (Editor’s note: This first section was written Friday afternoon, before Pivetta’s start against the Nationals.) Pivetta hit a bit of a snag earlier this month, but it appears he’s gotten back on track over his last two starts. In his last 12.1 innings of work he’s accumulated 20 strikeouts while allowing just three walks. Unfortunately home runs are still a problem. Over his last 22.1 innings he’s given up five home runs. The good news is his 3.20 FIP (compared to his 4.05 ERA) suggests he’s due for a little regression and don’t forget he’s still a great strikeout pitcher. He’s induced 34 swinging strikes over his last two appearances and the velocity on his fastball has improved from earlier this season.

(Editor’s note: And here’s the section written after Pivetta’s disastrous outing Friday night.) Well… That was certainly a poor performance. Pivetta failed to get out of the second inning after surrendering three home runs, seven earned runs, and collecting just two strikeouts. This brings his home run total over his last 24 innings to eight. That’s a 3.00 HR/9 which is absolutely horrific. His season-long ERA stands at 4.71, but he does have a 3.67 FIP so there’s reason to remain optimistic. Pivetta draws the Pirates on the road in Pittsburgh next week. The Pirates offense has gone a bit cold lately as they’ve scored just 29 runs over their last ten games.

Luis Castillo (CIN) – This is mostly a matchup play because I cannot stress enough how bad Castillo has been this year. However, in the past we’ve seen that he can be a good pitcher with high strikeout potential. This year his K/9 is down a full strikeout while his propensity to giving up the long ball has gotten worse (1.11 HR/9 in 2017 to 1.85 HR/9 in 2018). However, Castillo does face the White Sox on Monday followed by the Cubs next Sunday. The first matchup is obviously the more favorable of the two. The White Sox have struck out the third-most in all of baseball and Castillo still possesses a decent 22.3% strike out rate. It’s a risky play, but it comes with quite a bit of upside. Worst case scenario use him in DFS against the White Sox in a couple single entry GPP contests if you don’t want to risk the play in your seasonal leagues.

 

12-Team Leagues

Zach Eflin (PHI) – After a rocky start to the season in May, Eflin had an absolutely phenomenal June. He won all five of his starts this past month and didn’t allow a single home run. Additionally he struck out 28 batters in 30.2 innings of work while only walking six. Eflin, like Bieber, might be worth hanging on to long-term. Aside from the hot streak he’s on he has some very favorable matchups on the horizon. Next week he faces the Orioles in a one-start week, but may have a two-start week heading into the All Star break where he’s confirmed to face the Mets in Citi Field and then he may also get a start against the Marlins in Miami. A lot of the credit for Eflin can be given to the improved velocity with his fastball, but he’s also done a great job locating his pitches and keeping runners off base.

Lance Lynn (MIN) – Now is a great time to pick up Lance Lynn for the next couple weeks. Next Friday night he toes the rubber against the Orioles and then the following week he draws the Royals. Both starts will be at home in Minnesota. Over his last seven starts (41.1 innings) he has a 2.40 ERA, and he’s surrendered just one home run. He’s also averaging almost a strikeout per inning, but the walks are a bit undesirable (3.92 BB/9 over that span). All in all he’s a decent option with two really good matchups coming up. He draws the Cubs in Chicago to finish out this week, but he’s definitely in play for the two starts prior to the All Star break.

Mike Leake (SEA) – Leake is nowhere close to being a lights out pitcher, but if you’re in need of a quality start with the potential for a win then this is a pretty good guy to turn to. In each of his last eight starts he’s gone at least six innings while recording a quality start in seven of those outings. The catch with Leake is that he may be due for some regression. Since May 22nd he touts a 2.22 ERA, but has a 4.05 FIP. This might be due to the long ball. Over his last eight appearances Leake has given up seven home runs, but he’s been a little lucky because six of them have been solo shots. Leake will face the Angels twice over the next two weeks. So far this season in 11.1 innings of work he has given up just four earned runs with eight strikeouts, but he has issued seven walks. Like I said he’s not great, but he’s capable of logging a quality start.

 

Deeper League Options

Jonathan Loaisiga (NYY) – There is some trepidation with this suggestion because Loaisiga’s matchup against the Braves, albeit at home on Tuesday, isn’t great. The good news is that this Lasagna guy has some solid strikeout potential with 18 so far through 14 innings. Plus he hasn’t allowed a home run yet through three starts. The bad news is that he’s issued eight walks in that short span and the last time he faced a great offense he couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. That’s why it’s somewhat concerning with the upcoming matchup against Atlanta. But if you’re in a deeper league and you’re a routine streamer you’ve probably gone dumpster diving for worse streaming options on waivers. Loaisiga still has a great offense backing him up so even if he gives up four runs in five innings there’s still win potential for him if the Yankees can get the best of Sean Newcomb .

Zack Wheeler (NYM) – As the Mets season continues its fall into infinite despair this is a guy you can turn to in a deeper league. Sure Wheeler has a 4.47 ERA on the year, but a 3.66 FIP suggests there is some positive regression in store. In his last three starts he’s lasted at least six innings in each outing while striking out at least seven hitters in each of those starts. Wheeler has actually been a pretty decent innings eater this year. In 15 of his starts he’s lasted at least six innings in eleven of those appearances. Additionally eight of those eleven outings have been quality starts. He’s also only given up two home runs in 38.2 innings of work in June. He’s generating more swings as of late and it's a good time to strike while the iron is hot. He’ll face the Blue Jays North of the border on July 4th.

Dereck Rodriguez (SF) – Rodriguez is an okay option next week. Obviously out of all the names on this list he ranks as the worst pitcher on the board. It was a toss up between Rodriguez and James Shields , but if I put Shields on this list I’d lose a lot of credibility and all of my dignity. In five starts (27.1 innings) Rodriguez has a 3.95 ERA with a 3.75 FIP and a 4.11 xFIP. He doesn’t have a ton of strikeout potential (7.90 K/9), but he does okay limiting damage (1.98 BB/9 and 0.99 HR/9). The son of Ivan Rodriguez has done enough to stick in the rotation for the time being. Rodriguez gets the benefit of taking the bump next week against the Cardinals at home. At home this year he has a 2.50 ERA and opponents are slashing just .229/.280/.371 against him at AT&T Park. This is a pretty decent play in deeper leagues, but be aware that the Cardinals offense has been heating up lately.