10-Team

Julio Teheran , SP ATL  - I put Teheran in this article recently because he has been pitching out of his mind and his ownership has barely moved since then and the man just keeps shutting down opposing offenses. Over his last five starts he has allowed a total of three earned runs over 27.2 innings and while I will give you the fact that the competition hasn’t exactly been the best the MLB has to offer, it shouldn’t detract from how strong he has been now for almost two months. His start this week will be home against the Mets who are a middle of the road team against RHP this season with the 12th worst strike out rate at 23.2-percent. Teheran shouldn’t just be streamed, he should be owned in all league formats.

John Means , SP BAL – Means continues to be solid for the O’s and while his team often fails to give him run support, fantasy owners should not shy away. I am intrigued by his match up this week as he faces a Mariners team that just traded away Edwin Encarnación which immediately makes their lineup a tad less intimidating. It also helps that most of the Mariners better hitters are left-handed which gives Means the split advantage. If you want to check the box scores you will see that the last time Means allowed more than three earned runs in a single outing was his last start in April. He is very reliable.

 

12-Team

Lance Lynn , SP TEX – I would say Lynn passed the test in his start against the Red Sox as he struck out eight while tossing a quality start. The strike out numbers continue to be impressive for Lynn and is the driving force of his fantasy value and recent success on the mound as well as he has fanned 44 over his last 31.1 innings. He will find himself with a two-start week coming up as he draws the Indians on Monday and the White Sox on Saturday.  Both CLE and CWS struggle against RHP this season, ranking 23rd and 22nd in wOBA against righties. The White Sox also are the owners of the third worst strikeout rate against RHP, sitting at 25.7-percent.

Mike Fiers , SP OAK – Fiers is another starter with two starts this week but I am mostly focused on his first start on Monday as he faces the lowly Baltimore Orioles. The O’s are one of the worst teams in baseball against RHP this season, ranking towards the bottom of the league in wOBA, ISO and batting average while striking out in nearly 23-percent of their at bats this season. Fiers has been incredibly steady this season, having now allowed more than three earned runs in a single start since April 20th. He finished May with a 2.87 ERA and has a June ERA of 3.75 over two starts, both of which notched him a QS.

Michael Wacha , SP STL – Wacha let us down in his last start but It was the start before that against the Marlins that had peaked everyone’s interest in him. This week he will get to redeem himself against that same Marlins teams who will be traveling to St. Louis this time. He is definitely a risky play but the Marlins offense, even with their recent play, is still a middle of the road team against RHP and overall on the year their rank 29th in wOBA and 30th in ISO while striking out in nearly 25-percent of their at bats.  

 

15-Team

Mike Leake , SP SEA – Leake draws a home start against the O’s this upcoming week and that should put him on everybody’s radar. It also helps that he is really pitching well right now, allowing just six earned runs over his last three starts which spans 23 innings. He tossed a complete game against the Astros two starts ago which is pretty impressive.  At home this season Leake has been a totally different pitcher as he owns a 2.95 ERA over six starts compared to his 5.33 ERA on the road over eight starts. I will take my shot with Leake at home against Baltimore any day of the week right now.

Adam Plutko , SP CLE – So, I will be honest and say I don’t love the matchup as the Rangers can certainly do some damage, especially in Texas but Plutko has actually been solid in three of his four starts this season. In deep leagues beggars cant be choosers and in three of those four starts Plutko has allowed no more than two earned runs. His lone bad starts saw him get shelled by the Rays, allowing seven runs on 12 hits over 5.1 innings.  If you are desperate for a starter I don’t mind the gamble.