Not a lot of options this week for streaming purposes, and only two days in the middle of the week with two useful choices. Archie Bradley marks the only two-start option in Week 18, so you might want to snag him early off the wire and hold him through his second start on Sunday. Also, realize this is being written before the trade deadline on Monday, so things could change depending on the moves made by teams in MLB. Be prepared to adjust your plans accordingly.

Another pitcher to consider adding to your roster is the left hander from Detroit, Matt Boyd. Just be aware of his home/road split dichotomy, as he has proven much more comfortable pitching at Comerica Park than on the road so far.

Realize that these pitchers are all owned in 50 percent or less of leagues. and thus may be available in your league on the waiver wire. I am only going to highlight those pitchers that I believe can provide a boost to your rotation, so no bottom-of-the-barrel SPs will be brought to your attention. Also, please understand that this set of pitchers is being assembled early before the next scoring period (in most leagues, at least) commences, and weather, injury, demotions or crazy managerial decisions can interfere with our well-laid plans, so be ready to adjust if you can make daily lineup adjustments.

Here are the recommended streaming options for this week:

Monday, August 1, 2016

Archie Bradley ARI vs WAS Stephen Strasburg

Bradley has been pitching well, but his record does not reflect that. Part of this is due to his inability to pitch deeply into games, as he has pitched into the seventh inning just once in his past 11 games. He also has problems with his control, posting a horrific 4.50 BB/9 rate over his 14 starts. He does strike out nearly a batter per inning (8.67 K/9 over 82 innings), and he has stopped giving up homers for the most part, having allowed only four long balls over his last eight starts (as opposed to seven dingers in his first six trips to the hill). He has been a better road option, understandable given his home park, so this is a streaming option given with reservations, but there is really no one else to turn to on Monday.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Dylan Bundy BAL vs TEX Yu Darvish

Bundy only has three starts on the season, having been used out the bullpen at the beginning of the season. He looks to be on a strict pitch count, and most recently was pulled after tossing a season-high 89 pitches, in a start against the Rockies where he struck out eight and was hurling a perfect game into the sixth, when it all fell apart after he had one out. Do not expect him to go deep into games, limiting his opportunities to provide a win or QS, but the strikeouts should continue to come, with his 94 MPH fastball (8.48 K/9 over 52 innings). He is a much better home pitcher, so this matchup plays into his strength.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Sean Manaea OAK @ LAA Jered Weaver

Dan Straily CIN vs StL Michael Wacha

Manaea has now hurled three quality starts in his last four outings, and has not allowed a free pass in any of those games. He is an average strikeout producer (7.79 K/9), but the control is superb. He gets to face a team that does not inspire a great deal of trepidation among opposing pitchers, although he would be better suited if he was taking the mound at home as opposed to pitching in Anaheim. He has been having success relying mainly on his fastball and change, with just a smattering of his slider thrown in to keep hitters guessing. His ERA and WHIP continue to trend downward since his season high 11.37 and 2.05 on May 10, and now sit at a still bloated but much more palatable 4.57 ERA and 1.29 WHIP through 86.2 innings.

Straily has been on a nice run of five consecutive QS, and has allowed a total of three earned runs over his last three starts. He likes pitching at home, with his home ERA more than a run below what he has produced on the road (3.21 vs 4.48), so this matchup looks good for him to continue his recent success. There are some warning signs in that his FIP sits at 4.61 as opposed to his 3.84 ERA and he has an unsustainable .233 BABIP. Plus, he is a below average producer of Ks, with a 7.17 K/9 rate over his 122 innings pitched in 2016. Still, I would ride the hot hand for the present until the regression strikes.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Kendall Graveman OAK @ LAA Tim Lincecum

Matt Boyd DET vs CHW Jose Quintana

Graveman has a streak of five consecutive QS and has collected four wins in those outings. only losing to the Indians in his latest start. He is not much of a strikeout pitcher, with just a 5.46 K/9 rate this season, but he has been showing better control of late. He relies on generating a ton of grounders from opposing hitters, to the tune of a 2.34 GB/FB ratio over his 20 starts covering 117 innings. He would be an even better option at home, but he has shrugged off his early season road woes recently, so facing the Tim Lincecum-led in Anaheim is not necessarily a reason to avoid him.

Boyd looked shaky in the first inning of his most recent start against the Astros, but was able to settle down and picked up the win when his offense picked him up, tossing a four hit, six K, five inning victory at home. He has exhibited excellent control and has a 27:6 K/BB ratio over his latest six starts. Facing division rival Chicago at home is a great matchup, as his home ERA and WHIP sit at an excellent 2.63 and 1.06, respectively. If you need to add an arm to your fantasy rotation, you would do well to consider the 25-year-old southpaw, so long as you use him for his home starts, at least until he shows similar prowess on the road.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Miguel Gonzalez CHW vs BAL Yovani Gallardo

Gonzalez has thrown six consecutive quality starts, during which period he has posted a 1-2 record due to some bad luck, with the bullpen blowing his last chance at a victory over the Twins, where he held the opposition to just two runs (one earned) on six hits over seven innings. He has posted a 31:9 K/BB ratio over his last six outings, numbers better than his season averages of 7.08 K/9 and 3.12 BB/9, so there is reason to believe he is improving on some solid but not great production as the season wears on. He is not a great option if you need wins or quality starts, but he does provide steady production in the stat line otherwise. Facing Baltimore away from Camden Yards is a potential blessing, despite his home/road splits showing he favors pitching away from U.S. Cellular Field, and his good 0.9 HR/9 rate this season.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Andrew Cashner MIA @ COL Chad Bettis

Cashner moves to a new team, and that should bolster his chances to pick up more victories with a stronger offense than he was provide in San Diego. He also moves to a more favorable pitchers' park, although for this start he is toeing the rubber in one of the worst places to pitch in the majors, Coors Field. He has not been stellar facing Colorado on the road recently, but that is not abnormal for most pitchers. He posted a 31:8 K/BB ratio over his July starts to date, although you would be advised to study his first start as a Marlin against the Cardinals on Sunday to make sure he does not suffer what James Shields went through when he was traded to the White Sox earlier in the season. Cashner is the best of the bunch for streaming purposes on Saturday, however, and this matchup may deter you from employing a streaming strategy for this slate of games.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Archie Bradley ARI vs MIL Jimmy Nelson

Bradley is the lone two-start streaming option for Week 18. I discussed my general impressions of him in Monday's entry above, so will not belabor those points here. This is good matchup, against a team that is at the bottom of ranking for road teams in the NL in terms of offense, and that strikes out a ton, which should help pad the young Diamondback hurlers final stat totals. As I noted above, this may be a good week to add Bradley to your roster for the entire week to take advantage of his dual starts.

I enjoy responding to reader questions, so feel free to post. Please note that the Fantasy Alarm Forums are now open for your use, to ask questions or provide your own commentary and wisdom. If you do not want your comments to appear in this public forum (if say your league members also read these articles), then feel free to contact me at ia@fantasyalarm.com for a more private response. I play in a ton of fantasy leagues, and am willing to discuss any baseball issues you may want to raise, not just starting pitching issues. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in your fantasy endeavors.