Welcome to another edition of Field of Streams, your look at some streaming options for the upcoming week in fantasy baseball. Sorry for the short little hiatus, but I am back and better, well at least probably as good as, ever! So here are my fantasy pitching streaming options for the upcoming week in fantasy baseball.
Kyle Kendrick- I will admit, I have never really been much of K-squared fan, but Kyle has certainly been getting things done this season. Kendrick is 3-1 with an ERA of 2.43 and a WHIP of 1.13. Now, having not been a believer in Kendrick in the past, I immediately wanted to see if these stats are legit. Well, while it does not look like the ERA is really that sustainable, but his xFIP this season is 3.65 and his SIERA is 3.95, so he has been pitching decently. Don’t expect many Ks from Kyle as his K/9 is under seven, but he could still get you some quality starts. Kendrick will get two starts this upcoming week, at San Fran and at Arizona. Both teams have been decent at scoring runs, but have wOBAs in the bottom half of the league, so I would go ahead and stream away with Kendrick this week!
Andrew Cashner- I’ve liked “Tango and” Cashner for a good amount of time now. Now aside from his ability to grow just absolutely glorious facial hair, Cashner has not been exactly spectacular thus far in 2013. Cashner is 1-3, with a 4.24 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP and a K/9 under seven. The advanced stats seem to indicate that these numbers or on par with what they should to this point. The stat pundits, as I shall refer to them, however, project better numbers. Nothing eye-popping, but a K/9 over eight, maybe even close to nine, and an ERA between 3.60-3.75. Cashner also has two starts this week and the best news is that first start is against the Marlins. The Marlins, if you don’t know, are pretty much the worst offense in baseball, so that is a must start for Cashner. Cash’s second start is against the Rays, who are 18th in the majors in runs. Rays have had their moments offensively and that could be a play it by ear start for AC, but I say go ahead and stream him this week.
Jhoulys Chacin- Chacin is fresh off the disabled list and before he was put on the shelf with an injury he was cruisin’! Chacin stands 3-0 with a sub-two ERA. Now, the numbers will not be quite as good as they are now, but Chacin’s 3.53 xFIP and 3.77 SIERA do point to him being very serviceable in the fantasy baseball spectrum. Chacin will make his second start after coming back from the disabled list next weekend at St. Louis. Chacin does not strikeout a lot of batters and the Cardinals do not strikeout much anyways. Plus the Cards tend to do pretty well scoring runs, so I am not 100% pushing Chacin this week, but depending on how your stats are looking headed into the weekend, he may be worth a shot. I would say like 60-65% chance Jhoulys has a very good start against the Cards.
Jeremy Guthrie- “Guth” is never gonna be an ace of a staff and will generally be available. Lately Guthrie has been very good at not losing. Going into Saturday, Guthrie is working on 16 straight starts where he has managed to not lose. With a record of 3-0 and a 3.06 ERA, “Guth” has been a delight for Kansas City in 2013. Now that is all good and well, and I am sure you will see Jeremy on here plenty, but his 4.95 FIP and .269 BABIP point to a lot of good luck, and also a big regression, for the veteran. This week Guthrie makes a triumphant return to his old stomping grounds, Camden Yard. This is not a favorable match up for the Royals righty and I would steer clear of him this week.
Jose Quintana- Quintana has looked good for the Pale Hose this season. Quintana’s 3.58 ERA and 1.19 WHIP look sustainable based on his peripherals. Q’s K/9 is over seven for now, but it is more likely to hover around six. With a ground ball rate just under 50%, Jose could be living a bit dangerously from time to time, but looks like he can sustain most of the numbers that appear on his stat line. Quintana has the Halos this week and that sounds like a sort of iffy matchup, but did you know that the Angels strikeout the sixth most in baseball against lefties? Hmm? Yeah, so, there is that. I think you can expect a quality start here, but with the way the White Sox are scoring, or rather not scoring, runs, I would not bet on a “W” for “Q”.
Felix Doubront- Ah yes, Felix’s ERA is over five, but he is 3-1. Also, to be fair, much of the high ERA is due to Felix’s recent outing in Texas, in which he did not make it out of the fourth inning. Now, aside from the fact the umps were squeezing Doubront a bit Friday night in Arlington, Doubront has generally been much better than his numbers would have you believe. Felix has a K/9 of 10.33 which is good for ninth in the majors amongst starters. Doubront is also sporting a FIP under three, so you can see the potential is there. Seems Felix’s biggest problem has been control and getting into too many deep counts, so long outings may not be something you will see a bunch, but he will almost definitely get you the Ks. This week’s match-up against the Twins is just plain super for Felix so I say stream away!
Justin Grimm- “The Reaper” has been the kiss of death for opposing hitters this season. Grimm is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP and a K/9 over 9. Now the K rate should drop, and the ERA should rise quite a bit, but based on his peripherals the ERA still be in the mid to high threes at this point. The preseason projections have Justin posting an ERA over five so, it may be a matter of getting in on the good starts while you can. The “Reaper” will start at Milwaukee this week, which is not terrible, but not great. I feel pretty confident in this start for him though, so I will give the go-ahead for a Grimm stream.
Dan Straily- Straily should be readily available since he currently has an ERA over six. So what you should also know is he has a SIERA of 1.88 and an xFIP of 2.17! Wow! Couple that with a whopping BABIP of .370, a K/9 of 13.50 and you can see that the current numbers are due to get better. This week Straily will head to Seattle to face the Mariners, which seems like a very good place to stream him.
John Lackey- Well the return from injury for Lackey was going well, until his, well, next injury. So Lackey’s back from his new injury and hoping to build on those good numbers he has already posted this season. John Farrell and or Juan Nieves may just be some sort of pitcher whisperers, cause the Sox starting rotation has been quite good. Lackey has an ERA, SIERA, FIP, and xFIP under three and a 10.45 K/9. Those numbers are off the charts for Lacker and probably not so sustainable, but his start this week against Minnesota, so I think they will be sustainable enough for this start.
So there are some viable streaming options for you for the upcoming week. Have fun streaming, be safe and keep on truckin’!
