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You know, I think Martin Luther King meant to say “I have a Stream” in his famous speech during the the march on Washington. I mean, he had to have been referring to the necessity to stream starting pitchers in fantasy baseball, right?
Okay, so maybe not, but streaming pitchers is such a great way to win weekly pitching categories in your league, which is why I write this column every weekend. Week 6 is funny, because there are nine more games on tap than last week, but there are only three or four elite pitchers that draw two starts. That’s where the streaming aspect really comes into play, so let’s get down to it.
Nate Eovaldi, Miami Marlins (vs NYM, @SD)- Eovaldi is currently only about 40 percent owned, but I personally guarantee that changes come Monday when owners realize how good his two matchups are. The guy is pitching good, too, going at least six innings in every outing this season, and he actually sports the 10th-best WHIP in the National League. Surprisingly, the Marlins have scored the 6th-most runs per game this year, so he is getting run support, and I love his chances of picking up two wins this week. He gets a home matchup in pitcher-friendly Miami against a Mets offense that strikes out about nine times per nine innings and is batting .221 as a team, the third-lowest average in the majors. They are also the fourth-worst team at hitting the ball out of the park, which bodes well for a ground ball pitcher (55.5%) like Eovaldi. And then there’s a meeting against the Padres in Petco, an offense that is allowing opposing pitchers to post a league-nest 2.24 ERA.
Jonathon Niese, New York Mets (@MIA, vs PHI)- I like another NL East pitcher in Niese, who faces two familiar division rivals this week. The guy is pitching pretty well for the Mets, tossing four consecutive quality starts. And while the Marlins are hitting the ball better, they are still striking out about nine times per game, which could result in a nice uptick in strikeouts for a guy fanning just 6.61 per nine this year. That game is also in Miami, which helps. Then he gets a home meeting with an inconsistent Phillies offense that he has seen success against. In his career, Niese is sporting an ERA of 3.00 against the Phillies, while posting 60 strikeouts against them over the last three seasons, his most against any ball club. Niese is currently available in over 80 percent of leagues.
Robbie Ray, Detroit Tigers (vs HOU, vs MIN)- With Anibal Sanchez on the disabled list, the Tigers were forced to call up prospect Robbie Ray, who will make his first career start in the majors on Tuesday against the Astros. It may be a bit difficult to roll with an unproven guy making his first two major league starts, but if there were any time to do it, it would be in Week 6. Ray faces not only two favorable offenses, but he also faces two of the three worst starting rotations in baseball, which should result in plenty of run support from a vaunted Tigers offense. Meanwhile, the Astros are second-t0-last in runs scored, while only the Cubs and Twins are striking out more times per game. Houston has some of the worst team plate discipline, which could help a young arm like Ray. In five starts with Triple-A Toledo, Ray struck out 21 batters, compared to just five walks, so if he maintains that control, he should be more than serviceable for your fantasy team.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
