Hello to everyone! I didn’t get to write an article yesterday for today’s starters as I was traveling home from out of state for Memorial Day Weekend. I made it home with the intention to write only to end up collapsing on my couch and watch the rest of Kershaw’s solid start (finally). To be honest, there weren’t very many good matchups to take advantage of, especially amongst low-ownership pitchers. If you were still had Noah Syndergaard or Phil Hughes on your waiver wire, and you were able to pick them up, that probably would have been your best shot at some low(ish) owned streaming pitchers. Of course, if you had them available and were able to pick them up, you might want to hold them, especially Thor, whose hammer has been outstanding so far. Now, we move on to tomorrow’s matchups.
Streaming Pitchers 5/28/14
C.C. Sabathia LHP NNY (@OAK)
Oh how the mighty have fallen. I use to love CC before he went to the Yankees, but seeing him face off against my Sox here and there kind of took the joy out of watching him a bit. Now he’s lost a lot of the stuff that made him fun to watch at all. The fastball has lost a lot of thump, as it now averages 89.8 mph where it used to hit 94 on average in his peak. He also uses it less, about 28%(!) of the time so far this year. So why should you use him on Thursday? Because the rest of his stuff is still pretty good. He’s still striking guys out a little bit, at 20.2%. The control is super solid, at 4.7%. If you can manage to get a start from him that he isn’t BABIP’d to death, he can still produce at a decent rate. His HR/FB rate has been iffy, too, but pitching at O.co coliseum should help out with that problem. And the A’s have been pretty miserable against lefties this year, posting a lowly 68 wRC+ so far.
Buck Farmer RHP DET (@LAA)
The Tigers’ 5th round pick in 2013, he has been dubbed an eventual reliever by more than a few scouts. According to Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs.com, he has three solid average pitches and sits 91-94 mph with the fastball, with the ability to get to 96. He also has a changeup and a slider, so he’s got a good starter arsenal. However, the problem most scouts had with him was his delivery. Well, since he was drafted, all he’s done is strike hitters out at incredible rates, never striking out less than 22.5% or walking more than 8.9% (save for two starts in AAA) on his way through four levels from 2013 to last year when he debuted as a reliever in the majors last year. Now getting his first crack at starting, it’s more than likely a spot start, but he gets a decent matchup against the Angels at Angel Stadium, where they’re hitting at a 91 wRC+ at home and a 80 wRC+ against righties. If you don’t mind a little risk throwing out a guy making his first start, with some strikeout potential in his arsenal, he has a decent chance to make the most of it.
Chris Heston RHP SF (vs ATL)
Early on, Heston looked like a guy you could go to for streaming or spot starts and be very happy with the results. He’s been beat up here and there, but if you take out his trips to the bandboxes that are Colorado and Cincinnati, he’s been really solid with an ERA under 2.00, with his K/9 at 7.68 and his BB/9 rate at 1.98. He gets to pitch at home in spacious AT&T Park tomorrow, and against the lowly rebuilding Braves, who already hit at an 82 wRC+ on the road and a 94 wRC+ against righties. If you can ignore three very bad starts in two very hard-to-pitch parks, this could be a prime streaming matchup for you.
Good luck and happy streaming!
