Risk and reward. That’s a term that gets thrown around a lot. That’s the case in fantasy baseball, too. You take a risk on a prospect or young player or up-and-comer, hoping for them to develop into a big player. Well, that theme of risk and reward in fantasy baseball rings especially true with streaming pitchers. You take a shot on a decent guy in a prime matchup and hope for the best.
Streaming Pitchers: 6/5/15
Tsuyoshi Wada LHP CHC (@ WSH)
When Wada was on his way back from injury, he was already a pick for Karl de Vries for a deep league waiver wire pickup. In his first game back, he only went 4.2 IP, but came up with 4 hits (one homer), 2 runs, 1 walk and 9(!) strikeouts. Even without that wild game, his totals still have looked good so far, pitching 11 innings with just 6 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks and 10 strikeouts. Tomorrow, he gets the Nationals in D.C., but even with the hottest hitter in the league, the Nats still only hit a 95 wRC+ at home and a 91 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers. He’s worth a shot here.
Charlie Morton RHP PIT (@ ATL)
As we said before, Charlie Morton is a ground ball specialist. Pittsburgh manages to get the most out of their pitchers and their skill sets, and Morton is no different. He sells out for contact and hasn’t got much in the way of the K so far. The rest of his results, however, have been strong. He’s won both of his two starts since returning to the rotation, with 14 innings pitched, 11 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), just one walk but also just 5 strikeouts. He’s had an amazing 78.3% of balls in play in the dirt, and while I don’t expect that number to continue, I think he’ll continue to have a big ground ball rate. He gets the Braves offense, who hit a 94 wRC+ at home and a 96 wRC+ against righties. That isn’t a whole lot less than average, but if Morton can continue even close to the pace he has been, he should be able to handle the Braves and get the win.
Good luck and happy streaming!
