Pitchers are such fickle creatures. Drew Hutchison looked like a train wreck after being a trendy sleeper pick in fantasy circles to start the year. But between May 9th and June 6th, Hutch was studly, with a 2.82 ERA, 8.45 K/9, a 1.17 BB/9, and a 44.3% ground ball rate. The FIP and xFIP were 2.37 and 2.75, respectively, showing that the ERA was no fluke. Then he faced a slumping Boston offense and gets beat up for 8 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks. Wut? It’s important to remember that all pitchers have slumps whether it’s one game, one week, or one month. It’s important to stick with your guys and also to remember that with streaming pitchers, you’re going to have a clunker sometimes, even if everything looks right. Now, on to tomorrow’s streaming pitchers!
Streaming Pitchers: 6/15/2015
Jesse Hahn RHP OAK (@ SD)
Don’t look now (actually, do look, since I’m trying to point it out to you), but Jesse Hahn is starting to look like a solid major league pitcher. He had a few iffy starts to begin the year, but since April 29th<, he’s been solid, despite a 4.39 ERA. He’s had a 3.35 FIP and a 3.56 xFIP, thanks to a 6.75 K/9, 2.19 BB/9, and a 51.2% ground ball rate. Part of his success has been due to newfound confidence in his changeup. I think he’ll be an excellent streaming option against San Diego, as they only hit a 92 wRC+ at home and an 89 wRC+ against righties. Look for another solid start here.
Carlos Rodon LHP CWS (@ PIT)
This is the first time, and probably last time, that I’ll use Carlos Rodon on these fine pages. It’s got nothing to do with his skills, though. He’s been very impressive in his last few starts, going 18.1 IP with a 0.98 ERA, 9.33 K/9, 2.45 BB/9, and 44.0% ground ball rate. He’s starting to show the borderline ace skills that scouts thought that he could, with a 10.4% swinging strike rate backing up those strikeout numbers. The control can still be an issue, as he’s only throwing strikes with his first pitch 54.6% of the time, compared to the league average of 61.2%. First-strike percentage is an excellent indicator of control, and it has a very high correlation to walk rate. All I’m saying is use Rodon with caution, as he hasn’t suddenly figured out his control issues, at least not just yet. Regardless, he’s still a good matchup streamer, and he’s got a great one here, facing Pittsburgh at PNC Park, which will help keep any long fly balls in the park. The Pirates hit just a 96 wRC+ at home and a measly 86 wRC+ against lefties.
Good luck and happy streaming!
