I like Rubby de la Rosa quite a bit. As a Red Sox fan, I was excited to get anything back for the salary dump that we pulled off in the Nick Punto Trade. The Sox acquired de la Rosa, along with Allen Webster, as a couple of pitchers with upside, though they decided later on not to mess with the upside and shipped the two of them for the mediocrity that is Wade Miley. (For those keeping score, that means the Sox traded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto for Wade Miley. Nice.) Rubby’s had his issues, but if he can put it all together, he could be a solid pitcher, as his underlying stats seem to suggest a possible budding ace (if he can get over his command issues). Only time will tell. Now, on to tomorrow’s streaming pitchers!
Streaming Pitchers: 6/21/2015
Charlie Morton RHP PIT (@ WSH)
Happy #GroundChuckDay again, everyone! Charlie Morton continues to roll on against everyone he meets, and the ground balls keep rolling. So far this season, Morton has a 4.05 K/9, a 2.16 BB/9, and a 67% ground ball rate. He’s had an astoundingly low .229 BABIP, and that’s sure to rise. Even with that and the lack of strikeouts, his FIP (3.32) and xFIP (3.47) sit at numbers that are better than average. He’s lasted no less than 7.0 innings in all but one of his five starts. Now, I’m not the only one riding the Ground Chuck Bandwagon. Paul Sporer from FanGraphs is also imploring you to add him to his roster. His matchup against the Nationals should be favorable for him as well, as they only hit a 91 wRC+ at home and a 99 wRC+ against righties.
Jeremy Hellickson RHP ARI (vs. SD)
Hellickson fits a weird profile as far as fantasy goes. If you haven’t noticed, I focus in on pitchers’ K/9, BB/9 and ground ball rate, since I feel like those are the factors that drive a pitcher’s FIP and xFIP. All of those stats sort of hover somewhere between average and just below average, as they usually have. As such, he’s a pitcher many won’t target in fantasy leagues, but that is just why you can use him as one of your streaming pitchers. In certain matchups, he’ll perform like an average or above average pitcher, netting you solid results for next to nothing. At home against the Padres is just one of those matchups. They hit an 88 wRC+ against righties and on the road. Hellickson has an opportunity for a solid matchup here, even with pitching in Chase Field, and I would suggest you use him here.
