I will not be including James Paxton in this article for a fifth straight week. His roster percentage has been creeping up with every impressive start and Monday’s win – which as usual came with plenty of whiffs, strikeouts, and a quality start – has finally taken him out of pitching streamer territory. If your league has somehow neglected him, however, I first wanted to recommend him ahead of all the names listed here. If not, we’ll let “Big Maple” continue to party like it’s 2016 and get to business.
We’re now at the halfway point of most fantasy baseball leagues. Whether you’re in first place or fighting for a playoff position, this article will help you bolster your pitching staff. It’s perfect for weekly transaction leagues and for studious daily-transactions managers who like to plan ahead. Below are my 10 favorite pitching streamers for week 13. As always they are listed in roster-percentage order.
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Top 10 Pitching Streamer Options For This Upcoming Week
Pitching Streamers Available in Some Leagues (About 50% to 65% Rostered)
Taj Bradley SP Rays
Last start: Wednesday, June 21st vs. Orioles – 6IP W 1ER 3H 0BB 8K
2 starts next week: Tuesday, June 27th @ DBacks + Sunday, July 2nd @ Mariners
After convincingly beating the Orioles on Wednesday and earning his fifth win of the season, Taj Bradley’s stock appears to be rising. In addition to piling up the strikeouts (19 in his last 10.2 innings), and maintaining a solid 27.6% whiff rate, it was particularly good to see him not issue any free passes. That’s held him back recently as he had issued 10 in his last 13 innings. It allowed him to go six for the first time in his career and also earn a quality start. The talent is there and he‘s one of the best rookie pitchers in baseball. His ERA/WHIP of 3.86/1.20 should make him more rostered than he is, especially since it’s backed up by a 3.25 xERA. Even in a shallow league, his two-start upcoming week makes him a must roster.
Lance Lynn SP White Sox
Last start: Sunday, June 18th @ Mariners – 7IP L 3ER 4H 2BB 16K
Next start: Saturday, June 24th vs. Red Sox
1 start next week: Thursday, June 29th @ Angels
You usually won’t see me recommend a guy with a 6.51 ERA/1.51 WHIP through his first 15 starts, but Lance Lynn sure opened some eyes on Sunday. He struck out 16 Mariners in seven innings! His 33 swinging strikes were the most in a game this season and tied for the fourth most in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). It should also be noted that on July 16th of last season, Lynn’s ERA/WHIP was in the same neighborhood (7.50/1.50) and he finished with a respectable 3.99/1.13. Bottom line, this start at least proves that he’s still capable of the production we’ve been used to. Will that trend continue despite his next two tough opponents (Red Sox this weekend, Angels next week)? Maybe, maybe not. But if someone gave up on him in your league, you really ought to take that shot.
Braxton Garrett SP Marlins
Last start: Thursday, June 22nd vs. Pirates – 7IP 1ER (2R) 3H 0BB 13K
1 start next week: Wednesday, June 28th @ Red Sox
Did you see Braxton Garrett’s start on Thursday? 13 strikeouts against the Pirates! He even went seven innings for the first time all season and only surrendered one earned run. And this hasn’t come out of nowhere. He’s now allowed just two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts, he’s sporting a 2.00 ERA and 0.80 WHIP during that time, and he has a 10.57 K/9 rate for the season. But with such a dominant start like this last one, your league-mates are going to take notice. He’s going to become unavailable very soon if he isn’t already. That’s why he’s on this list despite an extremely tough matchup next week: the Red Sox on the road. Though they’re a top-five offensive that is deadly at home (.837 OPS vs. .687 on the road), you likely won’t have another chance to grab the breaking-out lefty. Good chance he can help you rest of season.
Pitching Streamers Available in Most Leagues (About 30% to 50% Rostered)
Brayan Bello SP Red Sox
Last start: Friday, June 23rd @ White Sox – 6.2IP 1ER 6H 1BB 5K
1 start next week: Thursday, June 29th vs. Marlins
How many solid starts does a guy have to make before he’s not a pitching streamer anymore? The answer is a lot for Brayan Bello. His winning effort against the White Sox last night (only one run in 6.2 innings) was more of the same. That’s four quality starts in a row now. That’s 11 out of his 12 starts giving up three runs or fewer. That’s going at least six innings in six of his last eight. He’s even drawn a favorable matchup next week. The Marlins are ranked 25th in runs-per-game and have a modest 0.314 WOBA. As long as he’s still a streamer, you might as well go for it.
Gavin Williams SP Guardians
Last start: Wednesday, June 21st vs. A’s – 5.2IP 4ER 4H 3BB 4K
2 start next week (tentative): Tuesday, June 27th @ Royals + Sunday, July 2nd @ Cubs
Gavin Williams, the best of what was left in the minors, made his debut on Wednesday. Though neither the final line nor his seven swinging strikes will leave fantasy managers inspired, it’s worth noting that all the damage against him was done in one inning, the third, and following that inning he retired eight in a row. Tough innings are common in debut starts. Solid recoveries following them are much less so. The butterflies are hopefully out of the way now and next week Cleveland’s No. 1 prospect (and 16th overall according to MLB Pipeline) is lined up to draw two favorable starts. Given that the Guardians let the 23-year-old pitch into the sixth in his first go-around, and given that he’s only thrown 61 total innings so far this season (115 innings last year), there should be volume upside as well as quality. Go make sure he’s not available in your league.
Garrett Whitlock SP/RP Red Sox
Last start: Wednesday, June 21st @ Twins – 7IP 4ER 8H 0BB 6K
2 starts next week: Tuesday, June 27th vs. Marlins + Sunday, July 2nd @ Blue Jays
Garrett Whitlock didn’t have his best pitch, the slider, working for him on Wednesday in Minnesota (he actually said that after the game). All the more impressive that he still had 18 swinging strikes, six strikeouts, and was able to complete seven frames. Sure, he gave up some hard-hit balls and four runs, but his bat-missing ability lately continues to intrigue. He’s now had at least 17 swinging strikes in each of his last three starts and overall has brought his ERA/WHIP down to a somewhat respectable 4.50/1.22. Not bad for a guy whose first six appearances (out of eight so far) were all against over .500 teams. That trend will continue next week, but he should get two starts. The 27-year-old makes an ideal streamer if you need volume, especially with the Red Sox rattling off wins recently.
Ranger Suarez SP Phillies
Last start: Tuesday, June 20th vs. Braves – 6IP 1ER 4H 2BB 7K
2 starts next week: Tuesday, June 27th @ Cubs + Sunday, July 2nd vs. Nationals
Looks like it’s time to stop ignoring Ranger Suarez. He’s fresh off a super impressive start against the offensive-powerhouse Braves, during which he struck out seven and induced 13 swinging strikes. His one run allowed over six innings also earned him a quality start. It’s actually his fifth in a row and his ERA over those five games is 1.38. He’s all lined up for a two-start week, too. He’ll draw a hot Cubs team (but for the season they’ve been about league average) and then a juicy matchup against the Nationals next weekend. The lefty’s roster percentage is starting to climb. This is a good week to act.
Reid Detmers SP Angels
Last start: Tuesday, June 20th vs. Dodgers – 7IP 0ER 2H 1BB 8K
1 start next week: Tuesday, June 27th vs. White Sox
Is Reid Detmers finally trending in the right direction? It sure feels that way after his last two starts, during which he’s yielded a total of one run in 13 innings with 16 strikeouts. And against the Rangers and Dodgers (1st and 3rd in runs per game)! The strikeouts are nothing new, of course. But recently his wonderful 10.9 K/9 rate has been accompanied by fewer walks (six in his last 18.2IP), fewer hits (only 10 in his last three starts), and perhaps as a consequence, more innings per start (this is the first time all season he’s gone at least six innings back-to-back). Word is, he’s getting more vertical break on his slider, too. You put it all together, the lefty’s looking good for next week’s start against the White Sox, a team ranked in the bottom ten in runs-per-game, all the ratio stats, and most importantly, dead last in walks.
Pitching Streamers Widely Available (About 30% Rostered or Fewer)
Kyle Bradish SP Orioles
Last start: Tuesday, June 20th @ Rays – 5IP W 2ER 4H 2BB 8K
2 starts next week: Monday, June 26th vs. Reds + Sunday, July 2nd vs. Twins
You’re not likely to find a better streaming pitcher option in deep leagues than Kyle Bradish. His solid season continued on Tuesday when he beat arguably the best offense in baseball, the Rays, by limiting them to just two runs over five innings. He posted an impressive eight strikeouts too and induced 13 swinging strikes on 92 pitches. Although the metrics can be off-putting (17th percentile average exit velocity/21st% hard-hit rate), it looks like that damage mostly comes from his fastball, a pitch he seems to be throwing less in favor of his slider. That’s a good sign. The pitch has generated a 38.7% whiff rate this season. And it’s been largely responsible for his two highest strikeout totals in the last three starts. That ought to play well in his two-start week. The Reds strike out seventh most and the Twins are in a league of their own with 678 Ks this season. Might be a good time to consider him even in a non-shallow league.
Bryan Woo SP Mariners
Last start: Thursday, June 22nd @ Yankees – 5.1IP W 0ER 2H 3BB 5K
Next week: Tuesday, June 27th vs. Nationals
It’s possible Bryan Woo, another pitching prospect called up for the first time this month, has been overlooked due to his nightmarish debut three weeks ago. His six runs in just two innings of work (which came against the Rangers – hard to hold that against him) perhaps left a bad taste in the mouths of fantasy managers. But since then, the 23-year-old has put together three solid starts, yielding no more than two runs, averaging well over a strikeout an inning (21 Ks in 15.2 IP), and inducing at least 11 swinging strikes in each one. If his momentum continues next week against the Nationals (who rank 23rd in runs-per-game and have a lowly .688 OPS against righties), your league-mates may finally take notice. Might want to beat the rush.