Need some extra pitching this weekend? Look no further than the weekend pitching streamers! Each weekend there are lower-rostered pitchers who could help your squad finish the week strong. I will give you players that are rostered in less than 50% of CBS leagues that have advantageous matchups. Not all of these guys are desirable options though, so I will also include a streamer confidence rating between 1-10. Good luck and happy weekend streaming!
Top Weekend Pitching Streamers:
Friday:
Michael Lorenzen vs. Baltimore Orioles (42% Rostered)
Confidence Rating: 3
Although Baltimore has been a better team over the past month or so, I still like Lorenzen in a matchup at home against the Orioles. Lorenzen has been about as average as you can get for a pitcher, besides his strikeout rate, which sits below league average at 18.1%. When he’s efficient Lorenzen is a solid streaming option. He’s not always efficient with his pitches though. He has a walk rate of 9.9% and has labored through starts in the past. The bright side is that Lorenzen has pitched well against “bad” teams and is coming off of a stretch where he faced Houston, the Mets, and division rival Seattle twice in a row. I’m turning to Lorenzen this weekend against a weaker lineup with few other streaming options on Friday.
Brady Singer vs. Cleveland Guardians (34% Rostered)
Confidence Rating: 5
I suggested Singer as a weekend pitching streamer in last week’s article and he delivered a solid performance. He struck out 9 while allowing 2 earned runs but only pitched 4.2 innings due to a high pitch count. This was also Singer’s first start of the season in which he didn’t make it through at least 5 innings. The 9 strikeouts were encouraging, and although it was against the Tigers, Singer showed why he can be a good streaming option in the right matchup. This weekend he gets the Guardians who have cooled off a bit in their last few series. They actually strike out at the lowest rate in the league as a team against RHP while ranking in the middle of the pack in most other offensive categories. Look for Singer to put up another nice outing and put up solid ratios across the board.
Saturday:
Devin Smeltzer @ Texas Rangers (40% Rostered)
Confidence Rating: 4
Another repeat suggestion from last week, Smeltzer put up a quality start, although all 3 earned runs were solo home runs. He went 6 innings for the third straight start but only struck out 3 hitters. Six of his last eight starts have gone at least 6 innings, which is a good stat to look for when deciding between streamers. As bad as the Twins’ bullpen has been, they have needed to lean on their starters to go deep into games. I like Smeltzer’s odds to go at least 6 innings again while providing solid ratios, minus the strikeouts. The Rangers have been better against LHP this season, but not so much that you should shy away from Smeltzer as a solid streaming option for Saturday.
Kyle Freeland @ Arizona Diamondbacks (15% Rostered)
Confidence Rating: 2
The matchup against the Diamondbacks is the most enticing aspect of this streamer suggestion. Freeland hasn’t been anything special this season but he gets an Arizona team that struggles against LHP. As a team they have a 23.5% strikeout rate against LHP with only an 84 wRC+. Freeland won’t wow you with his stuff, but he has been constantly going deep in his most recent starts. He has pitched at least 6 innings in five of his last six starts, allowing 16 earned runs in 38.2 innings over that span. He doesn’t have to pitch at Coors Field and he gets a team that doesn’t hit lefties very well. That’s good enough for me to lightly suggest Kyle Freeland as a desperation pitching streamer.
Sunday:
Nick Lodolo vs. Tampa Bay Rays (45% Rostered)
Confidence Rating: 7
Lodolo’s roster percentage is probably going to be higher by the time this article is published, but he is currently under 50% and qualifies as a weekend pitching streamer. Lodolo is someone I am personally excited about, so it was nice to see him return from injury and provide the number of strikeouts he did. In 4.2 innings, Lodolo racked up 8 Ks while allowing 3 hits and 0 runs. He did rack up the walks as well, as he allowed 3 in his short outing. The results were encouraging enough to feel confident in him against the Rays on Sunday. He’s still young, so he has plenty of upside with the risk of getting blown up if he isn’t at the top of his game.
José Quintana @ Milwaukee Brewers (23% Rostered)
Confidence Rating: 3
Quintana has been on a roll as of late and has only really had two bad starts all season. I’m as surprised as anyone that I am writing about José Quintana as a pitching streamer option in the year 2022. There’s reason for skepticism though, as his underlying numbers aren’t as strong as what he is currently doing. The xBA (.280) and xSLG (.465) are both career worsts and his xERA (4.38) is way higher than his current ERA (3.33). Serious regression is coming, but I’m hoping for at least one more solid effort from Quintana to let us reminisce of his mid-2010 brilliance. While the matchup isn’t ideal, Quintana has been good enough lately to warrant a pickup as a streamer in deeper leagues.
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