I’ll be filling in for Taylor Tarter this week, posting the pitching streamers to look out for next week. Finding streamers who are not on many fantasy baseball rosters isn’t always easy. However, at this point in the season, you can find some offenses to target. Below, I list some streaming options fantasy managers can pursue if available.
More great Fantasy Baseball Analysis: Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire | Weekly SP Rankings | Pitching Streamers | Two-Start Pitchers | Lineup Analysis | MLB Injury Report | Rookie Report | Advanced Stats | Under the Radar | Overvalued & Undervalued | Bullpen Report
Pitching Streamers for Shallow Leagues (Over 20% Rostered)
Michael McGreevy (SP -STL)
Next Start: Wednesday, 5/20, vs. Pirates
Michael McGreevy is off to an exceptional start after posting a 4.42 ERA and 4.27 FIP last season, over 95.2 innings. He’s not known to strike batters out with only an 18.8% rate this season. However, he’s holding offenses to a .203 BABIP. So, since he doesn’t strike out many batters, when hitters put the ball in play, they aren’t getting hits.
The Pirates will likely throw five left-handed batters at McGreevy, which means the Cardinals pitcher will lean on his four-seam fastball and changeup frequently. He throws his fastball 31% and changeup 27% of the time to lefties, compared to 11% and 9% to righties, respectively.
The right-handed pitcher has thrown both pitches more than 150 times, but his changeup has been more consistent at getting hitters out. McGreevy’s changeup has held batters to a .111 batting average and has a 32.4 whiff percentage. Though he’s only striking out 6.31 batters per nine innings, the Pirates have a strikeout rate of 25% to righties. So the changeup will be a popular pitch for McGreevy with two strikes on the batter.
The Pirates also don’t hit well on the road. They have a .217 batting average, .343 slugging percentage, and a .644 OPS. The struggles hitting could be tied to ranking third-highest in groundball rate (46.4%), which aligns with McGreevy’s strong suit, a 43% rate. So expect McGreevy to have another strong outing on Wednesday.
Michael Soroka (SP – ARI)
Next Start: Friday, 5/22, vs. Rockies
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher finds himself with another favorable matchup for the third week in a row. He threw 6.1 innings in both prior matchups, which were against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers. He also allowed only one run between the two games.
Soroka now faces the Colorado Rockies, who rank second in strikeouts but also rank in the top 10 of MLB in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. He has been amazing when pitching inside Chase Field, where he has a 1.59 ERA and a 2.76 FIP over 28.1 innings. This success pairs nicely with the fact that the Rockies struggle away from Coors Field. They have a .236 batting average on the road and a .675 OPS.
The right-handed pitcher’s slurve has been his best strikeout pitch. He throws it 32.2% of the time, resulting in a .213 batting average against it and a 35.1 whiff percentage. Soroka also has a 42.3% groundball rate, though the Rockies rank 18th in that category. However, they rank 24th in barrel percentage (6.8%), so they aren’t making solid contact consistently. Soroka has struggled this season, but at home, he’s been nearly unhittable.
Pitching Streamers for Deep Leagues (0%-24% Rostered)
J.T. Ginn at LAA (SP – ATH)
Next Start: Monday, 5/18, @ Angels
J.T. Ginn began the season as a reliever before moving back into the starting rotation. In his last two outings, he’s only allowed one earned run combined. He’s not known to be a strikeout guy, with a 19.4% strikeout rate, but did strike out eight batters against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 7. The righty does get a favorable matchup against the Los Angeles Angels.
They struggle at home, posting a .623 OPS, and they only hit a .691 OPS against righties. Pair those with the fact that the Angels lead the league in striking out, and you have a perfect storm of statistics to succeed. His ground ball rate (49.2%) is impressive and much needed when your home games are played in a Minor League ballpark.
Besides Ginn’s sinker, which he throws 36% of the time, he splits his other four pitches pretty evenly, throwing each between 13% and 17%. His sinker is his put-away pitch, with a 31.6% putaway rate, accounting for 18 of his 34 strikeouts. With the Angels’ strikeout rate and struggles at home, we could see another near repeat of Ginn’s performance against the Phillies.
JR Ritchie (SP – ATL)
Next start: Saturday, 5/23, at WAS
JR Ritchie is performing well in his rookie campaign this season. He has a 3.32 ERA over 21.2 innings, but only has an 18.3% strikeout rate and a abysmal 16.1% walk rate. Ritchie faced the Washington Nationals in his MLB debut, allowing two earned runs over seven innings, while striking out seven and walking two batters.
The Nationals struggle against right-handers and at home, so Ritchie has a minor advantage. They rank second among MLB teams in runs and RBIs, but hit .230 against righties, compared to .270 versus left-handed pitchers. The Nationals also have a worse batting average at home (.237), but their .740 OPS is slightly higher than on the road.
Ritchie’s curveball and four-seam fastball have fooled hitters, with a .133 and .143 batting average off each pitch, respectively. He throws each of these pitches about 25% of the time. However, the other two pitches he throws more than 12% of the time are getting hammered. His changeup is getting hit for a .316 batting average, and his sinker has a .273 average off of it. Though the expected batting average for both is lower.
This isn’t a slam-dunk matchup, but the Nationals are in the middle of the league in drawing walks, Ritchie’s Achilles heel. I typically don’t favor players facing the same opponent so close together, but Ritchie is a pitcher still figuring out which pitch sequences will help him be successful on the mound in the big leagues. So I will take a flyer on the Braves’ rookie and hope he has his control.
Backup Plan Streamers
CWS Sean Burke at SEA, Wednesday 5/20
SF Trevor McDonald vs CWS, Friday 5/22 *if Logan Webb returns, McDonald is likely the one to be demoted.
LAA Walbert Urena vs Rangers, Saturday 5/23
Desperation Streamers
TEX Kumar Rock at COL, Tuesday 5/19
CWS Erick Fedde at SF, Saturday 5/23
Fantrax is one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites in the fantasy sports industry, and we’re not stopping anytime soon. We are the most customizable, easy-to-use, and feature-rich platform in the industry, offering the greatest fantasy experience for your dynasty, keeper, redraft, and best ball leagues. Fantasy sports doesn’t sleep, and neither does Fantrax, with seasons running 365 days a year. Take your fantasy leagues to the next level now at Fantrax.com!
