With the second week of the MLB season in the books, we have already seen some great pitching performances. Tanner Houck and Ronel Blanco, for example, are now some of the most added pitchers in fantasy thanks to their early success. And while Houck and other pitchers like Shota Imanaga have graduated from pitching streamer status, plenty have not. There are many quality pitchers still available to fantasy managers in need.
Here are your fantasy baseball pitching streamers for week three.
Pitching Streamers Available in Most Leagues (30%-50% Rostered)
Garrett Crochet (SP – CWS)
Next Starts: Sunday 4/7 at KC and Saturday 4/13 vs CIN
Fantasy managers have likely already scooped up Garrett Crochet in deeper leagues, but in shallower leagues where managers may be wary to trust a converted reliever, you should not worry and should stream him in the upcoming week.
The first two starts of his career, his two starts so far this season, have looked great. He has a win and a loss, and quality starts in both games. In 13 IP so far, he gave up one walk to 16 strikeouts.
The strikeouts are no surprise – Crochet has a career 11 K/9 rate, but he can be wild. With a 4 BB/9 rate for his career, the one walk through 13 innings is a good sign.
The matchups this week are enticing. Crochet pitches in Kansas City, which is a top hitter’s park from last season. He also has Cincy at home in Chicago, which is middle of the pack in park factors.
Crochet will have to lean on his stuff in those games to continue limiting runs. He added a cutter this season that has been near unhittable so far, carrying a 75% putaway rate. And he has a filthy slider:
Garrett Crochet, Disgusting 85mph Back Foot Slider. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/VChy8fA6oD
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2024
But he’ll need his changeup to improve to get RHB out since it does not have any whiffs yet.
Crochet should be a top option for anyone looking for pitching streamers this week. He is worth holding into the following week and beyond.
Widely Available Pitching Streamers (0%-30% Rostered)
Garrett Whitlock (SP – BOS)
Next Start: Friday 4/12 vs LAA
Garrett Whitlock looked great in his first game this season, which came against Seattle. He struck out eight without issuing a walk and picked up a win in the contest.
Whitlock pitches in one of the top hitter-friendly parks, but he has a career 45% GB rate that should help mitigate runs, especially in a matchup like this against the Angels.
The Angels have the eighth-worst team batting strikeout rate in baseball and Whitlock has never finished with lower than a 9 K/9 rate pitching in the majors. The Angels also are tied for the second-fewest walks against righty pitching, and Whitlock is excellent at limiting walks. He has never finished a season in the majors with more than two walks per nine innings. Finally, the Angels have a .201 AVG against RHP, which is seventh worst in the league.
This is a great matchup for Whitlock despite pitching at home. Consider him a top pitching streamer for this week wherever he is available, and consider hanging onto him as more of a long-term option.
Andrew Abbott (SP – CIN)
Next Starts: Sunday 4/7 at NYM and Saturday 4/13 at CWS
Andrew Abbott had a tough matchup in Philadelphia for his first game this season, going 5.1 IP while allowing two earned runs and two walks on four strikeouts.
Abbott is typically a high-strikeout pitcher. He had a high K/9 rate during his minor league career, so they should start to come as the season goes on. Abbott should be able to achieve strikeout success, especially with changeups like this:
Andrew Abbott, Nasty 85mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/v2PmQU4EKa
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 1, 2024
He had a 9.8 K/9 rate last season.
His game against the Mets is in Cincinnati, which was the eighth friendliest MLB park for hitters last season, but Abbott should be able to induce strikeouts to avoid falling prey to the park.
In his second matchup this week, Abbott pitches in Chicago against the White Sox. The Sox are terrible against lefty pitchers. They have a .125 batting average vs LHP, which is the worst in baseball. They are tied for the fifth most strikeouts against lefty pitchers and have the seventh-highest team overall strikeout rate as batters at 25%. To make matters worse for the White Sox, they have the second-fewest walks versus LHP.
These are both great matchups for Abbott, making him an excellent two-start pitching streamer.
Logan Allen (SP – CLE)
Next Start: Tuesday 4/9 vs CWS
Logan Allen is way underrostered, especially after two solid starts against Seattle and Oakland to begin his season. Allen won both games and picked up a quality start against Seattle. He has allowed just three earned runs and three walks against nine strikeouts across both games.
Some fantasy managers may not trust Allen because the strikeouts have not come in the majors yet, but he has been good at getting outs in other ways.
Allen had a 42% GB rate last season and has been successful this season, inducing a 54% GB rate so far. He pitches at home against the White Sox, who are terrible against lefty pitchers, and Allen’s home park leans pitcher-friendly.
With his ability to induce grounders, and his success so far this season, fantasy managers should look to add Allen as a pitching streamer for the week ahead (and potentially more).
Reese Olson (SP – DET)
Next Start: Monday 4/8 at PIT
Reese Olson is another pitcher who should be more rostered than he is. He was a good streamer last season and looked sharp in his season debut against the Mets this year.
He went 5.2 IP, giving up two walks to three strikeouts. While he is not a big strikeout pitcher, he does well at getting grounders. He finished with mostly between 40-50% groundball rates across each level of the minors and has a 43% average groundball rate in the majors. With curveballs like this, he should be able to continue to maintain a great groundball rate and pick up some strikeouts:
Reese Olson, Sick 80mph Back Foot Curveball. 🤒 pic.twitter.com/wjJcMTWdFW
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 1, 2024
Pittsburgh leans pitcher-friendly, which should also help him in this matchup.
If you are in a deep league, Olson may be one of the best pitching streamers available for the week ahead.
Sean Manaea (SP – NYM)
Next Start: Friday 4/12 vs KC
Sean Manaea looked like a new pitcher in his season debut compared to his last two seasons in the majors. This season, he had a quality start in his first game, which came against Detroit. He finished with an 8:2 K:BB rate as well.
Manaea is a solid groundball pitcher, with a career 43% GB rate, which should help him against Kansas City, a team that has hit relatively well against lefty pitchers so far.
Pitching in New York should help him since his home park leans pitcher-friendly. It also looks like the strikeouts are legit for Manaea. He has an 8.3 career average K/9 rate, but it has not been lower than 8.8 since 2020.
If his season debut is any sign, then he should have some success getting Royals batters to swing and miss. His changeup was the only pitch that allowed a hit, and he ended his first game with a 23% whiff rate on his fastball. His changeup had a 50% whiff rate and his sweeper had a 75% whiff rate.
Manaea is an excellent pitching streamer option for the week ahead and is worth stashing for longer.
Ranger Suarez (SP – PHI)
Next Start: Thursday 4/11 vs PIT
Ranger Suarez had a decent season debut, going five innings in Atlanta. He gave up three earned runs but only one walk compared to seven strikeouts.
Since he has tended to walk batters throughout his career, seeing one walk against a top team like Atlanta is a good sign for Suarez.
He pitches in Philadelphia against Pittsburgh for his matchup in the coming week, but Suarez typically does well at limiting the long ball. He has just a .8 HR/9 rate for his career.
He also has a 54% career groundball rate, a major reason why he is so good at limiting homers, and a reason why you should trust him in this game.
Pittsburgh has seen the third most at-bats against lefty pitchers this season, and they unsurprisingly have the most strikeouts against LHP. Still, Suarez has excellent stuff that should play well against the Pirates. His changeup has a 66% whiff rate and 44% putaway rate and his cutter has a 50% whiff rate after one game this season. Take a look at his changeup here:
Ranger Suárez, Nasty 83mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/kBxFgjGQ0L
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2024
He’ll need those to work for him in this matchup.
Suarez is one of the best pitching streamers for the week ahead and is someone who should be on your radar in every fantasy league size and type.
Backup Plan Streamers for Week 3
- NYY SP Nestor Cortes vs MIA – MON 4/8
- PIT SP Martin Perez vs DET – TUE 4/9
- HOU SP J.P. France at KC – THU 4/11
- KC SP Michael Wacha at NYM – FRI 4/12
- PHI SP Cristopher Sanchez vs PIT – FRI 4/12
- WAS SP Jake Irvin at OAK – FRI 4/12
- WAS SP MacKenzie Gore at OAK – SAT 4/13
- MIN SP Louie Varland at DET – SAT 4/13