Welcome back to another edition of Field of Streams, your in depth look at some viable, and some not so viable, fantasy streaming options for the upcoming fantasy week. So on with the show! Here comes your look at your fantasy streaming options, owned in less than 50% in ESPN and Yahoo! leagues, for the week of 08/27-09/02:
Marco Estrada (MIL)- Still plenty of available seats on the “Ponch” Estrada bandwagon, kids! Sure Estrada has only one win, but you can’t judge him on that. With a 9.03 K/9, a 1.88 BB/9 and a 3.18 SIERA the tools are in place. Sure he had a stretch of mediocre starts, if you want to base it on wins, or runs given up, but he should have two starts this week and the first one will be against the Cubbies. Not only do the Cubs not tend to score a ton of runs, but Ponch already dominated them last week, tossing a six inning, two hit shutout in which he struck out nine. You may not see an identical outing this week, but it should be pretty darned good. A second start would be against the Pirates, which could be a tougher outing, but I would risk streaming him in that start as well. (2.6% owned in ESPN and 6% in Yahoo!)
Francisco Liriano (CWS)- That 5-10 record with an ERA over five on the season does not look all that appealing, but his xFIP is 3.91 and his K/9 is close to ten. Not to mention he has been quite good since joining the White Sox. He is 2-0 with a 4.39 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a K/9 of 10.12. Now those numbers are also inflated by one clunker of a start against Oakland. Throw that start out and with the Pale Hose he has a 2.70 ERA, a .99 WHIP and a 9.64 K/9. He looks to be starting at Baltimore and Detroit this week though, no gimmie in either case. He did stymy the Yankees and Blue Jays in his last two starts so he may be alright this week. I say take the risk and stream him! (20.9% owned in ESPN and 41% in Yahoo!)
David Phelps (NYY)- Phelps has been solid out of the bullpen or as a starter for the Yanks this season, as evidenced by his 2.69 ERA and 9.33 K/9. With a SIERA 0f 3.16, it would seem that ERA will rise, but not a ton, so the numbers for the most part are legit. In his two starts since being slotted into the rotation, he has pitched well against the Rangers and Red Sox, holding both to under 3 earned runs. Ks may come down a bit, but will be more than solid. Plus, he will have a pretty good lineup behind him. He should start against Toronto and Baltimore this week and I have no problem recommending streaming him while he remains in the rotation. (1.2% owned in ESPN and 6% in Yahoo!)
Bud Norris (HOU)- Two home starts for Bud this week, means he is worth a stream. I probably don’t need to elaborate here, but I will. Commence elaboration! At the Juice Box this season Norris has an ERA of 2.18, a WHIP of 1.06, a K/9 of 10.40 and an xFIP of 2.83. Hard to argue with those numbers. He should be good to go against the Giants and the Reds. (25.1% owned in ESPN and 31% in Yahoo!)
Patrick Corbin (ARI)- Seems like some people are starting to take notice of Patty Corbin, but his last two starts, especially the last one, have been less than spectacular. So now is the time to determine what you can actually get out of him. As a starter this season he has an ERA of 4.40 and a 1.33 WHIP with an xFIP of 3.81, so the numbers have not been dazzling. His K/9 has also been sub 7, but other than the last two starts he has been very, yes VERY, decent. He is definitely a pitcher worth keeping an eye or two on, but I would avoid him this week against the Reds and wait until he maybe strings a few more good starts together or has a more favorable matchup. (31.8% owned in ESPN and 16% in Yahoo!)
Alex Cobb (TB)- The numbers are not really mind-blowing for Cobbsy. A 4.32 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and a 6.71 K/9. Nothing earth shattering, right? Well his xFIP is 3.62 and he has been stellar throughout August, aside from one bad start against the Angels in which he could not escape the third inning. He followed that up with a complete game, four hit shutout though, so a nice little bounce back. In August he now has a 3.03 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and a 7.44 K/9. I like Cobb’s progress this season and while he is pitching against the Rangers in Arlington, I still feel like he is worth the start. (17.2% owned in ESPN and 16% in Yahoo!)
Lucas Harrell (HOU)- Another Houston home start hero (see Norris, Bud), Harrell is facing the Reds in the Juice Box this week and becomes a super viable stream option. At home his ERA is 2.14, his WHIP is 1.22 and his K/9 of 7.14. Now the Reds are good, but Harrell just finds a way to get the job done at home, so I would stream him. As far as my confidence level with this recommendation though, I would say it is about 70-75%. (5.2% owned in ESPN and 13% in Yahoo!)
Mark Rogers (MIL)- Mr. Rogers pitched well, although not great, in his last outing against the Cubs. The Ks/9 are still stellar though as he struck out seven batters in five innings. The K/9 is 9.73 and as long as he keeps the walks below three per nine he should have success. His 3.32 xFIP and 3.33 SIERA indicate that he has been much better than his 5.02 ERA would have you believe. He faces the Pirates at home this week, where he has pitched extremely well and the Bucs are not very patient at the plate. Some may see this one as a tad bit risky, but I am making Mr. Rogers my wild card streaming pick of the week! (1.2% owned in ESPN and 2% in Yahoo!)
Zach McAllister (CLE)- Zach Attack has been a bit inconsistent which has many fantasy owners on the fence about what to expect from him. Zach has an ERA of 3.50, a WHIP of 1.22 and a K/9 of 7.90. His BABIP of .285 is lower then the league average, but not grossly lower and his xFIP of 3.99 is not great, but not terrible. Personally I am not sold on McAllister as a mainstay of a fantasy rotation, but I like him as a streaming spot starter from time to time. And by “from time to time” I mean this week against Oakland. I have no trouble starting him against the Athletics, but would be hesitant to throw him against the Rangers. (3.4% owned in ESPN and 9% in Yahoo!)
So there you have it, another edition of Field Of Streams in the books! So what did we learn this week, children? 1) Lucas Harrell and Bud Norris are must streams at home, B) Ks/9 are your BFFs, 4) Hop on the Marco “Ponch” Estrada train while you can and F) Francisco Liriano is working his way back to fantasy relevance. Good day and godspeed!
