2015 Fantasy Baseball: Weekend Streaming in Deep Leagues
As I promised in Tuesday’s edition of Deep League Digging, today’s recommendations will help you successfully stream pitchers over the coming weekend. I owe you that much — and a Klein always pays his debts.
Streaming pitchers is a strategy used mostly in head-to-head leagues, but it’s not unheard of in roto leagues as long as it’s not impeding on your games started limits. Getting a jump on these guys a day early will put you ahead of the competition.
As always, the following players are all owned in less than 10 percent of ESPN leagues.
(Stats and ownership percentages are through Tuesday’s games)
Jesse Hahn, A’s (9.1% owned)
Hahn was one of my big sleepers coming into the 2015 season. He scuffled a bit at the start (and also dealt with a blister), but the 25-year-old has come on strong of late, posting a quality start in each of his last three outings. The latest of those starts was a complete game shutout against the mighty Tigers this past Monday. He’ll look to improve on his 3.69 ERA when he faces the Yankees at home on Saturday, where he has a 2.53 ERA (compared to a 5.40 ERA on the road). The Yankees team wOBA over the past two weeks (.300) is just 18th in baseball during that span.
Adam Warren, Yankees (4.0% owned)
I’ll be going from an A’s pitcher on Saturday to a Yankees pitcher on Sunday, and hey, why not? The matchup calls for it.
The A’s have been very middle-of-the-road when it comes to team batting in the month of May. They are 12th in home runs (24), 16th in runs (93) and 16th in wOBA (.310) this month, and are a league-worst 6-15 at home in 2015. Playing at home is normally a boost to a club, but their pitching isn’t what it used to be, and because of that, they haven’t taken advantage of the pitcher-friendly confines of O.co Coliseum.
Warren was thrust into the Yankees rotation after Chris Capuano was forced to begin the season on the DL, and he’s done a decent job. The overall numbers aren’t great, but he’s been outstanding over his last three starts, posting a 2.75 ERA and a 16/5 K/BB ratio in 19.2 innings pitched. In deep leagues, there aren’t a lot of options to choose from, so you could do worse than riding the hot right hand of Adam Warren.
Jeremy Hellickson, Diamondbacks (2.7% owned)
This is a real desperation play here, as Hellickson just isn’t a pitcher you can trust from start-to-start. That said, he does have a good matchup against a very bad Brewers team (league-low 16 wins) on Saturday, and he’s pitched well over his last two outings (2-0, 3.55 ERA in 12.2 IP). The D-Backs have been hot lately, winning six of their last nine games, and Hellickson will look to tack on to that total. The 2011 AL Rookie of the Year has fallen on hard times since he took home that award, but he warrants a stream this weekend.
Other pitchers worth streaming: Trevor May, Twins (1.9%), Williams Perez, Braves (1.4%), Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies (2.1%)