Stream Team - Week 11

Every week we'll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

The spot starters available this weekend for interleague play are a little shaky but let's give it a shot.

Friday, June 13th
Kyle Kendrick: Kendrick is at St. Louis on Friday facing off against the other Kyle. The key to thsi match-up is the absence of Pujols. Kendrick isn't good for much (or anything really) but not having to face Pujols will allow him to potentially sneak in a win here. The ERA and WHIP might be ugly, but if you are hurting in the win column there are worse plays than this one (maybe not - I really hate this pick).

Saturday, June 14th
Wandy Rodgriguez: Home against the Yanks. This is a tough one. Wandy has been briliant in his last two outings (0 ERs), but he will be facing a lot of hot hitters in this match up. Way-Rod is usually magic at home though and I can see a Quality Start from him in this one.

Sunday, June 15th
Dana Eveland: A familiar theme in this space is targeting inept offenses. I've been burned a couple of times this year picking against the Giants but let's try it again anyway. Eveland was a little wild in his last two starts but was still able to pitch himself out of jams. Don't expect him to go much further than 5.0 innings here but a W is certainly attainable.

Last Week's Results: 3-0-0, Season Total: 13-9-2
Darrell Rasner: L, 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 Base Runners, 4 Ks (Tough-luck loss but a help in ERA and WHIP)

Cha Seung Baek: ND, 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 9 BR, 2 Ks (Quality Start was helpful in WHIP)

Phil Dumatrait: W, 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 BR, 3 Ks (Gets the W and helped in WHIP)

Stream Team - Week 10

Every week we'll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

Last week I gave myself an ultimatum: Get back on track such that I'm picking useful spot starters 66% of the time, or else. So far so good. Last week I did just that. Let's see if I can keep rolling along.

Friday, June 6th

Darrell Rasner: Rasner was my lone dud last week. He is still available in over 40% of ten team leagues and that number will likely get smaller after his next start. He is scheduled to face the Royals on Friday. Everyone knows that the Royals have the worst offense in the AL. In fact, their 218 runs scored is good for worst in the entire major leagues. Look for Rasner to rebound from his last outing and get a W.

Saturday, June 7th

Cha Seung Baek: Baek is set to face off against the Mets at home. He has only faced Carlos Delgado (0-2) so this will be a first look for the NY bats. Given the Mets road record (13-17) and the fact that this game takes place in spacious Petco Park, I like Baek to give up no more than three runs here. If the Padres can get on base in front of red-hot A-Gonz then Baek could be in line for a W. Not to mention the fact that O. Perez will be walking the ballpark all night.

Sunday, June 8th

Phil Dumatrait: Let's go with the hot hand here. The D-Back's lineup is pretty good (especially against lefties) but Dumatrait has been solid in his last few outings. His latest was a tough luck loss to Way-Rod and the Astros. Look for Dumatrait to put up a Quality Start in this one.

Last Week's Results: 2-1-0, Season Total: 10-9-2

Todd Wellemeyer: W, 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 Base Runners, 4 Ks

Josh Banks: W, 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 6 BR, 5 Ks (Got to love the CGSO)

Darrell Rasner: L, 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 10 BR, 5 Ks (The Ks were nice but this one is a L)

Stream Team - Week 9

Every week we'll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

My season winning percentage in this column is now an ugly .500. That is unacceptable. My goal heading into the season with this column was to find a useful H2H spot start option for the three days of the weekend at least two-thirds of the time. Hopefully this weekend will get me back on track.

Friday, May 30th

Todd Wellemeyer: Wellemeyer faces off against the Phil Dumatrait and the Pirates. The current Pitt lineup is hitting only .200 against Wellemeyer. In his last four outings Wellemeyer has provided the Cards with Quality Starts. He'll look to continue that streak on Friday.

Saturday, May 31st

Josh Banks: Banks has only thrown 8 innings this year, but they are of the scoreless variety. Without much else to go on, this is purely a play against the Giants inept offense (though they are proving me wrong right now as they hammer the D-Backs).

Sunday, June 1st

Darrell Rasner: Rasner may or may not be available on the wire in your league. If he is, I'd consider holding onto him until his hot streak subsides. He will get the start on Sunday against Blackburn and the Twins. Rasner, like Wellemeyer, has four straight Quality Starts. The current Twins lineup is also hitless against Rasner (albeit in a tiny sample size). I like Rasner to throw another Quality Start in this one.

Last Week's Results: 1-2-0, Season Total: 8-8-2

Olsen: L, 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 11 BR, 2 SO (Awful)

Jackson: W, 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 BR, 2 SO (mediocre, but got the W)

Parra: ND, 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 BR, 3 SO (not his best outing)

Stream Team - Week 8

Every week we'll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

Friday, May 23rd
Scott Olsen: Going back to him again. Olsen faces off against Barry Zito and the hapless Giants at home. He has gone at least 6.0 innings in his last three starts and the current Giants roster doesn't hit him well (not that they hit anyone well). In 55 AB they are batting just .236 and slugging .327 against Olsen.

Saturday, May 24th
Edwin Jackson: Yet another repeat from last week. Jackson has been superb as of late, giving up only 1 ER in his last 20.1 IP. He has also struck out 15 batters during that stretch. He will be facing off against Steve Trachsel and the Orioles.

Sunday, May 25th
Manny Parra: Parra was my NL ROY pick in the pre-season and that has just not panned out how I thought it would. Parra's has generally pitched well, but he has Chris Young syndrome. For some reason he feels the need to throw 100 pitches by the 5th inning which limits his win potential. As of late though he's pitched very well. In his last start he shut out the Pirates over 5.2 innings, striking out 6 batters along the way. Parra is on the road against Tim Redding and the Nationals. Redding has been a nice surprise this season, but the Brew Crew has .371 against him lifetime while slugging .500.

Last Week's Results: 1-1-1, Season Total: 7-6-2
Scott Olsen: ND, 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 12 Base Runners, 3 SO (I'm taking a draw on this one because a rainout pushed back his start to Saturday)

Matt Garza: ND, 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 12 BR, 1 SO

Edwin Jackson: ND, 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 10 BR, 7 SO

Stream Team - Week 7

Every week we'll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

This weekend marks the outset of 2008 interleague play. We are going to roll with the Florida arms and hope they can provide some help in the pitching categories this fantasy week.

Friday, May 16th

Scott Olsen: Olsen is set to face off against Brett Tomko and the hapless Royals at home. Kansas City has scored the least amount of runs in the AL (136), meanwhile Florida is 7-3 in their last 10 games and sits atop the NL East. Olsen has been hit or miss this season, throwing gems like he did against the Brewers earlier this month and getting into trouble in others (not as much trouble as he used to though - see photo). The inept Royal offense should prove to be a nice matchup.

Saturday, May 17th

Matt Garza: Garza faces of against Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals in St. Louis. Garza is coming off a dominating performance against the Yankees where he pitched seven shutout innings. The Cardinals have been sputtering as of late and have scored more than three runs in a game only once in the last week. Here's hoping that Garza can build on that last performance.

Sunday, May 18th

Edwin Jackson: Jackson, like teammate Matt Garza, is coming off a dominating performance against the Yankees. He threw eight shutout innings but Percival blew the save. Jackson is facing off against Kyle Lohse, who has lost his last 3 decisions during which he's given up 19 ER in 17 IP.

Last Week's Results: 1-2-0, Season Total: 6-5-1

Gil Meche: L, 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Base Runners, 2 SO

Jamie Moyer: L, 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 10 BR, 1 SO (Never Again, I've learned my lesson)

Jeff Suppan: W, 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 11 BR, 4 SO (Didn't help the WHIP, but got the win and kept the ERA down)

Stream Team - Week 6

Every week we’ll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

As we do every week, let’s take a look at which pitchers may be able to help you in the pitching categories this weekend.

Friday, May 9

Gil Meche: Meche faces off against Trachsel and the Orioles at home. His ERA and WHIP are unsightly (5.98 and 1.52 respectively) but he has been solid in his last two outings. Against Cleveland on the 4th he threw 7 shutout innings and struck out 4.

Saturday, May 10

Jamie Moyer: Moyer faces off against young phenom Tim Lincecum and the hapless Giants in San Francisco. This spot start is purely based on the inept Giants offense. Moyer did, however, have a strong outing agaisnt the D-Backs, allowing 2 ER in 7 innings while striking out 5. Many people employ a streaming strategy based on who is pitching against the Giants. I would not follow that exclusively, but this particular play (Moyer and the Phils) is certainly warranted.

Sunday, May 4

Jeff Suppan: Suppan is a two-start pitcher this week so he might not be readily available in NL-only leagues. The key to this matchup (at home vs. Looper and the Cards) is that the Brewers generally feast on Looper. In 101 ABs the Brew Crew is hitting .337 against Braden.

Last week’s results: 1-2-0, Season Total: 5-3-1

Shaun Marcum: 6.2 IP, Win, 5 Base Runners, 9 Ks.

John Lannan: His start got moved up to Friday so he wasn't availabe. I am taking a loss for this, however, b/c he got rocked on Friday night (5 ER in 3 IP).

Tom Glavine: 4.2 IP, ND, 12 BR, 6 ER, 3 SO. I took a gamble on the old guy and lost.

Stream Team - Week 5

Every week we’ll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

As we do every week, let’s take a look at which pitchers may be able to help you in the pitching categories this weekend.

Friday, May 2
Shaun Marcum: He is facing the White Sox at home on Friday. Marcum keeps the walks and hits to a minimum so he should be good for a 1.25 WHIP or better. His opponent Mark Buehrle has been pitching well but I’m going with the home arm in this battle.

Saturday, May 3
John Lannan: Riding the hot hand here. Lannan was recommended last week and he threw 7 shutout innings. He is home facing the Pirates and Paul Maholm, fresh off his complete game.

Sunday, May 4
Tom Glavine: Glavine is home against the struggling Bronson Arroyo and the Reds. Glavine has pitched well this year even though he is without a win. In his last outing he went 6 innings and gave up only 2 runs. He probably won’t rack up the strikeouts but if he can put up a quality start he’ll have a good chance at getting a win.

Last week’s results: 3-0-0, Season Total: 4-1-1
Mark Buehrle: ND, 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 K, 5 Base Runners. Buehrle was in line for the win until the bullpen blew it for him.

Luke Hochevar: W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 K, 8 BR

John Lannan: W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 K, 8 BR

Stream Team, Week 4

Every week we’ll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

As we do every week, let’s take a look at which pitchers may be able to help you in the pitching categories this weekend.

Friday, April 25
Mark Buehrle: He is facing the Orioles at home on Friday. The players on the current Oriole roster have been held to just 29 hits in 142 total ABs against Buehrle (.204 AVG). He has gone 7 innings in this last 3 starts with a quality start in two of those outings.

Saturday, April 26
Luke Hochevar: This is purely a strikeout play. He faces the Blue Jays at home on Saturday. Hochevar was recently called up and he had a rough outing against the A’s, lasting only 4.2 innings and giving up 6 runs on 9 hits. He did however strike out 5 in those 4.2 innings. If your ratios are locked up for the week and you are trailing in Ks, you could do worse than Luke.

Sunday, April 27
John Lannan: Here’s another stikeout play. Lannan struck out 11 Mets over 6 innings in his second to last start. On Tuesday he held the Braves scoreless over 7 innings to pick up his first win of the season. Facing the strikeout prone Marlins on Sunday, Lannan is in line for a nice fantasy day.

Last week’s results: 1-1-1
Todd Wellemeyer: Win, 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 K, 6 Baserunners

Wandy Rodriguez: ND, 4 IP, 1 ER, 5 K, 8 BR (left game with injury – I’m calling this one a draw)

Nate Robertson: L, 5 IP, 5 ER, 5 K, 9 BR (I originally thought that he was pitching against Marcum. If I had known that he was facing Burnett I might have gone a different route)

Stream Team

Every week we’ll take a look at less-heralded starting pitchers that have favorable weekend match-ups.

A common strategy in H2H daily transaction leagues is to break up the pitching week into two parts: Monday – Thursday and Friday – Sunday. Over the first part of the week you throw your SP’s out there (match-up permitting) and you see how they fare. On Thursday you assess your ratios, Wins and K’s. If it looks like you are trailing in the counting stats and have leeway with the ratios (either because you are hopelessly behind or you have a sizeable lead) then you go ahead and look for the best scrub SP on the wire and start him on the weekend. You drop that scrub the next day and pick up another scrub.

Our aim with this column is to show you which SP are worth streaming for their weekend starts. Let’s get right to it.

Friday, April 18
Todd Wellemeyer: He is home against the Giants, facing off against Matt Cain. This is a rematch from last Saturday. Wellemeyer actually gave up 5 ER in that game, but he struck out 7 in 6.0 innings. The problem was the long ball, as he gave up two HRs, one of which was to Cain. I’m sure he’ll pitch Matt a little more carefully this time around. And if Wellemeyer can strike out a batter per inning then he will surely help you accumulate those Ks.

Saturday, April 19
Wandy Rodriguez: The legend of Way-Rod has grown stronger over his first few home starts of the year (1 ER allowed in 14.1 innings with 13 strike outs). He is home against the Rockies and starter Aaron Cook. There is not much analysis to do here: You simply must start Wandy at home. In fact, I recommend you hold on to him for the season (league depth permitting) and start him in every game he pitches at Houston.

Sunday, April 20
Nate Robertson: Robertson faces off against Shawn Marcum and the Blue Jays in Toronto. In 2007 Robertson went 1-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 9 strikeouts in 12.2 innings against the Jays. The Tigers offense is coming around so Nate’s chances of picking up a W are better now than they were at the start of the year. Robertson did experience some tightness in his left lat muscle during his Tuesday start but it is not supposed to be a problem going forward.