Each Sunday, I’ll be taking a look at the two-start pitchers you should get into your fantasy baseball lineups and a few to avoid. The hurlers fall into four categories: must start, should start, could start, and don’t start. These are just a guideline, but it is what you should be following as you set your lineups for the upcoming week. Also, You get the Streamer of the Week.
If you have any more streaming questions, send me a tweet @EuanOrYouOut. Let’s dive into the pitching action!
STREAMER OF THE WEEK
Ian Anderson, ATL (@BOS, WAS)
(61% CBS, 45% Yahoo, 41% ESPN)
Atlanta Braves’ newest pitching prospect Ian Anderson had an electric major league debut versus the New York Yankees on Wednesday and has vaulted himself into the Streamer of the Week conversation. It’s never easy to face the Yankees, but Anderson made light work of them to kick off his career. Across six innings, the 22-year-old allowed one hit (a Luke Voit home run) and two walks while striking out six batters. The changeup was his primary weapon of choice in his debut, as it accounted for eight of his 12 swinging strikes. Anderson’s debut was more than anyone in the fantasy baseball world could’ve imagined, and his ownership has vaulted to around 50 percent on the three main sites.
His Opponents
Anderson’s first start of the week comes against the Boston Red Sox. There is no telling what the Red Sox lineup will look like after Monday’s trade deadline, but it won’t be improved. Boston is sixth-worst in baseball with a .311 wOBA versus right-handed pitchers this season, and it illustrates how miserable of a season it has been for the Red Sox offense. The team is bottom-10 in on-base percentage (.316) and home runs (39) while their 295 strikeouts place them in the top-10. Combine all of this with the fact that Kyle Hart is on the mound for Boston, and it becomes an excellent recipe for Ian Anderson to have an ideal second start to his MLB career.
The right-handed hurler will then take on the Washington Nationals for the first time, and it will be a far tougher matchup. While Boston offers the upside of a win and some strikeouts, the Nationals lineup strikes out the least in the league at 7.37 times per game. Anderson is the streamer of the week because of his first matchup against the Red Sox. The Nationals game will be quite a challenge for the rookie as they lead the league with 6.43 runs/game on the road. If fantasy managers are using him in a Head-to-Head categories league and are leading their ratios, it may be a wise decision to sit the impressive rookie in his second start of the week.
MUST START
Jacob deGrom, NYM (@BAL, PHI)
Shane Bieber, CLE (@KC, MIL)
Gerrit Cole, NYY (TB, @BAL)
Lucas Giolito, CHW (@MIN, @KC)
Sonny Gray, CIN (STL, @PIT)
Aaron Nola, PHI (WAS, @NYM)
Hyun Jin Ryu, TOR (@MIA, @BOS)
Max Fried, ATL (@BOS, WAS)
Jose Berrios, MIN (CHW, DET)
Patrick Corbin, WAS (@PHI, @ATL)
SHOULD START
Cristian Javier, HOU (TEX, @LAA)
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (TB, @BAL)
Marco Gonzales, SEA (@LAA, TEX)
Dallas Keuchel, CHW (@MIN, @KC)
Julio Urias, LAD (ARI, COL)
COULD START
Ian Anderson, ATL (@BOS, WAS)
Chad Kuhl, PIT (CHC, CIN)
Brad Keller, KC (CLE, CHW)
DON’T START
Jon Lester, CHC (@PIT, STL)
Sean Manaea, OAK (@SEA, SD)
Dakota Hudson, STL (@CIN, @CHC)
Robbie Ray, ARI (@LAD, @SF)
Trevor Richards, TB (@NYY, MIA)
Trevor Williams, PIT (@MIL, CIN)
Patrick Sandoval, LAA (SEA, HOU)
Spencer Howard, PHI (WAS, @NYM)
Jon Gray, COL (SD, @LAD)
John Means, BAL (NYM, NYY)
Asher Wojciechowski, BAL (@TOR, NYY)
Julian Merryweather, TOR (BAL, @BOS)
Erick Fedde, WAS (@PHI, @ATL)
Kyle Hart, BOS (ATL, TOR)
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Main Credit Image: Embed from Getty Images
