As the baseball season roars on into July, games are crucial at this point and every little thing counts in determining. The same can be said for fantasy baseball—we are 13 weeks into the season and you can really start to see if you are in a contender or not. While the driving force behind great fantasy teams is having great talent across the board, starting pitching is king.
As every good fantasy owner knows, every point and stat counts—no matter whom it comes from, you are always looking to pick up that little extra advantage on your opponent. One of the best ways to pick up an extra advantage is the waiver wire. You can find great depth for your lineup and help in case of injuries, but more importantly you can find some very nice spot-starts or "streaming" starting pitchers.
You have to be sure to pick the right matchup—it's always great to find the gems like Jake Arrieta, who you pick up for just one start but they become a keeper. If you picked up Arrieta for his start against the Miami Marlins on June 8, you were rewarded with six shutout innings and seven strikeouts. Followed by his next three starts totaling 21 innings pitched, 3 earned runs, 29 strikeouts and three wins.
Unfortunately, with the good you also get the bad. You might have hoped that Yohan Pino would deliver another sharp outing, instead he lasted just three innings and gave up five earned runs and seven hits. A disappointing outing and one that certainly would damage your team's chances of winning that week. It's always tough to find that right matchup, but here are some stream options to look at over the next few days.
Roberto Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves @ Phillies, Saturday
It always used to be about avoiding the Braves' lineup whenever your pitcher faced them, they had power and always found ways to put up a lot of runs. Unfortunately, with the departure of Brian McCann, horrid play from the Upton brothers and some injuries, this has been a bad offense.
Atlanta ranks 29th in runs scored (275), 26th in batting average (.241) and 27th in on-base percentage (.302). That's obviously great for opposing pitcher's earned run average and WHIP but the icing on the fantasy cake is the strikeouts. Few teams strikeout like the Braves, they rank fourth in baseball with over 660 whiffs.
This certainly bodes well for Hernandez, who gets to face the Braves at home. While Hernandez was knocked around for five runs on the road in Atlanta earlier this month, he has been a much better starter at home. He has posted an atrocious 6.39 earned run average while traveling versus a beautiful 3.14 earned run average in Citizens Bank Park.
Hernandez was strong in his most recent home start, holding the Marlins to two runs in six innings to go along with six strikeouts. You should have confidence to pick up Hernandez and start him on Saturday against the swing and miss Braves lineup. Hernandez should give you a quality start, at least six strikeouts and hopefully a win to go with it.
Kevin Gausman, Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Rays @ Orioles, Friday (DH)
You will have to be quick with this one, as Gausman is only available in redraft leagues. The Orioles' top prospect returns to the mound on Friday in a double-header to take on the Rays. It will mark Gausman's 10th start of his career and fifth this season as he looks to keep his streak alive.
Over his past three outings in the majors, Gausman has pitched like the ace many projected him to be while he was developing in the Orioles' farm system. The 23-year-old righty has allowed just two runs in his last three starts, including six shutout innings in his last outing against the Rays. In Tampa Bay on June 18, Gausman held the Rays to just five hits and one walk, while striking out five and picking up the win.
Gausman's second battle against a Rays' lineup that ranks 26th in runs (295) and 25th in slugging percentage (.370). Tampa Bay will try to challenge the youngster with their patience at the plate, ranking sixth in fewest strikeouts (557). So the challenge for Gausman will be to get weak contact, and hopefully result in a nice split in groundouts and flyouts.
Josh Collmenter, Arizona Diamondbacks
Diamondbacks @ San Diego Padres, Saturday
The Diamondbacks' rotation has been a disaster this season—it started when they lost ace Patrick Corbin to Tommy John surgery, then last week Bronson Arroyo was placed on the disabled list with a sprained UCL. When major injuries like this happen, you need unheralded guys to step up.
Collmenter came into the season as Arizona's long-reliever, he showed he could go three innings and give them shutout ball when things were going wrong and they needed someone to bail them out. As the injuries piled up, the Diamondbacks quickly stretched out Collmenter into a starter.
Despite not starting an entire game the entire 2013 season, Collmenter showed he could handle the new assignment with ease. Collmenter took a spot in the rotation in late April and really shined in May, when he started five games and allowed just 10 runs in 31 innings, an outstanding 2.90 earned run average and an ace-level 0.91 WHIP.
Things fell off the rails in the start of June, as the 28-year-old gave up 13 earned runs and a 1.67 WHIP in 18 innings. Even in his last start against the San Francisco Giants when he allowed just one run in five innings, Collmenter needed 109 pitches and walked four. Collmenter picked up an unusual win on Tuesday, when he came in for relief during an extra inning game. He pitched just one inning and is ready to go for his next start, but every win counts.
There is still reason for optimism; Collmenter faces the worst lineup in all of baseball on Saturday. San Diego has scored just 238 runs, a .213 batting average and .273 on-base percentage, all ranking last in baseball. They were also just no-hit by Tim Lincecum, so they aren't exactly turning things around.
Collmenter will take on this Quadruple-A lineup in a very pitcher-friendly Petco Park, giving him the ability to pitch how he wants and not have to worry about cheap fly balls going over the fence or great hitters finding ways to create hard contact on great pitches. While Collmenter may not throw a shutout, you should at least get seven great innings, a win and a low WHIP to go along with it.
David Buchanan, Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves @ Phillies, Sunday
It's another Phillies starter on this list as a matchup against the Braves is just too juicy to pass on over the weekend. It also provides an excellent opportunity to take a flier on a youngster who has been heating up lately, potentially turning into a very nice depth arm to hold on to.
The 25-year-old made his big-league debut in the final week of May and he shined in a brutal matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Buchanan was limited to just five innings but gave up just two runs during that frame as he showed a nice command of the strike zone, not walking a single batter. That success carried over into his next start five days later against the New York Mets. Buchanan went 6 2/3 and while he allowed nine base runners (seven hits and two walks), he held New York to just two runs.
Buchanan would run into a rough patch against the Nationals, really letting them get great contact off of him to the tune of seven runs in six innings. While he would post a career-high six strikeouts, the 10 hits were costly and the young right-hander learned a valuable lesson. He didn't let the bad start shake his confidence however, as he has allowed fewer than four runs in his past three starts.
Buchanan is an incredibly smart starting pitcher especially given his age, he knows how to command his pitches and take what the batter gives him. He will generate a lot of strikes because of the Braves' free swing mentality and plenty of misses will come with it. Go out and pick up Buchanan and you definitely should get a quality start out of it with a low K-BB ratio.