April 12 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Paul Blackburn, Clarke Schmidt, Jordan Wicks and More
Looking at the guys slated to start on the mound Friday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have streaming potential due to their matchup.
Picking teams to target in fantasy can feel like bullying: I’m constantly picking on the same teams when finding starting pitchers to stream. It’s not my fault, though, as these teams regularly struggle to hit the ball and/or score runs.
Until they prove differently, let’s keep finding weak offensive teams and the pitchers who are facing them. The guys below are those listed as probable starters for Friday (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have streaming value.
Most stats and rankings are from ESPN.
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds @ Chicago White Sox
Anyone against the White Sox is at least worth considering for your fantasy lineup. They were one of the worst teams in baseball last year and have been performing the same way through two weeks this season.
Abbott is a young lefty with just 23 starts under his belt after debuting last season. He has struck out more than a batter per inning in his young career while walking hitters at close to a league-average rate. That has led to slightly above-average results, making Abbott a pitcher with fantasy value.
A good pitcher against a bad team makes for a strong fantasy outlook; get Abbott in your lineup this time around.
Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics vs. Washington Nationals
Blackburn started the season against two weaker offensive teams (Cleveland and Detroit) and combined for 13 innings with no runs, six hits and just one walk allowed. He has only struck out seven, but no one can argue with the results so far.
Washington is around 20th or worse in many offensive categories, not cratering but also not excelling. The Nationals have the upside of a middling lineup with the likelihood of a bottom-10 offense, especially if one of the few impact players (C.J. Abrams, for instance) were to miss time with injury.
Blackburn is a good streamer; he won’t continue throwing all shutout innings, but continuing his streak against weak offensive teams means he can put up good stats even with a lack of strikeouts.
Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals @ Oakland Athletics
Anyone against Oakland is at least worth considering for your fantasy lineup. They were one of the worst teams in baseball last year and have been performing the same way through two weeks this season.
Irvin has had an uneven start to the season, allowing seven earned runs in 11 innings (5.73 ERA). He has been worse-than-average in his career in both walk and strikeout rate, allowing more balls in play and extra runners than most pitchers.
Irvin is far from a lock, but he has streaming value because of the opponent. Putting Irvin into the last spot in your lineup with tempered expectations is OK.
Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees @ Cleveland Guardians
Tyler Wells, Baltimore Orioles vs. Milwaukee Brewers
I’ll combine these two because of similar circumstances: Both Cleveland and Milwaukee had bottom-10 offenses last season and reason to expect that trend to continue, but they have each started 2024 hot.
They are both above average in many offensive stats, including runs scored, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. I trust the long-term numbers and expect both teams to slow down, but they have shown strong offensive performances over the first few weeks.
Schmidt was primarily a starter for the first time last season, performing below average for the most part. Limiting walks is the only thing he has done consistently well over 239 innings.
Wells has similar numbers to Schmidt but with a better ERA. He struck out batters at a high rate when working as a reliever in 2021 but has seen that number drop since becoming a starter.
Both Schmidt and Wells are low-level streamers who fit best in the last spot of your lineup if you need an arm. I slightly prefer Wells, but it’s a toss-up on whom to expect to have a better game.
Jordan Wicks, Chicago Cubs vs. Seattle Mariners
To the chagrin of one of my oldest friends, the Mariners have performed like a bottom-five team on offense. After three straight seasons with at least 88 wins, the team seemed to subtract more talent than it added this offseason. Julio Rodriguez is a superstar, but this team is seriously lacking otherwise.
Wicks has been a little worse than average in 43.1 innings over 2023-24, pitching functionally but not standing out anywhere. His first two starts this year were against the Rangers and Dodgers, so I’m sure he will happily take the reprieve Seattle offers.
Wicks is an OK streamer, unlikely to put up anything flashy but with a chance to have a decent outing. He’s worth adding if you have a pitching slot to fill.
#waivers #2024-fantasy-baseball
