April 14 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Tyler Anderson, Javier Assad, Jack Flaherty and More
A look at the probable starting pitchers on the mound Sunday who are available in many fantasy leagues and have streaming value.
The early season has brought some surprising results: Kansas City is 10-5 through Saturday after taking 36 games to reach 10 wins last season (it happened on May 8). It has also brought more of what we already know, like the White Sox pacing the bottom of the league with a 2-12 record.
As we try to figure out what’s real, let’s go through Sunday’s probable starting pitchers (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats and rankings are from ESPN.
Tyler Anderson, Los Angeles Angels @ Boston Red Sox
While most good streamers are here mainly due to the matchup, Anderson has started the season with two gems: He threw seven scoreless innings in each start and struck out eight total batters with three walks.
One of those games was against the hapless Marlins, but the other was against the Rays, meaning he’s not just feasting on bad teams. Anderson is only owned in about 25% of leagues.
Boston has been around league average (or a little worse) on offense, making this an OK matchup. Anderson is a mid-level streamer; he’s not going to keep throwing scoreless outings, but he’s worth a spot if you need a pitcher on Sunday.
Graham Ashcraft, Cincinnati Reds @ Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are a great team to target with starting pitchers: Nick Lodolo struck out 10 in 5.2 innings on Saturday, a game the Reds won 5-0. Chicago is near the bottom of the league on offense, same as last year.
Ashcraft hasn’t had good results so far, but he did split his decisions 1-1. He has allowed three home runs and nine total runs (seven earned) in 11.2 innings. Ashcraft has struck batters out at a well below-average rate in his career, though he has 11 in 11.2 innings in 2024.
This is more about the matchup; Ashcraft is a middling-or-worse performer against a bad offense. He is a mid- to low-level streamer.
Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs @ Seattle Mariners
Assad started his season with six shutout innings against the Rockies, then struck out seven batters in five innings against the Padres while allowing just two runs. He has had success over his young career (158 innings), striking out batters a little less than average but with a career ERA below 3.00.
He gets one of the worst offenses of the young 2024 season in this one, as the Mariners are near the bottom of the league in many offensive categories. After losing more talent than they added in the offseason, Seattle is feeling the effects on the field.
Assad’s success combined with the woeful Seattle lineup makes him a high-end streamer in this one.
Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers vs Minnesota Twins
I have now recommended Flaherty as a streamer in all three of his starts. He faced two of the worst offenses from 2023 (the Athletics and White Sox) in his first two outings, mixing a good start at Chicago with a rough outing against Oakland.
Minnesota had a strong lineup last year, but they have gotten off to one of the worst offensive starts of anyone. There’s a decent chance the Twins will start bouncing back, but they are a team to target right now.
Flaherty is a veteran who strikes batters out at an above-average rate and has had middling results in his career. He’s fine as a streamer in this one.
Trevor Williams, Washington Nationals @ Oakland Athletics
Williams has gotten the win in both of his starts, throwing 5.1 and 5 innings to barely qualify in each. He has allowed three runs in those 10.1 innings, striking out seven and walking five. He doesn’t strike out many batters, but that walk rate should come down; Williams tops out in the middle.
As mentioned above, Oakland was one of the worst offenses in 2023 and is continuing that trend into this season. Almost every pitcher has streaming value against the Athletics, and Williams fits in that group. He is a mid-level streamer in this one.
#waivers #2024-fantasy-baseball
