April 17 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Steven Matz, Michael Wacha, Dane Dunning and More
A look at the probable pitchers on Wednesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
The NFL Draft, NHL playoffs and NBA playoffs are on the horizon, meaning baseball is going to get pushed to the side for a few months. While the rest of your league has wandering focus, however, we will be here giving you daily and weekly players to get into your fantasy lineup.
Let’s go through Wednesday’s probable pitchers (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, presenting streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from ESPN.
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds @ Seattle Mariners
Abbott was also listed here for his last start against the White Sox on Friday; he showed that he belongs as at least a streamer with just four hits and one run allowed in seven innings.
Chicago is one of the worst teams in baseball, and Abbott’s other starts against the Phillies and Mets were OK but not great. In particular, he hasn’t struck out many batters, racking up just 11 Ks in 17.1 innings. He struck out 120 batters in 109.1 innings in 2023, so maybe this is an aberration that will change, but I’m not counting on too many strikeouts from Abbott until he shows otherwise.
He gets another great matchup here against the Mariners, a team that went from an average offense with a ton of strikeouts in 2023 to a bottom-five offense that still strikes out a lot this year. Seattle is a team to target with starting pitchers for the foreseeable future.
Abbott is a mid- to high-level streamer on Wednesday, offering the chance at more bulk innings without many runs allowed. Maybe Seattle’s swing-and-miss tendencies will get Abbott’s strikeout rate back on track as well.
Dane Dunning, Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers
If you read this column on a somewhat regular basis, you know how this one is going to go: Detroit was bad last year and continues to struggle this season. There’s not much hope for improvement here.
It’s more about the pitcher facing the Tigers (or White Sox, or Athletics, or…). Dunning has been OK through three starts, striking out 17 batters in 18 innings but also walking too many guys (nine).
Throughout his career, Dunning has been close to an average pitcher, something that stretches to his ERA, walk rates and strikeout rates. It’s fair to expect that level of performance to continue, meaning he is a decent fantasy bet in the right matchups.
Dunning is a mid-level streamer in this one, likely able to have a good start if expectations are held in check.
Bailey Falter, Pittsburgh Pirates @ New York Mets
Falter has made three starts this season: He struggled mightily against the weak Marlins in his first start before throwing 11 combined innings with just one run allowed against the Phillies and Orioles. He has only struck out six batters while walking four in 15 innings, but the results have mostly been positive for Falter in 2024.
The Mets are an average offensive team, featuring a few big names, like Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, but not offering the fearsome lineup that was promised when New York became the biggest spending team in baseball last year.
Falter is a mid- to low-level streamer in this one. He won’t get strikeouts, but he has a chance for decent results against a middling lineup.
Steven Matz, St. Louis Cardinals @ Oakland Athletics
I mentioned Oakland in the Dunning section as a team that I target often, and Matz is the lucky streamer to draw the assignment on Wednesday. Matz was part of the Mets’ rotation with high hopes that included Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard for a stretch.
Injuries never let that group materialize into the lights-out staff they had the potential to be, and each player is now on a different team or out of baseball. Matz has been good when on the mound, but he has thrown 150 innings in only three seasons (two of which came with New York).
With Oakland among the worst teams in baseball, Matz is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout rates in his career have been good, but he hasn’t shown that skill in this young season; that should change, as Oakland has struck out among the most of any team.
Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
Ranger Suarez of the Phillies was listed here yesterday and responded with a seven-hit shutout, striking out eight batters and walking just one while throwing the second complete game of his career. The Rockies are a team to target with fantasy pitchers.
Sanchez has both walked and struck out batters at an average-or-better rate in his short career (167.1 innings) and owns an ERA right around 4.00, meaning he can be counted on as a league-average starter for the time being.
With the Rockies likely to top out at the average results they’ve produced, Sanchez is a mid-level streamer. Like a few others today, he can be expected to have an OK outing with nothing special.
Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals @ Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are simply THE team to go after in fantasy baseball. On top of their league-worst 2-14 record, Chicago is near the bottom of the league in most offensive stats and doesn’t have any reason to expect much improvement.
Wacha has struck out a little less than a batter per inning, not posting elite rates but staying around the league average, even into his 30s. He posted a few really good years with St. Louis but has settled in more as an average pitcher for most of his career.
The combination of his competence and a terrible White Sox lineup make Wacha a great streamer in the second game of a double-header on Wednesday.
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