April 19 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Jack Flaherty, Triston McKenzie, Spencer Turnbull and More
A look at Friday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
I love the weekend series in baseball. Three games Friday, Saturday and Sunday, maybe take a long weekend and spend a lot of time at the ballpark when your favorite team comes to town. There’s just something about that weekend feeling and that summer feeling; it makes you feel like a kid again, right?
Heading into the weekend, let’s go through Friday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from ESPN.
Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers @ Minnesota Twins
Despite playing for a team that’s worth targeting with fantasy pitchers, Flaherty keeps showing up on this list with a run of great matchups. His three opponents so far, the White Sox, Twins and Athletics, are (through Wednesday):
- The bottom three teams in runs scored
- In the bottom four in hits
- At least tied for the bottom 10 in home runs
- Among the top half of the league in batter strikeouts
- The bottom three teams in batting average
- In the bottom five in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS
It’s been as cushy a start as any pitcher could ask for, and Flaherty gets the Twins for the second straight start on Friday. He has been just OK, allowing 10 runs in 18.1 innings (six of those runs came against Oakland) but also striking out 20 batters with just three walks.
Flaherty is a mid- to high-level streamer in this one, with a good chance to continue striking out batters and maybe get bulk innings with few runs allowed.
Emerson Hancock, Seattle Mariners @ Colorado Rockies
Dakota Hudson, Colorado Rockies vs. Seattle Mariners
We’ll group these two together because they face each other and have somewhat similar circumstances, though with different levels of experience. Both pitchers are here because they have good matchups against weaker lineups and a possibility of success.
Hudson spent six years with St. Louis before joining Colorado this offseason, and he’s started the year with average results that are close to his career numbers. He doesn’t strike many batters out and walks a few too many, but he’s been able to post average ERA numbers.
Hancock has thrown only 26.2 innings in his career, and they haven’t been pretty: 19 runs allowed with just 17 strikeouts and five walks. While Hudson has shown competence in his career, Hancock has struggled in his short time in the big leagues, only excelling at limiting walks.
The matchups, again, are why these guys are fantasy relevant. Seattle has been one of the worst offensive teams in baseball, and Colorado has been near the league average after being a bottom-10 group last year. Both teams offer the chance for opposing pitchers to have good outings.
Hudson is a mid-level streamer worthy of a spot in your lineup; Hancock is a low-end guy who fits better in the last slot if you need an arm.
Triston McKenzie, Cleveland Guardian vs. Oakland Athletics
McKenzie has sandwiched two rough outings against the Mariners and Yankees around a 6.2-inning scoreless start against the White Sox. The biggest issue is his lack of strikeouts: Despite striking out a batter per inning in his career, McKenzie has only struck out five hitters in 13 innings while issuing 12 walks. That won’t cut it for any major league team.
The matchup against Oakland gives him a chance to bounce back. The Athletics are near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories (as mentioned above) after finishing last season the same way. There just isn’t much hope for anything with the A's right now.
McKenzie is a mid-level streamer here; he has a chance at another outing like the one against Chicago, but it won’t matter much if he can’t find his control, so he’s a step down from the top streamers.
Spencer Turnbull, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago White Sox
Turnbull is the lucky man who gets to step up against one of the most pathetic teams in the league (as a White Sox fan, I…I just can’t). Until further notice, Chicago is a team to target nearly every day with opposing starting pitchers.
Turnbull's first two starts resulted in zero earned runs allowed (one unearned) and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings. He struggled in his last start against Pittsburgh, allowing three runs with four walks in just four innings, but, again, he has one of the sweetest matchups around.
As a nearly average pitcher against a well below-average lineup, Turnbull is a good streamer, maybe just a step below the top level.
