May 27 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Xzavion Curry, Taijuan Walker, Gavin Stone and Nick Nastrini
A look at Monday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Memorial Day is meant to remember those who died in service fighting for our country. Unofficially, many treat it as the start of summer, as school is over (or getting close) and the weather has gotten nice enough for outdoor activities in northern states.
It’s also an unofficial mark in which we can really start to trust player stats and team records in baseball. Small samples of a week or even a month can paint a superstar as a below-average player or a middling starter as a Cy Young contender. We now have two months of results (about one-third of the season) and can draw more solid conclusions.
I’ll be frank with you: It’s a terrible day for streamers. There is no high-level pitcher/matchup combo, and each of those listed could conceivably be left off the list on many days. With that in mind, temper expectations ahead of time.
Let’s run through Monday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups (kind of), creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Xzavion Curry, Cleveland Guardians @ Colorado Rockies
The Rockies hit much better at home than they do on the road, almost to the extreme of being a top-10 unit in Colorado and bottom-10 away. Splitting the season into two parts puts us back into small samples, though, and the full season numbers paint Colorado as a below-average offensive team.
Curry has thrown just 113.2 big league innings while making most of his appearances out of the bullpen. His results have been mostly average, though he has struck out a well below average number of hitters. Two starts this season have produced positive results:
- April 15 @ Boston Red Sox: 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
- May 21 vs New York Mets: 4.1 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Curry is a low- to mid-level streamer here. The game taking place at Coors Field hurts his value, and his lack of strikeouts gives him a low ceiling.
Nick Nastrini, Chicago White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Nastrini’s first action in the majors has been rough: 11.1 innings, 17 runs allowed (15 earned), 13 walks and eight strikeouts. Nastrini was better with walks in the minors, and he flashed high-level strikeout work with 376 in 274.2 innings. Maybe it’s just a small sample, but nothing Nastrini has done well in the past has translated to his short time in the majors.
Toronto’s offensive struggles are the only reason Nastrini has even a slight amount of fantasy value. I sometimes use vague blanket statements for bad offensive teams, like, “The Blue Jays rank in the bottom 10 in most major offensive stats.” The reason for that is because I would otherwise list the same numbers day after day.
Let’s change it up: Toronto does two things well, and those are avoiding strikeouts and drawing walks. They have struck out the second least of any team and are in the top 10 in walks taken. That’s helped lead to a team on-base percentage right at the middle of the league. The overall results are still poor, showing how weak they have been when hitting the ball.
Nastrini is a low-level streamer. His Minor League strikeout rate gives hope that he will figure some things out, but the results have been horrible so far. Nastrini is a player who should only fill the last spot in your lineup if you’re desperate.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Mets
The Mets started the year poorly but have hit their way to a league average level. They don’t excel anywhere, but New York sits between 10th and 20th in most major box score categories. The Mets are no better than a middling matchup.
Stone has been OK in 81 career innings but hasn’t struck out many batters (just 56). He struggled a bit in his last start, giving up four runs in six innings, but before that Stone hadn’t allowed more than two earned runs since his first start of the season, a stretch of seven outings.
Stone is a low-level streamer. His lack of strikeouts really deflates his value, and the matchup doesn't offer a high ceiling.
Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants
San Fran has had their ups and downs and now looks like a decent offensive team. There was a time earlier in the season I targeted them a few times, but that’s no longer prudent in most cases. The only reason they’re here today is because of the short list of streamers and Walker’s presence as a capable pitcher.
Walker has lost his plus strikeout stuff from the prime of his career and has settled in as a little bit below-average starting pitcher. That creates streaming value against weak offensive teams, but the Giants aren’t down to that level.
Walker is a low-level streamer. Again, he’s here mostly because of the lack of options and is fit for the bottom of your lineup if you’re short on pitchers.
Monday’s Streamer Rankings
- Xzavion Curry, CLE
- Gavin Stone, LAD
- Taijuan Walker, PHI
- Nick Nastrini, CWS
