August 16 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Spencer Schwellenbach, Sean Manaea, Kyle Hendricks and More

Ryan Pepiot of the Rays is making his first start today since July 14 due to an infection in his knee from a spider bite. I mean…he’s probably not going to get Spider-Man-like powers, but this late in the season, isn’t it worth a flier? Pepiot isn’t on the streaming list today, but I’ll unofficially list him as “possible spider powers.”

Let’s look at the rest of 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 MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Yariel Rodriguez, Toronto Blue Jays @ Chicago Cubs

Two offenses are facing off here who are lowly enough to target in fantasy but aren’t at the bottom of the barrel like teams we will see below. Both the Blue Jays and Cubs have multiple average-or-better hitters, and Chicago is in a very muddled wild card race with outside playoff hopes. Both teams are likely to miss the playoffs, though, and underwhelming offenses are a major part of the reason.

Hendricks is a former star who has produced mainly negative results since the beginning of 2021. Hendricks has continued to limit walks, but his strikeout rate has fallen to a well below-average level, leaving him to get hit hard.

Rodriguez has been great with strikeouts in 50 innings (52 Ks), but he has walked more than 10% of the batters he has faced (25 BBs). His 3.60 ERA looks nice, but it’s the opposite of his 1-5 record. That’s a product of the team’s disappointing offense, as Rodriguez has been a decent pitcher.

Hendricks is a low-level streamer, and Rodriguez is a mid-level streamer. Hendricks is a desperation arm at this point and should only be added if you really need to fill a spot. Rodriguez’s K work matches up well with the Cubs, whose batters strike out at an above-average rate.

Spencer Arrighetti, Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox give fantasy value to every pitcher. It’s not just low-level work; Chicago is at the bottom of the league in most offensive aspects, struggling to make any noise. The Sox rank in the bottom three in runs scored, hits, home runs and all four slash categories. They’re right around 10th in most batter strikeouts.

Arrighetti has done great strikeout work in his first season, K’ing 129 batters in 105 innings, though he has walked too many (50). Those strikeout numbers make him fantasy relevant, and the matchup only helps. Arrighetti started against the White Sox in June and allowed three runs in 4.1 innings with four walks and two strikeouts. That’s not great, but he’s set up for a better outing this time around.

Arrighetti is a mid- to high-level streamer. There’s a lot of upside given his strikeout work, but control issues bring him down just a peg.

Sean Manaea, New York Mets vs. Miami Marlins

Manaea is on the higher ownership side of the streamers, but there’s enough availability that it’s worth checking if you can pick him up. Manaea was listed here before his last start against the Mariners with a caveat along the lines of, “He strikes out a lot of hitters but also walks too many.” He threw three innings and allowed three runs, walking five and striking out three.

Manaea is a mid- to high-level streamer. His strikeout work is high level, and the matchup against Miami couldn’t be much better. He might not be available in your league, but it’s worth a look.

Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Angels

It says something about the Angels that my first instinct when talking about them is to mention the weather in Anaheim and Disneyland. Their offense is a bottom-10 unit, reaching that level in runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs and all four slash categories.

Schwellenbach joins Manaea as a guy who is owned in a lot of leagues but is still free in enough to maybe make your roster. Both his strikeout rate and walk rate are about four percentage points better than average, and Schwellenbach has fantasy value against most teams.

Schwellenbach is a high-level streamer. On top of the good matchup, he’s probably a fantasy keeper unless you’re stacked with arms.

Friday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Spencer Schwellenbach, ATL
2. Sean Manaea, NYM
3. Spencer Arrighetti, HOU
4. Yariel Rodriguez, TOR
5. Kyle Hendricks, CHC