Tuesday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Is Detroit's Reese Olson Primed for Big Things?
Four starting pitchers in action on Tuesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
It's Tuesday; that's all I've got for you today. Let's jump right in and look at four starting pitchers in action on Tuesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Check out daily fantasy baseball projections at FantasySP all MLB season!
Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Kansas City Royals
Bradley is owned in about 50% of leagues. That's more than most of the guys who end up here, but it still leaves enough probability that he will be a free agent in your league, and Bradley deserves a spot in someone's fantasy lineup today.
Bradley is an above-average strikeout pitcher who also walks a few too many guys, something that has helped lead to too many runs given up at times. Bradley has had inconsistent results this year: in his five starts, he gave up one, two, three, four, and six runs, doing better against the Rockies and Braves but struggling more in his last two outings against the Yankees and Diamondbacks, two strong offenses (he also struggled against a weak Rangers team).
The Royals are among the worst offenses in baseball, showing a complete lack of power and not enough consistency to make up for it. They aren't just a bottom-10 team: Kansas City is in the bottom five in most stats, including runs, home runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Bradley is a mid- to high-level streamer. His strikeout upside gives him a little bump, and the ineptitude of the Royals puts Bradley squarely on the streaming radar as a guy who could go out and have a good day.
Jacob Lopez, Athletics @ Texas Rangers
Lopez was just called back up to the big leagues after starter J.T. Ginn went on the IL, and he will take the ball in this one. Lopez has just 27 career innings to his name and has been worse than average with both walks and strikeouts, though he did really good strikeout work in the minors. Lopez has some nice upside, but it's tough to project anything big from him this early.
The Rangers continue their march as one of the offensive dregs of the league, regularly in the bottom 10 in most offensive categories. They have scored the fewest runs (four less than the Royals) and drawn the second fewest walks, also ranking in the bottom 10 in hits and all four slash categories.
Lopez is a low-level streamer with some upside. I'm staying away because we don't know what to expect, but his strikeouts are intriguing, and Lopez could become a streamer as early as this season if things come together for him.
Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers @ Houston Astros
Olson has been a hair better than average with both strikeouts and walks in his career (243.1 innings). He has also given up less than one hit per inning and had an ERA under 4.00 in all three of his seasons. In his past two starts against the Royals and Padres, Olson has combined for 12.1 innings, no runs allowed, 12 strikeouts, and three walks.
The Astros are feeling the effects of shedding talent like Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman. They rank in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. The only thing Houston is a little better with is strikeouts, as they rank 22nd in Ks.
Olson is a high-level streamer. He has done good work both in his career and this season, and the matchup is a strong one in pretty much every area. Olson is set up for success here, and he might eventually become worth a permanent roster spot.
Chris Paddack, Minnesota Twins @ Cleveland Guardians
I've been talking about the Twins working their way back toward .500, and it continued with an 11-1 victory over these same Guardians yesterday. Cleveland is in the bottom 10 (or just outside it) in runs, hits, doubles, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They do hit home runs, and they don't strike out a lot, but Cleveland is a vulnerable offensive squad.
Paddack had a rough start to the season: In his first two games (against the White Sox and Astros, two of our target teams), Paddack allowed 13 runs in 7.1 innings with six walks and four strikeouts. He has turned things around in his three most recent starts, combining for just five runs allowed in 15 innings, 16 strikeouts, and seven walks. He did pick up the loss in two of those games, but it wasn't because of a poor effort.
Paddack is a mid-level streamer. He's generally better than average with both walks and strikeouts, but he's been on the opposite side in each category this season; we can expect his numbers to keep improving. The matchup is good, not great.
Tuesday's Streamer Rankings
- Reese Olson, DET
- Taj Bradley, TB
- Chris Paddack, MIN
- Jacob Lopez, ATH
