Friday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Can Robbie Ray Pitch Like an Ace Against the Rockies?
Five starting pitchers in action on Friday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Welcome to another Friday! It's the best day of the week if you work the standard Monday-Friday schedule, even considering that you have to go to work. That weekend freedom feeling on Friday night would be worth a billion dollars if you could bottle it up and sell it.
In baseball land, we have another weekend set of series with a full slate of games. That's nice for entertainment and also for our fantasy lineups, where most of the best players are in action and we have maximum streamers available.
Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Friday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable pitchers. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
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Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
We might have a new favorite game to play with the Twins: What is Byron Buxton's K:BB ratio? Buxton has struck out 41 times (tied for third most in baseball) and drawn only four walks. Buxton has been valuable in other areas (four doubles, two triples, six homers, and seven stolen bases), but those are numbers to watch for a Minnesota team holding on as a fantasy target.
Bello has won both of his starts this season, totaling 11 innings and allowing just four runs. His walk and strikeout rates are both far worse than average (seven Ks, six BBs), but it's a small sample, and his career numbers are just a hair worse than average.
Bello is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup is good, not great, and he has struggled to find his way despite good results, so I'm staying away from Bello in this one.
Jonathan Cannon, Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros
Cannon is average limiting walks, but he is well below average with strikeouts in 156.1 innings. He was also a below-average strikeout pitcher in the minor leagues, so there's not much hope of Cannon finding new magic there. That puts a cap on his value in any given start.
The Astros might be a surprise here, but they rank in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. The only downside is that they don't strike out a ton, but they also haven't done much damage offensively.
Cannon is a low-level streamer. The matchup is fine to put him on the radar, but Cannon's lack of strikeouts really caps his potential fantasy value.
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals
Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals @ Baltimore Orioles
Two 2024 playoff teams here who faced off in the Wild Card Round (the Royals won 2-0), Kansas City and Baltimore are both sporting bottom-10 offenses. KC is still winning (17-15), but the Orioles have the second-worst record in the American League (12-18).
Kremer is right about average with walks and strikeouts (a little lower than average with the Ks) over 530.2 innings. He has been well below average with strikeouts to start the season, having just 20 strikeouts while allowing 24 earned runs. Kremer has been part of Baltimore's slow start.
Wacha has a similar career profile to Kremer, sitting right near average with both walks and strikeouts. Wacha has been much more successful this season, though, giving up just 12 runs and 28 hits in 32 innings. Wacha is a dependable streamer, maybe the essence of the word.
Wacha is a mid-level streamer and Kremer a low- to mid-level streamer. Wacha is the better pitcher, but Kremer has the better matchup; I still trust Wacha more, though he's not a must-have pitcher.
Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies
Ray is owned in more than half of leagues, so he's not quite the same type of streamer as these other guys who are barely owned, but this is maybe the best matchup available, so he's worth putting on our streaming list because you might be able to find him as a free agent, and he needs to be in a lineup in every league.
When the Rockies aren't in Coors Field, they're inept offensively. Even at home they aren't great, but at least they see the Denver bump. Colorado has scored the fewest runs, owns the lowest batting average, and their batters have struck out more than any other team. They are also in the bottom 10 in hits, walks, and all four slash categories, leaving a lack of places to excel.
Ray is a high-level streamer. The matchup is pristine, and Ray is a top-flight strikeout pitcher, even if he does walk a few too many guys.
Friday's Streamer Rankings
- Robbie Ray, SF
- Michael Wacha, KC
- Brayan Bello, BOS
- Dean Kremer, BAL
- Jonathan Cannon, CWS
