Sunday Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Can Lance McCullers Find His Old Form After Two Years Away?

I have a friend who is a big Cubs fan (as am I) who has been texting me every week or so and saying something like, “The Cubs are for real.” Chicago was expected to compete for their division and/or a wild card this season, so it's not a surprise that they are doing well through a month-plus, but it's the way they've gone about it that has people excited.

Chicago ranks first in runs, hits, triples, and batting average; they're second in home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS, behind just the Yankees in each category. The Cubs are also in the top five in doubles and on-base percentage.

They've done all this against the hardest schedule in the league so far, and they are at the top of their division at 21-13.. So, yes: the Cubs are for real, 

Moving to fantasy baseball, let's look at six starting pitchers in action on Sunday 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.

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Logan Evans, Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers

Evans had his big-league debut last Sunday against the Marlins, throwing five innings with two hits and two runs allowed, three walks, and three strikeouts. It wasn't a great outing, but Evans did pick up the win. Evans was a below-average strikeout pitcher in the minors; he was good with run prevention, but that caps his fantasy value.

Texas is in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are below average with doubles and homers. The only place the Rangers are a little better is with strikeouts, where they rank around 20th.

Evans is a low- to mid-level streamer (a theme in yesterday's article also). There's some intrigue, but it's only his second start, and we can't expect big strikeout numbers. The matchup brings him up half a notch.

Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Cleveland Guardians

Francis is owned in about half of leagues. His career rates are a little better than average with strikeouts and much better than average with walks, but his Ks have been down to start the season, with just 23 in 30.2 innings. He has also allowed 33 hits and 20 runs in that time, showing less effectiveness than in the past few seasons.

Cleveland hits for OK power, but they are in the bottom 10 in hits, walks, batting average, and on-base percentage. They aren't a matchup on the level of the worst teams (White Sox, Rockies), but Cleveland is a decent team to target, especially if the pitcher is right.

Francis is a low-to mid-level streamer. He has some strikeout upside but has also had a rough start to the season, and the matchup is just OK.

Kyle Gibson, Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals

Michael Lorenzen, Kansas City Royals @ Baltimore Orioles

These two teams have split a pair of shutouts to start this series, with Baltimore winning 3-0 Friday and Kansas City taking it 4-0 yesterday. Both teams have sported bottom-10 offenses, so it's not a surprise to see low-scoring games between the two. That makes the pitchers good bets to have positive outings.

Gibson made his season debut against the Yankees on Tuesday; he got rocked. In 3.2 innings, Gibson allowed 11 hits, nine runs, and five home runs! Over his career, Gibson has been average with walks and worse than average with strikeouts. This matchup is much better, so Gibson has a decent outlook even after the horrible start.

Lorenzen has a very similar career profile to Gibson, though he walks more batters. His beginning to the season has been right near his career numbers, making Lorenzen a decent streaming option.

Gibson and Lorenzen are both low- to mid-level streamers. Again, these are OK pitchers who have really good matchups, putting them at a very popular streaming level.

Stephen Kolek, San Diego Padres @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Kolek was a rookie last year, working exclusively as a reliever as he accumulated 46.2 innings. He got hit hard (59 hits allowed) and had a below-average strikeout rate, but Kolek was good with walks. He started all five of his appearances in the minors this year, so Kolek is at least in that mode. He lasted either four or five innings in each of those five starts.

The Pirates are weak in every offensive area. They don't hit for average; they don't hit for power; they do OK drawing walks, but Pirate hitters are also among the top 10 in strikeouts. This is a daily target team.

Kolek is a low-level streamer. The matchup is right, but I can't trust him given his lack of experience and the underwhelming work he has done.

Lance McCullers Jr., Houston Astros @ Chicago White Sox

McCullers last pitched in 2022, when he only made eight starts (and three more in the playoffs). He has been recovering from major injury since; McCullers is making his first start in about 30 months in this one.

I wonder if they planned for him to face Chicago in his first start back to make for minimum difficulty. The White Sox are one of the few teams battling for the worst record in the league, and a big part of that is their inept offense. The White Sox mirror the Pirates in that they struggle is pretty much every area.

McCullers is another low- to mid-level streamer. He would be a notch higher if he weren't returning from such a long layoff, as McCullers has been a high-level strikeout guy in his career. I can't predict him to excel after so much time away, though.

Sunday's Streamer Rankings

1. Bowden Francis, TOR
2. Logan Evans, SEA
3. Michael Lorenzen, KC
4. Lance McCullers, HOU
5. Kyle Gibson, BAL
6. Stephen Kolek, SD