Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitchers for Wednesday, June 11: Is Clarke Schmidt a Must-Start Pitcher?
Five starting pitchers in action on Wednesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Most years, there's at least one division that stands out as the worst, their champion winning fewer games than most of the wild cards. We still have a long way to go, but this year looks like it could be the AL West. Houston currently leads with 36 victories, and no other division leader has fewer than 40 wins. Next in the West is Seattle with 33, and no one else is above .500.
Moving to the world of fantasy baseball, let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Wednesday 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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David Festa, Minnesota Twins vs. Texas Rangers
Festa made his debut last season then began this year in the minors, so he has accumulated only 81 innings in the big leagues. He has been really good with strikeouts in that time (98) and right at average with walks, though he has also been hit a little hard, giving up 12 homers and holding a 5.00 ERA this year.
The Rangers are continuing the sabotage of their fantastic pitching staff. While Texas pitchers rank among the five best in runs, hits, and home runs allowed, as well as ERA, WHIP, and batting average against, Ranger hitters are in the bottom five in runs, hits, doubles, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Festa is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is good, and he has shown high-level strikeout work, but he also has been knocked around enough that we can temper expectations a bit.
Ryan Gusto, Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox match the Rangers by ranking in the bottom five in most offensive categories, and they also fall to that level in home runs, where Texas is closer to average. There's just not a much better matchup than the White Sox available for any pitcher, putting Gusto on the streaming radar.
Speaking of Gusto, he's in his first season, just 43.1 innings into his career. He has been good with strikeouts in that time but has also walked too many guys and has gotten hit hard, allowing 50 hits in that time. He was just OK with Ks in the minors, so that rate might not get much better, but he's been good enough to consider in fantasy.
Gusto is a mid-level streamer. He's been fine, and the matchup couldn't be better, making Gusto a pitcher with some fantasy value.
Cal Quantrill, Miami Marlins @ Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates fit right in with Texas and Chicago, ranking in the bottom five in essentially every offensive box stat. Pittsburgh offers even a little more than their fellow offensively challenged teams, as they rank sixth in most batter strikeouts.
Quantrill was here before his last start against the Rockies and gave up just two runs in five innings. That made four straight starts in which he allowed two or fewer runs (and five of his past six), though he hasn't topped five innings in any of those outings. Quantrill is good with walks, but he's well below average with strikeouts.
Quantrill is a low- to mid-level streamer. His lack of strikeouts caps his ceiling, and he'll probably make a short start, but the matchup is pristine.
Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals
Schmidt missed the beginning of this season, so he is a few starts short of those who have been active all year. He has been good with strikeouts while also walking just a few too many guys. For his career, Schmidt has been good with Ks and average with walks, so we can expect him to continue doing well enough in those areas.
The Royals have an OK hit tool, but they are bereft of power. They have three fewer home runs than the next closest team (Pittsburgh), hitting just 45 in 67 games. KC has also drawn the fewest walks, all part of adding up to the third-fewest runs in the league.
Schmidt is a mid-level streamer. Kansas City isn't an imposing offensive group, and Schmidt has a nice ceiling with his strikeout work, even though the Royals don't strike out much.
JP Sears, Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels
Sears is really good with walks but also a below-average strikeout pitcher, leaving him with something of a fantasy ceiling. Sears has also been hit a little hard this year, giving up 73 hits and 15 home runs (!!) in 67.1 innings. Sears is another one of the many pitchers in a large group that we see here on the streaming list each day.
The Angels are fourth in home runs and second in batter strikeouts. That's a lot of risk and a lot of reward with every swing. It hasn't worked out overall, as the Angels rank in the bottom 10 in most other offensive categories.
Sears is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout work is close enough to average that the big-time K numbers of the Angels can push him up a level, and the rest of LA's profile sets up Sears for success.
Wednesday's Streamer Rankings
- Clarke Schmidt, NYY
- David Festa, MIN
- Ryan Gusto, HOU
- JP Sears, ATH
- Cal Quantrill, MIA
