Tuesday's Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Luis Gil, Parker Messick and More
Five starting pitchers in action on Tuesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Let's jump right in today and look at five 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.
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Luis Gil, New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals
There are times throughout the season when a smaller sample can hide the poor performance of a team or player. MLB's stat page lets you break down numbers over the full season, the past 30 days, the past 15 days, or the past seven days. Well, no matter how you slice it, Washington looks like a bottom-10 offensive team, not showing much recently or over the full season. They are a friendly target.
Gil missed the first four-plus months of the season after suffering a bad lat strain during the spring. He has made just four starts, showing decent strikeout work but a lack of control (17 Ks and 13 BBs in 19 innings). His career work in 204 innings shows a pitcher who is above average with strikeouts but commonly has control issues, with both his strikeout rate and walk rate about four percentage points higher than average.
Gil is a mid-level streamer. There's a little downside as he continues working his way back to full strength, but the matchup is right, and Gil's strikeout work gives him a little boost.
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates @ St. Louis Cardinals
Andre Pallante, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
This time of year, we start talking about teams as if they are already out of the hunt when they are still mathematically alive. A lot of that comes from what we've seen and the best projections moving forward, and some of it comes from the teams themselves. The Cardinals are 5.5 back in the wild card, well within striking distance with about 30 games left. They sold at the deadline, though, and don't have the high-level talent that makes it seem like they are about to make a late-season run.
Keller's career numbers are right at average with both walks and strikeouts, but while the former has been good this season, his K rate is down three percentage points to a below-average level. He has also been hit a little bit, giving up more than one base hit per inning in his career, but Keller also limits homers well, giving up one about every 8.8 innings. That has allowed him to keep his ERA under 4.50 in each of the past four seasons.
Pallante is around average with walks, but he is well below average with strikeouts, seriously capping his fantasy value. He has done OK limiting batters, but there is inconsistency in his results, finishing two of his four seasons with an ERA under 4.00 and two with a number over 4.75 (including this year at 5.17). Pallante can eat some innings, but there's not much upside to his performance.
Keller and Pallante are both low-to-mid-level streamers. Keller is the better pitcher, but Pallante has the better matchup, and neither guy has been too good with Ks, leaving them as middling options at best.
Michael Lorenzen, Kansas City Royals @ Chicago White Sox
The White Sox have some intriguing young players that they have acquired through trades the past few years. The most noteworthy of those guys might be two catchers. Edgar Quero was acquired from the Angels when Lucas Giolito was sent west in the final gasp to keep Shohei Ohtani, and Kyle Teel came from Boston when Garrett Crochet changed his Sox prior to this season. Both guys are hitting over .280 in more than 150 at-bats, and they are likely fixtures moving forward as this team tries to become something resembling a real MLB club.
Lorenzen is generally a little worse than average with both walks and strikeouts but close enough to the middle to find some success. His walks are better this season, but he has also been hit around a little bit, giving up more than a hit per inning for the first time since 2015 and a home run every 6.4 innings, a number a little worse than average (which is around seven innings). Lorenzen is good enough to consider in the right situations.
Lorenzen is another low-to-mid-level streamer here. The matchup puts him squarely on the streaming radar, though Lorenzen isn't a high-ceiling pitcher, settling in near the middle (or a little below).
Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Messick made his big-league debut last Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, giving up just one run in 6 2/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts. That's not a bad way to kick off his career, especially as it came with a win. A second-round pick in 2022, Messick did strong strikeout work in the minors and had a 3.33 ERA in over 350 innings. There's promise here of Messick growing into an impact pitcher.
The Rays have been disappointing in the second half, holding a losing record since the All-Star break and sitting in the bottom 10 in most offensive stats during that time. Tampa is another group who sold some players off at the deadline, but they also imported a few lesser veterans to try to thread the needle of reloading and making a run at the playoffs. Now 6.5 games back in the wild card and needing to jump four teams to get into position, time is running out for a Rays playoff appearance.
Messick is a mid-level streamer. I might have a little too much optimism given his complete lack of track record, but Messick has been a good professional, and Tampa Bay's woeful offense gives him a good outlook. Over the past 30 days, the Rays have struck out the second most of any team.
Tuesday's Streamer Rankings
- Luis Gil, NYY
- Parker Messick, CLE
- Mitch Keller, PIT
- Michael Lorenzen, KC
- Andre Pallante, STL
