Wednesday's Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Eric Lauer, Ryan Bergert and More

Another week, another thrown bat in professional baseball. After Victor Robles was suspended 10 games for chucking his bat after being hit by a pitch (that he swung at!) in a minor league game, Willson Contreras had a disagreement with the home plate umpire on Monday, was thrown out of the game, and eventually tossed his bat toward the umpire, instead hitting one of his coaches. Contreras was suspended for six games.

Now, Contreras didn't whip his bat toward the umpire/his coach; he just tossed it that direction. If it would have actually hit an ump, I assume the suspension would be longer. MLB is setting a precedent of giving short suspensions when a player throws his bat, though, and eventually, it's going to result in someone really being hit and hurt with a flying stick.

I made this comment after the Robles suspension: a fan at a Diamondbacks game made a “Yo Momma” joke earlier this year and was kicked out of every major league park indefinitely. Now, two guys have thrown bats in two weeks, and each were suspended for 10 days or less. There is no rhyme or reason to those bans, and it encourages players to keep doing more and more when they decide it's best for them to throw 30-plus-ounce pieces of wood at other humans.

Let's move to fantasy baseball and 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.

Check out daily fantasy baseball projections on FantasySP!

Ryan Bergert, Kansas City Royals @ Chicago White Sox

Aaron Civale, Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals

While Kansas City is in position to fight for the wild card over the final month, they aren't doing much to help themselves against the worst team in the American League. After losing 7-0 to the White Sox on Monday, KC was down 4-0 before scoring five runs over the 8th and 9th innings for a one-run victory. That leaves them three games out of a playoff spot but needing to kick things into gear to be there at the end. (We won't mention the Sox and where they sit in the playoff race.)

Bergert came over from the Padres at the trade deadline. It's his first season in the majors, and in 58 innings, Bergert has done very well, giving up 39 hits, 18 earned runs (2.79 ERA), and 24 walks with 56 strikeouts. That walk number is just a little high, but Bergert's strikeout rate is better than average, and he did good K work in the minors, so there's hope he can keep up that level of play.

Kansas City's lack of firepower is their main issue and the reason that Civale is here today. He had a decent run after joining the White Sox during the season, but it hasn't gone well recently, including 16 runs allowed in his past three starts (14 1/3 innings). That includes a loss to these Royals on August 15, when he gave up eight hits and three runs in six innings. Civale has been worse than average with both walks and strikeouts this season and has an ERA a little over 5.00.

Bergert is a mid-level streamer and Civale a low-level streamer. I'm bullish on Bergert, as I am with many young pitchers with lively arms who haven't had a chance to get onto the fantasy radar. Civale just isn't doing enough to trust in your fantasy lineup no matter what the matchup is.

Slade Cecconi, Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Cecconi was doing better strikeout work earlier in the season, but that has fallen to a level a little below average, where his career number sits. He helps offset that with a good walk rate, but Cecconi has also been hit a little hard, allowing more than a hit per inning and a home run about every five innings. That won't allow him to find much success.

Each day, I talk about how Tampa Bay has better numbers over the full season but has really struggled the past few months. They were actually coming off a three-game winning streak before Tuesday, when they were shut out 3-0. Guardians' rookie Parker Messick (who was listed here as a streamer yesterday) threw seven innings with six strikeouts, no walks, and just four hits allowed.

Cecconi is a low-to-mid-level streamer. The matchup gets him here, but Cecconi has seen his performance decrease a little bit, including his strikeout rate dropping, so he loses a step on the streamer ladder.

Eric Lauer, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins

Lauer was moved to the bullpen for a short time when Shane Bieber came off the IL to join Toronto's rotation. Bieber was good in his first start in over 16 months, allowing just two hits and one run in six innings while striking out nine with no walks. That would maybe be enough to push Lauer out of the rotation for good, but he does get a chance to jump back in here, as the Jays might use a six-man rotation the rest of the season. Lauer has been good all season, posting both a walk rate and strikeout rate better than average.

The Twins have finally started settling into the bottom-level play that was expected when they went on a fire sale at the trade deadline. Before yesterday's win, they had lost three in a row, six of seven, and nine of 11. The offense was a below-average unit most of the season, and they have fallen further since the All-Star break, leaving them as a nice target.

Lauer is a mid-level streamer. He has done well, and the matchup is a good one, setting him up for a chance at a good outing in his return to the rotation after a short absence.

Colin Rea, Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants

San Francisco is on a three-game win streak. Before that, they lost four in a row. Before that, they won two in a row. Before that, they lost seven in a row. It's been a run of streaks, but the Giants are coming out on the wrong end overall, sitting four games under .500 and seven back in the wild card race. The offense is painfully bad at times, sitting in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are just outside the top 10 in most batter strikeouts.

Rea is another guy who fits into the big group that is good with walks but below average with strikeouts. He's right around average in terms of giving up hits and home runs and has an ERA of 3.96; Rea is about as average as it gets in 2025. That makes him worth considering in the right matchups.

Rea is a low-to-mid-level streamer here. His serviceable work combined with the good matchup puts him on our list, but he is a little down with strikeouts, limiting his fantasy ceiling a bit.

Wednesday's Streamer Rankings

1. Eric Lauer, TOR
2. Ryan Bergert, KC
3. Colin Rea, CHC
4. Slade Cecconi, CLE
5. Aaron Civale, CWS