Fantasy Baseball Saturday SP Streamers: Alvarez, Jump, and Top Waiver Targets

A few days ago, I talked about the first few teams that had been eliminated from playoff contention, a list that now includes the Giants, Rockies, Angels, and A's. Well, we now have our first few teams to clinch playoff spots, as the Rays and Brewers have locked in playoff berths.

Tampa Bay still has a battle ahead of them, as they are only three games ahead of the Yankees, but Milwaukee has essentially locked up the NL Central and only has to worry about holding off the Dodgers and Braves for best record in the National League (and they are just 3.5 games ahead of the Rays). The playoff picture will start to take form over the next few weeks, but there is still plenty to figure out, leaving intrigue along the way.

Moving to fantasy baseball, let's look at four starting pitchers in action on Saturday 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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Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Angels

Alvarez is having a good rookie year (after 23 1/3 innings last season), doing average or better work limiting hits and runs and striking batters out. He has walked a few too many hitters, but Alvarez has been phenomenal at keeping the ball in the park, giving up just five home runs in 95 innings after allowing just one long ball last season. While he had a little trouble with the Dodgers his last time out, Alvarez was very good in August, allowing two runs or fewer in five of his six outings.

The Angels might be our favorite target right now, ranking in the bottom five in runs, hits, home runs, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They also rank in the bottom 10 in pretty much everything over the past 30 days, not showing anything over a long or short timeframe to show that they have any reason for hope with the bats. Most importantly for our purposes, Los Angeles strikes out as much as any team in baseball, setting a high ceiling for opposing pitchers.

Alvarez is a mid-level streamer. He has been successful in pretty much every area in his short career, and the Angels offer one of the best matchups of any team. There's real value here.

Tanner Gordon, Colorado Rockies @ Detroit Tigers

Detroit is simply a below-average offensive team over the full season, but they fall to a bottom-10 level over the past month, a time when they have watched their playoff hopes dwindle in a very winnable division. The Tigers actually rank in the bottom five in runs, hits, homers, and all four slash categories during that time, showing not just struggles but grand ineptitude. Throw in a top-10 strikeout rate, and Detroit presents a fantastic matchup right now, making them a team to target as often as we can.

Gordon has made more than half his 21 appearances either out of the bullpen or taking over after an opener, but he has started in each of his past four outings, at least tentatively holding a spot in the rotation. He is very good limiting walks, but Gordon has been worse than average with hits, runs, home runs, and walks in just over 200 career innings. As can be expected, Gordon's numbers are far worse at home than on the road; Coors Field tends to do that to a guy. Gordon gets a little bump from this one taking place in Detroit.

Gordon is a low-to-mid-level streamer. The matchup is right, and he gets a boost by pitching outside of Denver, but Gordon also hasn't been great in his short career.

Clay Holmes, Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

While their season-long numbers are much better, the Pirates rank average or worse in pretty much every offensive box stat over the past month, seeing their bats fall off even after adding a few players at the trade deadline. Pittsburgh did sweep the AL Central-leading White Sox this week, but they fell 12-2 to the Cubs yesterday. The Pirates aren't a great matchup, but there's a little value in facing them on the right days, and they strike out as much as any other team, setting a nice fantasy ceiling.

Holmes has made six starts for the Cubs since coming over at the trade deadline, and he has been good, doing average-or-better work in every area except for strikeouts; his K rate is under 15% in Chicago (versus league average around 22%). Holmes has an average strikeout rate in his career, but much of that time came as a reliever, and he has been below the middle while starting (which is common of most pitchers). Holmes is worth considering when the matchup is right while not presenting a big ceiling.

Holmes is a low-to-mid-level streamer. He's fine, and while the matchup is good right now, the season-long numbers tell a different story, so it's best to temper expectations just a bit.

Gage Jump, Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners

Jump was listed here as a streamer before his last start, which came against these same Mariners. He had a decent game, giving up two runs with no walks and seven strikeouts in four innings, though he did allow six hits. He picked up the loss, as the game ended 2-0, but Jump wasn't bad on the day. Jump has done good strikeout work in just under 100 innings (all this year) while allowing a few too many runs and walks, but he hasn't been too bad. Like Gordon, he has also been worse at home, as the A's current home park in Sacramento is a major hitter's park.

Seattle is another one of our favorite targets, ranking near the bottom of the league in runs, hits, doubles, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are in the middle with both walks and home runs, but the Mariners strike out at a top-10 rate, leaving a nice ceiling for our streaming pitchers. Seattle has continued to struggle recently, ranking below average in essentially everything over the past 30 days. It helps that they are playing this one in Sacramento rather than the pitcher's haven of Seattle, but the Mariners have struggled offensively all year.

Jump is a low-to-mid-level streamer. He has been OK in his rookie year, giving up a few too many runs but doing good strikeout work to go with it. He gets knocked down a peg by this game taking place in his home park.

Saturday's Streamer Rankings

1. Andrew Alvarez, WSH
2. Gage Jump, ATH
3. Clay Holmes, CHC
4. Tanner Gordon, COL