Jerad Eickhoff, Wade Miley among best fantasy streaming options this weekend
Every week in the Weekend Stream, we’ll give you pitches to add for spot starts who can help you chase down a category or two in head-to-head leagues. All of the pitchers we offer will fall under one of three headings. If a pitcher is a stream candidate in “shallow” leagues, it means he has an ownership rate between 35% and 50%. “Medium” translates to pitchers with ownership rates between 21% and 34%, while those under the “deep” heading are owned in 20% of leagues or fewer.
An endorsement for a pitcher in a shallow or medium league would also apply to the leagues beneath it, but those of you in deep leagues shouldn’t hold out hope that a pitcher with an ownership rate of 40% will be available.
Shallow
Wade Miley, Orioles (Saturday at Astros)
Miley has a tough draw against the Astros this weekend, but he’s still worth a look for shallow-league owners who could use a spot start. He shut down the Blue Jays earlier this week, allowing three unearned runs in seven innings while allowing six hits and fanning three. Walks have been an issue for him this season, but he issued just one free pass against the Blue Jays. The biggest knock against Miley is Houston’s strikeout rate. Miley has 49 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings, but the Astros have the second-lowest strikeout rate this year.
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Jerad Eickhoff, Phillies (Saturday vs. Reds)
Eickhoff has been up and down this season, which is typical for a pitcher with an ownership rate that hovers around 50%. He has been more bad than good of late, but he continues to miss about one bat per inning. That’s enough to make him an intriguing spot starter this weekend. The Reds don’t strike out much, but outside of Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez, there aren’t too many bats to fear in their lineup. This is a solid matchup for Eickhoff.
Medium
Kyle Freeland, Rockies (Saturday vs. Cardinals)
It’s a bad weekend to be streaming in standard-sized leagues. This is just one of those weeks that happens to have a ton of widely owned pitchers taking the mound on Saturday and Sunday. To be honest, you’re probably better off going with one of the deep-league streamers than Freeland, who has to pitch at Coors Field this weekend. To be fair, though, Freeland has handled his home park well, notching three quality starts in five outings and pitching to a 3.80 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 23 2/3 innings.
Deep
Mike Foltynewicz, Braves (Saturday at Giants)
Foltynewicz is quietly putting together a strong season in Atlanta, amassing a 3.86 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings. The 4.49 FIP suggests he has been a bit fortunate, but it’s a pretty low bar for him to clear to be useful in deep leagues this weekend. The Giants rank dead last in the league with a .282 wOBA, and have somehow been even worse against righties. Their .280 wOBA against right-handed pitching is 10 points worse than the 29th-ranked Pirates. Foltynewicz has been throwing the ball well recently, notching quality starts in five of his last seven trips to the mound.
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Josh Tomlin, Indians (Saturday vs. Royals)
There’s no way around it. Tomlin has been bad this year. He has an unsightly 6.70 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 36 strikeouts in 47 innings. He does have a 3.76 FIP and has walked just four batters, so better days could be ahead. Still, one of his only good outings this season came at the expense of the Royals. Back on May 6, Tomlin tossed seven innings against the Royals, allowing one run on three hits, striking out three and walking none. He gets the same punchless Royals on Saturday. This is a good time for owners in deep leagues looking for a spot starter to deploy Tomlin.
