This week’s list of two-start streamers for fantasy baseball is one of the shallowest groups of the year. Milwaukee Brewers’ Chad Patrick stands out as the best option by a wide margin, as the pitchers who trail him either have difficult matchups or have earned little trust from fantasy managers this year.
The hitting streamers are shallow as well. Every team who plays four games over the next four days is set to face a quality pitching staff. And the team with the most favorable schedule (Dodgers) has eight hitters who are rostered in at least 75% of leagues. This is truly a week where only the early birds will catch the worms.
Advertisement
[Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all]
Two-Start Pitchers (listed in order of preference)
Chad Patrick, Brewers, 37% (vs. PIT, vs. COL)
Patrick is the best streamer by a wide margin this week. Not only has he pitched well this year (3.50 ERA, 76:26 K:BB ratio), but is scheduled to make home starts against the Pirates (30th in runs scored on the road) and Rockies (27th in runs scored on the road). Patrick will be a one-week asset in the shallowest leagues, and then can return to waivers in 10-team formats.
Eduardo Rodríguez, D-backs, 26% (@ CWS, vs. MIA)
Rodríguez has started to recover from a miserable start to the season by posting a 2.81 ERA across three starts in June. The lefty was far from dominant in those three outings (12:4 K:BB, 3 HR), and normally I would say that managers should wait until he strings together additional effective starts. However, his matchups are stellar this week. The Marlins sit 23rd in runs scored, the White Sox rank 28th, and the two teams have combined for a 56-98 record this season. That’s enough of a reason to grab Rodríguez in 12-team leagues.
Justin Verlander, Giants, 20% (vs. MIA, @ CWS)
In his return from a one-month stint on the injured list, Verlander did some good things (6:1 K:BB ratio) during an otherwise unimpressive start (4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H). The veteran with a 4.45 ERA and 1.43 WHIP would normally rank much lower on this list if not for a pair of stellar matchups against two of the worst offenses in baseball.
Eric Lauer, Blue Jays, 6% (@ CLE, @ BOS)
After spending last season in the KBO, Lauer is having his best professional season (2.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP). He has benefited from good fortune (.212 BABIP) but also deserves credit for posting a 36:11 K:BB ratio across 35.1 innings. There is no doubt that the left-hander is…