Fantasy Baseball 2-Start Pitcher Rankings: Mick Abel, Kyle Harrison among top streaming options this week

Rhett Lowder, Reds, 20% (@ TB, vs. DET): Lowder hasn’t been quite as effective as he appears from his 3.52 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. The 24-year-old has whiffed just 16.0% of opposing batters while logging a mediocre 15:7 K:BB ratio and benefiting from a .254 BABIP. Still, Lowder has shown enough to be a fringe option in 12-team leagues for a week with reasonable matchups.

Michael McGreevy, Cardinals, 19% (@ MIA, vs. SEA): Let’s get this out of the way – McGreevy is much worse than is indicated by his 2.49 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. The 25-year-old has benefited from a .188 BABIP, and his lack of strikeout skills (12 Ks in 21.2 IP) gives him an especially low ceiling. Still, McGreevy is a 4.00-4.50 ERA talent who has reasonable matchups and can be streamed in 15-team leagues.

Justin Wrobleski, Dodgers, 25% (@ COL, vs. CHC): Some managers will see stellar ratios (2.12 ERA, 0.76 WHIP) on baseball’s most talented team and race out to add Wrobleski. But his incredible inability to miss bats this year (9.5% strikeout rate) and good fortune (.154 BABIP) are strong indicators that the 25-year-old will ultimately be unable to prevent scoring. Given that his next start comes at Coors Field, Wrobleski isn’t worth the risk in mixed leagues.

Sean Burke, White Sox, 5% (@ ARI, vs. WSH): After showing some promise in his initial two starts, Burke has taken a step back by logging a 5:5 K:BB ratio in his past two outings. It’s time to back off the 26-year-old until he strings together a couple effective starts, as he could do more harm than good during a two-start week with fairly difficult matchups.

Foster Griffin, Nationals, 9% (vs. ATL, @ CWS): Wise fantasy managers will put more stock in Griffin’s 1.26 WHIP than his 3.05 ERA. The right-hander has shown respectable skills in his return from Japan but has greatly benefited from an 87.7% strand rate and profiles as more of a 4.00-4.50 ERA talent. This is a fine week to stream him in 15-team leagues but not 12-team formats.

Tyler Mahle, Giants, 4% (vs. LAD, vs. MIA): Mahle has been all over the map in his four starts, allowing two, five, zero and eight runs. He has been felled by a .375 BABIP, but he has also walked nine batters in his past two starts. Mahle isn’t as bad as is indicated by his 7.23 ERA and 1.93 WHIP, but he should still stay on the waiver wire during a week with plenty of two-start options.

One-Start Streamers

In order, here are the best streamers for the week, with their start date and Yahoo roster rate in brackets.

Steven Matz vs. CIN (Tuesday, 31%)
Spencer Arrighetti @ CLE (Tuesday, 37%)
Ryan Weathers @ HOU (Saturday, 45%)
Andrew Painter @ ATL (Saturday, 45%)
Noah Schultz vs. WSH (Saturday, 39%)
Nick Martinez vs. CIN (Wednesday, 12%)
Grant Holmes vs. PHI (Friday, 34%)
Matthew Liberatore vs. SEA (Saturday, 14%)
Eduardo Rodríguez vs. CWS (Wednesday, 24%)
Chad Patrick @ DET (Wednesday, 19%)
Jansen Junk vs. STL (Wednesday, 3%)
Simeon Woods Richardson @ NYM (Wednesday, 1%)
Max Scherzer vs. CLE (Friday, 13%)
Eric Lauer @ LAA (Wednesday, 10%)
Noah Cameron vs. LAA (Friday, 32%)

Favorable Monday-Thursday hitting matchups

Colorado Rockies (vs. LAD, vs. SD): Not only will the Rockies spend the first half of the week playing four games at their offense-inducing home park, but they’ll also avoid the most challenging pitchers on each of their opponents. With right-handers starting three of the contests, Mickey Moniak (24%) and TJ Rumfield (9%) are the top players to add. Troy Johnston (5%) and Edouard Julien (3%) are also great options in deeper formats.

Atlanta Braves (@ WSH): Atlanta hitters will enjoy playing four games against a Washington staff that ranks 29th in baseball with a 5.65 ERA. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, seven members of the Braves lineup are rostered in the majority of Yahoo leagues. With righties starting three of the contests, Dominic Smith (12%) and Mike Yastrzemski (2%) are the players to add in deeper leagues.