The debate as to when to draft starting pitching has been a mainstay during fantasy baseball draft season for years. Clear and impactful arguments can be made on both sides, and considering there is always more than one way to win a fantasy championship, one side is no more right than the other.
Nevertheless, the argument against drafting starters early always shines brightest when a high-end pitcher gets hurt, and the loss of Max Scherzer pushes this debate front and center.
Unfortunately, there is no point furthering the debate while in-season. You have made your bed and now you have to lay in it. If you were on the side of drafting starting pitching early and now you have lost Scherzer for at least 6-8 weeks, it is time to start streaming starters. It is highly unlikely you will find one pitcher to replace him, so digging deep each week to find two or three is your necessary course of action.
With Max Scherzer out for 6-8 weeks, it’s time to look at streaming options for starting pitchers.AP Photo/Frank Franklin IIThe easiest place to start this week is Pittsburgh. They open the week hosting Colorado for a three-game set then will head out to San Diego for another three.
It seems doubtful any Padres starter is available, but Colorado lefty Kyle Freeland is probably out there. The Pirates’ offense has been terrible, posting a .227 batting average over the past week, but more importantly, they are sitting on a dismal .288 wOBA against southpaws and have scored the seventh-fewest runs against them this season. Freeland has shined in three of his past four starts and should be able to handle Pittsburgh with relative ease.
Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie can prove to be an effective replace for Max Scherzer when the Guardians starting pitcher faces Detroit this week.Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty ImagesSpeaking of the Padres, has anyone noticed just how poorly their hitters have performed this year? We’re looking at a .248 wOBA with a 26 percent strikeout rate over the past seven days. They do reasonably well against lefties, but Brewers righty Adrian Houser gets a hold of them Monday, and they have just a .285 wOBA against right-handers. You could even take it so far as to use Pirates righties JT Brubaker and Bryse Wilson against them, but only if you have strong ratios and are just looking to supplement strikeouts and maybe steal a win.
Other streaming possibilities this week include Colorado’s Austin Gomber against Washington, Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie against Detroit and the White Sox’s Johnny Cueto against the Cubs. Be careful in weekly leagues should any of these be a two-start pitcher with a bad second matchup, but for those who can stream daily, you have options to get started. Of course, keep in mind this process will be rinse and repeat until Scherzer returns.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.
