Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.As we try to identify good spot-starters for you to use in the coming months, a common thread will likely make itself clear: look west. The bottom three teams in the majors in terms of OPS are San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland. Seattle and Arizona are also among the bottom ten teams in OPS, and with half of the that bottom ten located out west, fantasy owners (i.e. you) should take advantage of these offensive jugger-nots. With that in mind, let's inexplicably avoid that advice and take a look at the inaugural member of the
Stream Team.
Jordan Zimmermann still isn't getting the respect he deserves, but that's one of the consequences of pitching for the Nationals. After posting undeservedly terrible ratios in the month of May, to go along with a 39/11 K/BB ratio, Zimmermann did his best to undo the damage and win a place back in fantasy owners' hearts by posting a 1.90 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in June, racking up 22 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings pitched along the way.
On Wednesday, Zimmermann takes on the Marlins, a team in the bottom half of the league OPS charts both at home and against righties. While it will be difficult for the youngster to pick up a win against dark-horse Cy Young-candidate Josh Johnson, Zimmermann should post solid ratios and rack up some strikeouts. Mark him down for six innings pitched, with no more than two earned runs allowed, and a strikeout total north of six. If he reaches these expectations, you'll be sorry you didn't heed Tom's advice last week.
