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.Manny Parra was able to put up a quality start on Tuesday, but the win and the strikeouts didn't come, so we'll chalk that up as an unsuccessful pick. Tonight, we went with Jeff Niemann against the Orioles. Surprisingly, the 4-11 Jose Contreras would have been a great spot start today, as he struck out eight, walked one, and allowed only one run against the Royals in an afternoon game in Chicago.
Tomorrow we're streaming Jason Hammel, a Rockies pitcher who's lights out on the road. He's had great control this year, walking 29 batters in 118 innings (a 2.2 BB/9 rate) overall. Unfortunately, he's been done in by a barrage of hits at home, 85 in 50 innings. On the road, he limits hits to about one per inning, and that along with his great control and ability to keep the ball in road parks (he's allowed just three HRs in 68 innings) has led Hammel to post a 3.04 ERA and 1.28 WHIP away from Colorado, as opposed to a 7.02 ERA and 1.92 WHIP at home. He'll take on the Nationals, who have scored 22 runs and posted a .668 OPS in their last six games.
Another pretty good option is rookie Derek Holland of the Rangers. He's had a great month, posting a sub-1.00 WHIP over his last 33.1 innings. The reason I'm leaning toward Hammel of the two is that Holland will face the Twins, a team that had success against the rookie earlier in the season. Plus, Joe Mauer is so hot right now that I think we should avoid the team.Stream Team Data
August: 112.1 IP, 11 Ws, 4.01 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 96 Ks, 34 BBs.
Post-ASB: 199.1 IP, 15 Ws, 3.75 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 169 Ks, 62 BBs.
Since 7/1: 261.2 IP, 19 Ws, 4.23 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 205 Ks, 78 BBs.
