Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Thursday
Here’s a look at Thursday’s top streaming options, focusing on players rostered in less than 50% of ESPN leagues.
Tyler Anderson (L), rostered in 14% of ESPN leagues, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Miami Marlins: Outside of a blowup outing against Atlanta in late May, Anderson has been rock solid. The southpaw has held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in six of his last eight starts and is whiffing nearly a batter per inning, thanks to a career-best swinging-strike rate. Anderson isn’t a high-upside arm by any means, but he’s more than capable of delivering a quality outing in a favorable matchup against Miami. The Marlins’ offense ranked 25th in baseball with an 86 wRC+ in May with an NL-worst 27.5% strikeout rate.
Griffin Canning (R), 8%, Los Angeles Angels vs. Seattle Mariners: Canning’s 5.40 ERA paints an ugly picture, but the right-hander was a solid streamer in May. He holds a 3.60 ERA over his last five starts, while whiffing 28 batters in 25 innings. Two of those May outings came against the Dodgers and Red Sox, so it’s not like he’s just picking on weak opponents. Fortunately, he does draw a weak opponent on Thursday. The Mariners sport a bottom-five wOBA (.285) against right-handed pitching this season.
Cody Poteet (R), 21%, Miami Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates: After being an easy “avoid” for his last start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Poteet is back in the streaming conversation with a bout against Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old doesn’t have over-powering stuff, but he still has decent fastball velocity (93.6 mph) from the left side and has done a great job limiting walks (1.7 BB/9). Aside from the start against Boston, Poteet has allowed just two runs over his other three starts, spanning 17 innings. The Pirates’ offense, which is among the worst in baseball, doesn’t pose much of a threat on Thursday.
Adrian Houser (R), 7%, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: Despite not pitching very deep into games, Houser has been surprisingly consistent this season. The right-hander has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of 10 starts. In his last start, Houser hurled five shutout frames against a stout Padres lineup. He gets a much easier test this time around, facing a Diamondbacks lineup that put up an 82 wRC+ in May with a 24.8% K rate.
James Karinchak secured his seventh save of the season on Tuesday, but it didn’t come easily. The right-hander allowed two runs and had the bases loaded before recording the final out. The hard-throwing righty has looked unhittable at times, but he has now been tagged for nine runs (seven earned) in his last five appearances. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Clase, who leads Cleveland with nine saves, has allowed just one run in his last nine games. Karinchak is rostered in roughly 30% more leagues than Clase, but don’t be surprised if Clase starts earning more save chances going forward.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Calculating Bill James game scores: A pitcher starts with 50 points, gets a point for each out, two points for each inning completed after the fourth, and one point for each strikeout. He is docked two points for each hit, four points for each earned run allowed, two points for each unearned run allowed, and one point for each walk.
Note: In 2019 and 2020, the average game score was 50.
Catcher — William Contreras (R), 18%, Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals (LHP Patrick Corbin): Corbin has, at times, looked like he was beginning to get back on track, but his struggles have continued. He owns a 6.23 ERA across 10 starts, and his 6.04 xERA confirms that he is not simply a victim of bad luck. Corbin is also allowing a .402 wOBA to righty batters, putting Contreras in a great spot on Thursday.
First base — C.J. Cron (R), 52%, Colorado Rockies vs. Texas Rangers (RHP Mike Foltynewicz): It’s confusing as to why Cron remains so widely available. At the very least, he needs to be rostered when he’s playing at Coors Field, which is where he finds himself on Thursday. The slugger has put up a .292/.395/.554 triple slash at Coors this season, and Foltynewicz’s 41.9% fly ball rate is the ninth-highest in baseball.
Second base — Jonathan Schoop (R), 12%, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox (LHP Dallas Keuchel): If more people were aware of what he’s been doing at the plate lately, Schoop would surely be on more rosters. Over the last 20 games, Schoop is hitting .329/.398/.506 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He also gets a huge park upgrade on Thursday, as Guaranteed Rate Field is much more homer friendly than Comerica Park.
Third base — Jonathan Villar (S), 34%, New York Mets at San Diego Padres (RHP Yu Darvish): Villar has been a frequent name in this space, and that’s unlikely to change as long as he’s in the Mets’ lineup regularly. The 30-year-old popped five homers and swiped six bags in May while drawing walks at a 14.3% clip. That’s a super rare skill set that fantasy managers need to be rostering.
Shortstop — Mauricio Dubon (R), 6%, San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs (RHP Zach Davies): Dubon has been coming alive at the plate, clubbing homers in two of his last three games and six RBIs in his last four contests. He’ll look to stay hot against Davies, one of the more hittable hurlers on the slate. The righty owns a 6.41 road ERA this season.
Corner infield — Patrick Wisdom (R), 2%, Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants (RHP Anthony DeSclafani): It’s a small sample, but Wisdom has made a quick impression since joining the Cubs last week. He has hit safely in all five of his starts, clubbing four homers and stealing a base. The 29-year-old does have two 30-plus homer seasons at Triple-A, so the power is legit and warrants attention as long as he’s playing regularly.
Middle infield – Edmundo Sosa (R), 6%, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds (RHP Luis Castillo): With Paul DeJong on the injured list, Sosa continues to find himself in the lineup on a daily basis. Not only is he hitting .293 with a .414 OBP over 70 plate appearances, but he’s showcasing elite speed on the bases. Despite the name value, there’s no reason to fear Castillo, who has a 7.22 ERA over 11 starts and has been hit hard by right-handed batters (.383 wOBA).
Outfield — Edward Olivares (R), 3%, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins (LHP J.A. Happ): Prior to his promotion over the weekend, Olivares was flat-out raking at Triple-A, hitting .395/.473/.654 over 20 games with five homers and seven steals. He also clubbed 18 homers and stole 35 bags in 127 games at Double-A in 2019, so this power/speed profile didn’t come out of nowhere. Olivares has hit safely in all three games since his call-up and even swiped his first bag. Even if you don’t pick him up just yet, he’s definitely someone to monitor.
Outfield — Willie Calhoun (L), 18%, Texas Rangers at Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray): This one won’t take very long to break down. Calhoun has cemented himself as the Rangers’ leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching, and on Thursday, he gets the platoon edge at Coors Field, the most hitter-friendly park in the majors.
Outfield — Chas McCormick (R), under 1%, Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox (LHP Martin Perez): McCormick has been a staple in Houston’s batting order of late, usually batting second when there’s a lefty on the mound. The 26-year-old has pop, speed and a strong eye at the plate. Add in the strength of Houston’s lineup, and McCormick offers plenty of appeal in deeper formats. Perez, meanwhile, is Thursday’s lowest-ranked pitcher.
Hitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher’s past history (three years’ worth as well as past 21 days) as well as ballpark factors. “LH” and “RH” ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively. Weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. So, for example, a 10 is a must-start rating, while a 1 should be avoided (if possible); a 1-2 is poor, 3-4 is fair, 5-6 is average, 7-8 is very good and 9-10 is excellent.