Compared to last week's crop, which shined a light on the absurdity of presuming there would be 10 sleeper pitchers in any given week, this week's is a solid group. In fact, I'd say each of the top seven needs to be starting in just about every league.
That's generally not the way this works. Typically, these picks stretch the boundaries of optimism just so you might have somewhere to turn if faced with a desperate situation. But an especially strong two-start slate gives us more options to work with.
So let's get right to it. Here are my favorite streamer pitchers rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
We discussed prospects, Thursday's developments, our favorite teams and previewed Week 6 on the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast. Follow all our podcasts and subscribe here.
With a 1.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 9.0 K/9 over his past four appearances, all at least six innings, this ground-ball specialist appears to have rounded into form, making him an easy call in a two-start week.
| ||
Already known to be a strike-thrower, Pablo Lopez has been piling up swings and misses with a newly fleshed-out arsenal that gives his changeup even more room to shine.
| ||
Brad Keller's ground-ball arsenal and workhorse mentality have long made him a high-floor pick in Fantasy that would already be advisable with two starts, but especially now that his slider might be developing into more of a swing-and-miss pitch.
| ||
He ran out of steam in the fifth inning of his major-league debut Wednesday, but the stuff and whiffs were there, making him a pretty confident choice with two starts despite the one difficult matchup.
| ||
Even while bouncing between long relief and the starting rotation, Corbin Burnes' power arsenal has been unhittable so far, and while the walks may come back to bite him at some point, it likely won't be with this matchup.
| ||
Marco Gonzales has been maximum efficient so far, consistently working more than six innings, which makes the risk of using him worth the reward even with some less-than-palatable matchups.
| ||
Dylan Cease has made good on his AL Central-heavy schedule so far, consistently churning out quality starts against bottom feeders like the Tigers and Royals. And hey, look who he's facing this week.
| ||
Though his last start was a clunker and the upside isn't so great, Alec Mills remains a pitcher who can limit damage by keeping the ball on the ground, and there isn't much damage to be found in the Tigers lineup anyway.
| ||
He has become a competent innings eater late in his career, emphasizing his secondary pitches and weak contact, and should be able to limit the damage against two of the weaker offenses in the AL.
| ||
Going deep with this play, which is risky since he hasn't gone deep into a start yet, but Alex Young has continued to outperform his peripherals like he did last year and is a reasonable bet to keep doing so with two favorable matchups this week.
|
