June 28 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Slade Cecconi, Colin Rea, Drew Thorpe and More
A look at Friday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Today is a decent day for quantity, but there’s not much quality to match. Young pitchers and those with middling careers pepper the list; manage expectations accordingly. That doesn’t mean there’s no value to be found, though, especially for those desperate for arms.
Let’s run through Friday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Slade Cecconi, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Oakland Athletics
Cecconi has a walk rate less than half of the league average, showing great control and helping himself out. His strikeout rate is less impressive, though, sitting several percentage points below the league average. It has worked out to an ERA over 5.00, but Cecconi has also thrown just 80.1 career innings, meaning we don’t have a full picture of his abilities at the major league level.
Oakland ranks in the bottom four in runs scored, hits, batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. Their batters have struck out the second most. Home runs have been one positive, as the A’s rank in the top 10 in dingers, but that’s about the only area where this team stands out.
Cecconi is a low- to mid-level streamer. Oakland’s struggles give him a little bit of a floor, but his lack of strikeouts means a huge outing isn’t likely.
Dakota Hudson, Colorado Rockies @ Chicago White Sox
Hudson gets the best matchup in baseball this time through the order. And it’s not taking place in Colorado, adding another positive that Rockies’ pitchers can only count on half the time. Hudson’s own performance is lacking: He has a walk rate near 11% (league average is around 8%) and a strikeout rate around 15% (average is around 21-22%). Hudson doesn’t help himself much.
The Sox are fairly putrid. They are in the bottom two in runs scored, hits and all four slash categories. They sit about five games below any other team in baseball. The best we White Sox fans (yes, I am a fan, sadly) can hope for is a good return on whichever veterans are traded before the deadline.
Hudson is a low-level streamer. If he was facing a team with more upside, like the upcoming Tigers, he wouldn’t be on this list. Chicago is the only reason Hudson makes the cut, and he should be nothing more than the last guy in your lineup.
Zach Plesac, Los Angeles Angels vs. Detroit Tigers
Plesac is the nephew of Dan Plesac, a longtime Major League reliever who racked up over 1,000 strikeouts and 158 saves. That can’t be a bad thing for Zach, right? Specific to the younger man, he has thrown just 9.1 innings this year and allowed nine earned runs. He has a good walk rate in 476 career innings but is also noticeably below average striking guys out.
While the Tigers have had their ups and downs, their season-long numbers point to a bottom 10 offensive team. They are closer to 20th than 30th in many areas, meaning Detroit offers a good-not-great matchup.
Plesac is a low-level streamer. His own limitations combined with a matchup that’s just OK gives him a lower ceiling and floor than some other streamers.
Colin Rea, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs
Rea has been a slightly below-average pitcher in his career, something he has been close to replicating this year. His ERA is a little better than his career mark, but his strikeout rate is worse than previous seasons. It’s fair to expect something close to average results from Rea in most cases.
The Cubs aren’t as moribund as most of the teams I like to target, sitting closer to the middle than the bottom in many of the stats I like to use. Their best asset for opposing pitchers is that they rank in the top 10 in most batter strikeouts, allowing the right pitchers a chance at a big game.
Rea is a low- to mid-level streamer. His OK career numbers give him a floor, but there’s not much of a ceiling given his lack of strikeouts and Chicago’s offensive abilities.
Drew Thorpe, Chicago White Sox vs. Colorado Rockies
Thorpe wouldn’t be here if this game was at Coors Field. The Rockies are close to a top-10 offensive team at home but a bottom-10 unit on the road; that’s the Mile High Effect. Most importantly, Colorado hitters are in the top five in most strikeouts, allowing for a higher ceiling than some other teams listed here.
Thorpe has made just three Major League starts (all this year). In the first and third starts, he combined for 11 innings, two runs allowed (one earned), nine strikeouts and six walks. In his second start (against Arizona), Thorpe gave up eight runs (seven earned) in just 3.1 innings, walking five batters with no strikeouts.
The small sample makes it tough to know what to expect from the young pitcher. He had good marks in both walks and strikeouts in 199.1 minor league innings, meaning there is reason to expect better results, but it’ll be a while before we get a real feel for his major league ceiling.
Thorpe is a low- to mid-level streamer here. His strikeout work before reaching the big leagues gives hope of a good day against a team that Ks a lot, but I can’t give him a high ceiling at this point.
Friday Streamer Rankings
- Slade Cecconi, ARI
- Colin Rea, MIL
- Drew Thorpe, CHW
- Zach Plesac, LAA
- Dakota Hudson, COL
