Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitcher Streaming Options: July 8 – 14
Next week, Frankie Montas, Ben Lively and Colin Rea headline the list of two-start pitchers fantasy owners should pick up to stream.
Streaming starting pitchers is a common strategy that often leads to success in fantasy baseball. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the idea is simply to pick up a “lesser” pitcher for an inviting matchup or two that is soon to come.
The strategy certainly comes with risk, as there is usually a good reason, or several, that a particular hurler is rostered at a lower rate in most leagues. Still, the gamble can pay off nicely if a fantasy manager gets it right and their waiver add delivers.
The goal of this weekly article is to help fantasy managers pinpoint some two-start streamers with favorable matchups for the following week of the 2024 MLB season. These suggestions should be able to help out in a variety of season-long formats, but they can be especially useful to gain an edge in weekly head-to-head leagues.
*** Each SP below was rostered in less than 70% of Yahoo leagues at time of writing
Next Week’s Best Two-Start SP Streamers
Ben Lively (CLE) – at DET, at TB – 59%
Lively’s emergence this season has been crucial for the Guardians, as the first-place club has battled through injuries and inconsistent results from its rotation pretty much throughout the first half of the campaign. Lively picked up his eighth win on July 4, as he allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out six in as many innings against the White Sox.
It was not a “dominant” performance, but it got the job done, and that has been standard operating procedure for Lively. In 12 of 14 starts this year, he has worked at least five frames while giving up three runs or less. That has led to a nice 3.14 ERA to go with a 1.16 WHIP and a respectable 21.5 K%. Lively should be able to stay the course against the Tigers and Rays.
Colin Rea (MIL) – vs. PIT, vs. WSH – 31%
Rea set a new season-high with eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings against the Cubs two starts ago. He followed that up with an impressive seven shutout frames at Coors Field this past Wednesday, allowing only four hits and no walks while striking out four.
Those efforts continue a solid season for Rea. The 34-year-old righty has not given up more than two earned in seven of his last eight outings. Over that span, he has turned in an excellent 2.56 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while posting a 31-to-11 K/BB across 45.2 innings.
That strikeout rate (17.3%) is not great, but the combination of a 43.2 GB% and 14.4 LD% has helped Rea hold the opposition to a .207 AVG. A pair of fairly favorable matchups awaits next week.
Frankie Montas (CIN) – vs. COL, vs. MIA – 17%
Montas delivered his best start of the season back on June 4 at Colorado, as he surrendered only one hit and two walks while racking up nine punchouts over seven scoreless innings. Many fantasy managers were ready to jump back on board with Montas before he followed up with a terrible outing against the Cubs that lasted less than two innings.
Well, it is time to give Montas another shot. He picked up a win in a tough matchup at Yankee Stadium on Independence Day, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
Montas had also fared pretty well in each of his three starts prior to that victory over the Yankees’ potent lineup, posting a 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 14-to-7 K/BB across 17 innings. Those numbers came against contending teams in Milwaukee, Boston, and St. Louis. Montas will face much lighter competition next week.
Other Options to Consider
- Andrew Abbott (CIN) – vs. COL, vs. MIA – 51%
- Dean Kremer (BAL) – vs. CHC, vs. NYY – 26%
- Jose Quintana (NYM) – vs. WSH, vs. COL – 16%
- Andre Pallante (STL) – vs. KC, vs. CHC – 5%
Written by
Nate Miller is a feature writer at FantasyPros and Just Baseball. He has been an analyst in the fantasy sports industry for the past decade, covering…