Week six of the Fantasy Baseball season begins May 11 2015. If you are like me you’ve been hit with injuries as well as underperforming players.
Interleague Matchups for Week Six
Chicago White Sox at the Milwaukee Brewers for 3 games Monday thru Wednesday
San Francisco Giants at the Houston Astros for 2 games Tuesday and Wednesday
Colorado Rockies at the Los Angeles Angels for 2 games Tuesday and Wednesday
San Diego Padres at the Seattle Mariners for 2 games Tuesday and Wednesday
St Louis Cardinals at the Cleveland Indians for 3 games Tuesday thru Thursday
Detroit Tigers at the St Louis Cardinals for 3 games Friday thru Sunday
Two Start Pitchers
These are the scheduled two start pitchers for week six. Please be sure and check the daily lineups for any late scratches.
James Paxton (Tue-Sun), Danny Duffy (Mon-Sat), Josh Collmenter (Mon-Sat), Alex Colome (Mon-Sat), Shelby Miller (Mon-Sat), Rick Porcello (Mon-Sat), Samuel Deduno (Tue-Sun), Carlos Frias (Tue-Sun), Jeff Samardzija (Mon-Sun) Nick Martinez (Tue-Sun), Mark Buerhle (Tue-Sun), Jerome Williams (Mon-Sun), Carlos Carrasco (Tue-Sun), Max Scherzer (Tue-Sun), Scott Kazmir (Mon-Sun), Nathan Eovaldi (Tue-Sun), Kyle Gibson (Tue-Sun), Gerrit Cole (Mon-Sat), Chris Heston (Tue-Sun), Chris Archer (Tue-Sun), Alfredo Simon (Tue-Sun), Wily Peralta (Mon-Sun), Ubaldo Jiminez (Mon-Sun), Jacob deGrom (Tue-Sun), Stephen Strasberg (Mon-Sat), Tyler Matzek (Tue-Sun), A.J. Burnett (Tue-Sun), Justin Masterson (Tue-Sun), Mike Leake (Mon-Sat), CC Sabathia (Mon-Sat), Ian Kennedy (Tue-Sun), Jake Arrieta (Tue-Sun), Tom Koehler (Mon-Sun), Anthony DeSclafani (Tue-Sun), Marco Estrada (Mon-Sat), Endinson Volquez (Tue-Sat), Jon Lester (Mon-Sat), Bartolo Colon (Mon-Sat), Colby Lewis (Mon-Sat) and Lance Lynn (Tue-Sat).
Waiver Wire Starting Pitching Options
The pitchers included in this list of suggestions are owned in less than 50 percent of all major Fantasy Baseball leagues. Be sure and consult your league waiver wire for these and other more suitable options.
Alex Colome Tampa Bay: He has two starts this week (Monday at home against the Yankees and Saturday on the road against the Twins) and while he’s only thrown ten innings he’s already averaging 9 strikeouts and zero walks per nine innings. WHIP of .70 and ERA of 1.80 plus two wins in two starts is also very encouraging.
Josh Collmenter Arizona: Collmenter has two starts this week (Monday at home with Washington and Saturday at Philadelphia) and thus far this season he’s picked up three wins and averages 5 strikeouts and less than 1 walk per 9 innings. ERA of 3.40 and 1.18 WHIP makes Collmenter a decent pickup this week.
Carlos Frias Los AngelesDodgers: Two starts at home this week (Monday against the Marlins and Saturday against the Rockies) and Frias has nearly 8 strikeouts and less than 3 walks per nine innings. Nice 2.13 ERA to go along with a 1.18 WHIP. He also allows less than one bomb per nine innings.
Chris Heston San Francisco: Heston has two starts on the road this week (Tuesday at Houston and Sunday at Cincinnati) and is averaging 6.99 strikeouts and less than 3 walks per nine innings. I like his 3.48 ERA but his WHIP is a bit high at 1.39 but Heston’s 3.23 FIP suggests better days are ahead.
Danny Duffy Kansas City: Duffy has two starts (Monday at the Texas Rangers and Saturday at home against the Yankees) and is averaging nearly 7 strikeouts and less than 3 walks per nine innings. His ERA of 4.52 is a bit high and his 1.55 WHIP is less than ideal but like Heston his 3.55 FIP suggests better things ahead.
Tim Lincecum San Francisco: Lincecum has just one start this week (at home against Cincinnati) but he’s putting together a decent season so far. So far he’s averaging 7 strikeouts and 3.50 walks per nine innings. Excellent ERA of 2.00 and WHIP of 1.19 and his ground ball to fly ball ratio of 2.70 is very encouraging.
Noah Syndergaard Mets: Syndergaard is making his much heralded Major League debut this Tuesday on the road against the Cubs. He was averaging 10.66 strikeouts and 2.43 walks per nine innings and only giving up less then 1 bomb per nine in that launching pad of a stadium otherwise known as “CapeCashman”.
Jason Hammel Chicago Cubs: Hammel has his next start this coming Wednesday against the Mets. So far this season he’s averaging 8.22 strikeouts and just 1.17 walks per nine innings. His ERA of 3.52 and 1.04 WHIP are good to see and the way the Mets hit Hammel is a very good pickup this week.
Starting Pitching Streaming Options Monday-Thursday
The following streamer suggestions are available in over 50 percent of all major Fantasy Baseball leagues. Please check the daily lineups for any last minute changes.
Monday: I really like Josh Collmenter against the Washington Nationals on Monday. The Nationals Stephen Strasberg was scheduled to pitch but might miss his turn in the rotation and if they do there is a good chance Tanner Roark will get the nod. If this happens Collmenter might be good for a win. You might also go with Wily Peralta or maybe Colby Lewis as well on Monday.
Tuesday: Noah Syndergaard is the go to guy this Tuesday. If Syndergaard is unavailable you could either go with the A’s Drew Pomeranz or the Mariners James Paxton.
Wednesday: Rubby De La Rosa and his 9.24 strikeouts and just 2.43 walks per nine innings is my main guy for Wednesday. He also carries a decent ERA of 4.38 and 1.16 WHIP. Pitching against the big slugging Nationals in Chase doesn’t scare me a bit! Nathan Karns of the Rays against the Yankees is another good option.
Thursday: Chase Whitley of the Yankees against the Rays is a good play on Thursday. Whitley is averaging nearly 9 strikeouts and less than 1 walk per nine innings. 0.75 ERA and 1.08 WHIP are both outstanding. Mike Pelfrey of the Twins against the Tigers is an interesting option as is the Mariners Taijuan Walker against the Red Sox.
Available Position Players
Each of these waiver wire suggestions is available in over 50 percent of all major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Brandon Belt 1B Giants: Belt has been on a bit of a tear recently slashing over the last seven days .462/.517/.769/1.286. Maybe this is the start of something good? If you can handle the strikeouts (25.8%) and the lack of power (.128 ISO) Belt might very well help you in average, runs scored and if your league uses OBP (.393) he’s good for that also.
Luis Valbuena 2B 3B Astros: If you need a power hitting middle infielder with duel eligibility and don’t mind that this hitter has a high strikeout rate (20.3%) and low walk rate (6.8%) with a slash line of .206/.271/.439/.710 than Valbuena is your man. The upside is he has 7 bombs, 11 RBI, 15 runs scored and has even swiped a base.
Brandon Crawford SS Giants: Crawford is putting together a nice season slashing .245/.355/.468/.823 to go along with 5 bombs, 15 RBI and 13 runs scored and a .223 ISO. Is this going to last? His wOBA of .353 and .281 BABIP suggests that it might be better than it should so act fast while he’s still producing!
Trevor Plouffe 3B Twins: Plouffe is off to a career best season slashing out .269/.358/.454/.812 while hitting 5 bombs, 17 RBI and .170 ISO and scoring 15 runs. If you can tolerate his striking out too much (21%) he might wind up being a very dependable corner infielder this season.
Caleb Joseph C Orioles: He’s going to be the everyday catcher for the Orioles until at least Matt Weiters returns and why not with a slash line of .311/.407/.500/.907? He’s also jacked 3 bombs, driven in 11 RBI and scored 10 runs. If you can handle his 21.8 % strikeout rate he’ll make a nice addition to your roster.
Torii Hunter OF Twins: One reason the Twins are scoring runs is Hunter. Over the past two weeks he’s put up a slash line of .365/.393/.654/1.057 with 4 bombs, 12 RBI and 19 RBI. The guy is on fire and from looking at his season long wOBA of .357 and BABIP of .329 Hunter is going to have a fantastic 2015.
Marlon Byrd OF Reds: Despite of constantly being moved around in the lineup Byrd has posted a slash line of .228/.288/.455/.744 and over the last seven days he’s posted a line of .444/.565/1.111/1.670 with 3 bombs, 4 runs scored and 8 RBI. He’s even swiped a base. Grab Byrd and ride this hot streak before the rest of the Fantasy Baseball world catches on.
Available A’s
Mark Canha 1B OF 23.5% owned: Canha is streaky and doesn’t get very consistent playing time but he’s slashed his way to a .255/.314/.447/.761 with 5 bombs, 16 runs scored, 15 RBI and a couple of stolen bases.
Brett Lawrie 2B 3B 31.9% owned: Strikeouts has been his downfall so far this season. His line of .261/.288/.353/.641 to go along with 2 bombs, 14 RBI and 9 runs scored isn’t typical Lawrie. He should get better and when he does you’ll be glad you took the chance now.
Ike Davis 1B 1.6% owned: Davis plays practically every day and his slash line of .289/.352/.433/.785 has been much worse. He’s hit 2 bombs to go along with 11 RBI and 15 runs scored. If you are in a deeper league (12 teams or more) he’s worth a spot on your roster.
Good luck this week Fantasy Baseball owner!
