Jesse Chavez: Streaming Pick for May 5
By Bill Pivetz
Apr 30, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Chavez (30) pitches the ball against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Starting pitching has been hard to figure out this season. The superstars are struggling and the back-end rotation guys, some at least, are doing pretty well. With all of the confusion, it’s hard to pinpoint which pitcher will do well on any given day. I’m going to do my best for Tuesday. I like Jesse Chavez of the Oakland Athletics as my streaming option for the day.
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Last season was Chavez’s first season as a starting pitcher. From 2008 to 2013, he made just two starts. In 2014 alone, he made 21 starts and finished with an 8-8 record, 3.45 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 136 strikeouts.
This season, Chavez has made only two starts, but pitched in six games. In those six appearances, he has a 0-2 record, one save, 2.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 18 strikeouts. In a spot start on April 23 against the Los Angeles Angels, he pitched six shutout innings and gave up just one earned run, one hit and three walks.
Manager Bob Melvin made a difficult decision and sent Kendall Graveman to Triple-A and chose to keep Chavez in the rotation. “Not only is he able to (start) on a moment’s notice, he showed what he’s capable of doing in the first half of last year,” Melvin said. “He was as good as a lot of the guys on our team that (were) All-Stars. We’re lucky to have a guy like Jesse Chavez.”
“he showed what he’s capable of doing in the first half of last year”
Chavez’s next start will be against the Minnesota Twins. The offense has some promise, but is average at best. The team has 16 home runs (25th), 98 RBI (15th), 65 walks (21st), 195 strikeouts (13th) and a .256/.312/.363 (10th/19th/22nd) slash line. If Chavez can keep command of his pitches and limit walks, he should handle the Twins.
Chavez is widely available, owned in just 9.7 percent of ESPN.com leagues. Since we are early into Week 5, take the risk on Chavez as your streaming pick and grab an early advantage in your matchup.