Fantasy Baseball 2019: July 12 Pitching Streamers

The second half is underway with a few streaming options for your fantasy baseball team to get a nice scoring lead for the week.

The break is over and it’s time for the second half of the baseball season to begin. Well, there was one game on Thursday but the real games start on Friday. With teams resetting their rotation, there are a few back-end starters making appearances on Friday, giving way for a few fantasy baseball streaming options.

Of the 29 starting pitchers listed as probable starters, the Tigers haven’t announced anyone, 14 of them are owned in more than 50 percent of ESPN leagues. That leaves 15 pitchers available that qualify, for me, as streaming options. I like to pick names owned in less than half and sometimes even less than 30 percent.

Using a low-owned pitcher does come with some risk. They are prone to giving up a few runs or not pitching deep into games like their ace counterparts. However, some of the pitchers left to your choosing have pitched well enough and should be owned in more leagues. Maybe owners are waiting for one more good start before adding them.

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Don’t give your opponents the chance.

Here are my three streaming options for the July 12 slate of games.

Mike Leake, @LAA

Leake had two bad starts heading into the break. He gave up 11 runs over a combined 11.1 innings. He bounced back with a 7.2-inning shutout against the Cardinals.

He starts the second half off for the Mariners against the Angels. Outside of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels lineup is pretty weak. Leake has the skills to rack up six to seven strikeouts while earning a quality start.

Looking long-term, Leake is a possible trade candidate so maybe a change of scenery could help his season-long prospects.

Danny Duffy, vs. DET

While giving up at least two runs in his last five starts, Duffy has a 0-2 record with four quality starts. He also has 26 strikeouts and 13 walks over 33.1 innings.

I’ve ragged on how bad the Tigers offense is in the past. They have two hitters with an average over .280, one hitter with at least 10 home runs and zero hitters with 40 RBI. There are 115 other hitters with at least 40 RBI.

Duffy does have to rely on the Royals offense to give him some run support. If you use wins as a stat, Duffy may not be the best streamer but he can contribute to the other categories.

Jason Vargas, @MIA

After a horrible April, Vargas has been solid ever since. He has a 2.98 ERA since May. He does have a couple fo short outings skewing the numbers, Vargas hasn’t allowed four runs in a start since April 13. The most important aspect of a quality start.

The Marlins are one of the worst offenses in the league. They are very similar to the Tigers, missing a true superstar power hitter. Vargas has done a good job lowering his HR/FB rate from last to this year, 16.7 to 11.0 percent.

Vargas has a good offense behind him with a favorable offense and pitcher-friendly park to help him earn a win.

Honorable Mention: Dinelson Lamet, vs. ATL; Taylor Cole, vs. SEA

The starting pitching pool is shrinking by the day. With owners needing to play catch up in wins, strikeouts or ratios, finding a reliable pitcher for the rest of the season is becoming more difficult. Using the streaming strategy is one way to combat that.