Fantasy Baseball 2017: Best Starting Pitcher Streaming Options For Week 1

We know what you’re thinking: If you’re scouring the waiver wire for pitching this early in the season, it’s gonna be a long year.

But there’s never a bad time to peruse the free agent pool, especially in weekly fantasy baseball leagues, where matchups can be won and lost on an extra win or quality start.

We’re just two days into the regular season, so there obviously are plenty of unknowns. That also means there’s potential, though, and we can make a case for four under-the-radar arms who could give your squad a boost this week.

Here are our top streaming options at starting pitcher for Week 1.

Robert Gsellman, RHP, New York Mets (owned in 42 percent of Yahoo! leagues)
Gsellman made some noise with a solid spring and pitched a scoreless inning of relief Monday in the Mets’ Opening Day win. With Noah Syndergaard getting pushed back a day, the 23-year-old Gsellman is in line to start Saturday at home against the Miami Marlins. A hard-throwing right-hander with upside, Gsellman is worthy of a spot start against Miami’s fifth starter.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (28 percent owned)
Ryu finally is back in the Dodgers’ rotation after missing nearly all of 2016, and he’ll kick off 2017 with a cushy matchup against a San Diego Padres team that looked downright awful on Opening Day. Ryu looked pretty solid in spring training, and all signs point to him getting off on the right foot to start the regular season.

Daniel Norris, LHP, Detroit Tigers (13 percent owned)
The 23-year-old posted a solid 3.38 ERA in 14 appearances for the Tigers last season, and his reward is getting a start in Detroit’s first series of 2017. Even better, Norris’ debut will come Thursday against the lowly Chicago White Sox, whose lineup inspires little fear outside Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier. He’s a great spot-start candidate.

Brandon Finnegan, LHP, Cincinnati Reds (10 percent owned)
A No. 2 starter on a mediocre pitching staff doesn’t sound sexy, but Finnegan has a pretty favorable matchup Wednesday against the anemic Phillies. Philadelphia scored a total of 133 runs in 132 games against left-handers last season, making Finnegan a good option to at least limit the damage in a home start and possibly earn your squad a win.

Thumbnail photo via Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports Images