The dust has settled after an eventful opening week. Now, it’s time to get down to business.
While it’s still very early in the fantasy baseball season, Week 2 offers owners an opportunity to tinker with their rotations and get ahead in the game by choosing quality arms off the waiver wire. Going to the free agent pool this early can be a dangerous proposition, as most pitchers have just one or two starts under their belts and still are relatively volatile.
But where there’s risk, there’s also reward. Here are our top streaming options at starting pitcher for Week 2.
Lance Lynn, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (owned in 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues)
If Lynn isn’t already owned in your league, he’s worth scooping up this week. The right-hander held his own against the Chicago Cubs in his 2017 debut (two earned runs in five innings with four strikeouts) and is scheduled to start Tuesday against a Washington Nationals club that’s been streaky at the plate so far this season. He’s also 3-1 with a 3.29 ERA in six career outings against the Nats.
Steven Wright, RHP, Boston Red Sox (34 percent owned)
Wright had a rough go of it in Week 1, but he has a good chance of turning things around Wednesday in the friendly confines of Fenway Park. The right-hander will face the Baltimore Orioles, a homer-happy but free-swinging club that struggled against Wright’s knuckleball last season, scoring just five runs over 16 1/3 innings. Wright also is going up against Ubaldo Jimenez, arguably the weakest link in Baltimore’s rotation.
Kyle Freeland, LHP, Colorado Rockies (9 percent owned)
Freeland shined in his major league debut, limiting the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers to one run over six innings with six strikeouts. The young left-hander has an excellent chance for an encore performance Wednesday against the anemic San Diego Padres, who have scored more than five runs just once in their first eight games.
Wily Peralta, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers (6 percent owned)
If you’re diving deep for a two-start pitcher this week, Peralta is your man. The hard-throwing righty carried a strong finish to the 2016 season into his first start of 2017 (five innings of shutout ball with five strikeouts), and he has a pair of solid matchups this week: Tuesday against a Toronto Blue Jays offense averaging just 3.3 runs per game and Sunday against a Cincinnati Reds club that’s off to a hot start but should regress.
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Images
