Now that the Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone, we can re-evaluate different pitchers and where they stand, both starters and relievers. The Week 18 pitching planner is like a reset.
It was definitely not one of the more hectic and crazy trade deadlines in recent memory, but several key Fantasy contributors were still moved. As far as pitchers go, Chris Archer being dealt by the Rays was a little shocking. I mean, they literally had no starting pitchers at one point.
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Relief wise, Roberto Osuna will come off his suspension as a member of the Houston Astros. If his arm is right off of the big layoff, then he will be a closing stud the rest of the year. Keone Kela also got moved by the Rangers and will join Archer in Pittsburgh.
So hopefully you were able to pick up one of the new closing options if you were in need of relief for the stretch run. I held on to Osuna in a couple of dynasty leagues and hopefully it will pay off big time.
The Week 17 streaming suggestions went a strong 6-1 with two pitchers yet to start as of this writing. Of the seven that have pitched so far, the six good suggestions either had a win or gave up less than three runs over more than five innings.
Overall for the season, my streaming suggestions are at 86-24-2 as we head into the Week 18 pitching planner.
For the Week 18 pitching planner, I am using ownership percentages from ESPN. The information in this Week 18 pitching planner is up to date as of August 4th.
Week 18 Pitching Planner
2-Start Pitchers
Take note for those that have lineup decisions in weekly leagues.
Zack Godley, ARI: vs. PHI, at CIN
Sean Newcomb, ATL: at WAS, vs. MIL
Alex Cobb, BAL: at TB, vs. BOS
Drew Pomeranz, BOS: at TOR, at BAL
Cole Hamels, CHC: at KC, vs. WAS
Dylan Covey, CWS: vs. NYY, vs. CLE
Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco, CLE: vs. MIN, at CWS
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Mike Fiers, DET: at LAA, vs. MIN
Charlie Morton, HOU: at SF, vs. SEA
Jakob Junis, KCR: vs. CHC, vs. STL
Nick Tropeano, LAA: vs. DET, vs. OAK
Pablo Lopez, MIA: vs. STL, vs. NYM
Chase Anderson, MIL: vs. SD, at ATL
Kyle Gibson and Adalberto Mejia: at CLE, at DET
Noah Syndergaard, NYM: vs. CIN, at MIA
Jake Arrieta, PHI: at ARI, at SD
Jameson Tailon, PIT: at COL, at SF
Clayton Richard, SD: at MIL, vs. PHI
Dereck Rodriguez, SF: vs. HOU, vs. PIT
Wade LeBlanc and Felix Hernandez, SEA: at TEX, at HOU
Luke Weaver, STL: at MIA, at KC
Bartolo Colon and Yovani Gallardo, TEX: vs. SEA, at NYY
Marcus Stroman, TOR: vs. BOS, vs. TB
Max Scherzer, WAS: vs. ATL, at CHC
Good Matchups
These are mostly must-start pitchers anyway, but take note for daily players.
David Price and Nathan Eovaldi, BOS at BAL
Eovaldi is another starter that the Rays moved.
Jose Quintana, CHC at KC
Dallas Keuchel, HOU at SF
All of the East-coast biased media is talking Yankees/Red Sox and completely sleeping on the World Champs that have the second-most wins in the majors.
Jhoulys Chacin, MIL vs. SD
CC Sabathia and Luis Severino, NYY at CWS
Chris Archer, PIT at SF
Archer wasn’t great in his first Pirates’ start, but will get an easier route this week against the Giants.
Miles Mikolas, STL at MIA
Bad Matchups
In year-long leagues, you probably aren’t sitting these guys, but stay away in daily formats.
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Chris Sale and Rick Porcello, BOS at TOR
Lucas Giolito, CWS vs. NYY
Madison Bumgarner, SF vs. HOU
Gio Gonzalez, WAS vs. ATL
Streaming Options
These are the guys to pick up and insert in your lineup for a good matchup this week.
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Mike Montgomery, CHC vs. KC (11% ownership)
Montgomery has been kind of an “every-other-start” pitcher the past few weeks, but I think he starts a string of good outings against the Royals.
Tyler Mahle, CIN at NYM (8% ownership)
Mahle will be looking to bounce back from four consecutive sub-par starts. All four were against better offenses through. Now he will get the Mets, who have already mailed in the rest of the season.
Jaime Barria, LAA vs. DET (7% ownership)
Barria has gone at least five innings in seven straight starts and given up 3 runs or less in all but one of those outings. Only once in that stretch has he given up more than a hit an inning. He’s not getting many wins for his strong pitching, but he will get one this week.
Junior Guerra, MIL vs. STL (38% ownership)
Guerra is a much better pitcher at home (9 straight starts at home with 3 runs or less allowed), and a much better pitcher against bad teams.
John Gant, STL at MIA (3% ownership)
Gant had a rough go in his last start, giving up 6 runs. However, he only gave up six runs in his previous five outings combined.
That’s it for the Week 18 pitching planner. Be sure to check out our Fantasy Football coverage as well.
Michael Tomlin
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