How to Stream Starting Pitchers in Fantasy Baseball

Although we all begin our fantasy baseball seasons thinking that the team we have assembled has what it takes to capture the league title, at some point in the season pitching generally becomes a problem. Whether due to injury, performance, role changes or a variety of other concerns, pitching categories are traditionally the most difficult to pen in. Streaming starting pitchers--picking pitchers of the waiver wire daily and dropping them the next for another pitcher--is one way to make up for weaknesses in the starting pitching you drafted. The process is not for the faint of heart, as it involves considerable risk in traditional 5-by-5 leagues by consistently employing pitchers who, if they are on the waiver wire, other mangers do find to be useful. Generally, utilizing this strategy will give you an edge in strikeouts and wins, but hurt you in ratio categories such as ERA.

Things You'll Need

• Baseball statistics

Instructions

1. Isolate a few roster spots and keep them available for roster changes. We all get attached to the players on our teams, but if you are going to employ a streaming strategy, it is important to have a few roster positions available--or filled with expendable players--to facilitate constant moves. Sometimes this involves trading 2 of your players away to another team for 1 better player--otherwise it is biting the bullet and dropping the player who is most easily replaced.

2. Determine which pitchers are going to be starting each day. There are a variety of ways to determine which pitchers are starting on a given day. Most online leagues have a tab for "probable starters." Otherwise the newspaper often posts the pitchers that each team is likely to use in a given series, and staying on top of this will get you the daily information you need.

3. Once you have isolated the pitchers who are going to start on a given day, it is imperative to determine which of them is most likely to have an effective day. Almost all professional pitchers have good days and bad days, and choosing the good days is the most effective way to be successful at streaming starting pitchers. The easiest way to do this is to look at a pitcher's split statistics. Is this a pitcher that performs well at home but terribly on the road? Do they perform well outside but poorly in a dome? How have they done historically against the opponent they are facing that day? What is the pitcher's pedigree, i.e. have they been successful in the past? If you have access to the internet, dig deeper. Is this a pitcher who has recently had an abnormally low strand rate, or an abnormally high percentage of batted balls land in play? When in doubt, or choosing between two similar candidates, look for pitchers who have a lot of strikeouts and few home runs.

4. Make the add and hope for the best. You may pick up a few pitchers who struggle, but don't beat yourself up about it. That is part of the risk involved with this strategy. After he's on the roster, start looking for his replacement. Once you have decided on this strategy, loyalty will not be an issue.

Tips & Warnings

• Take advantage of inter-league play--when AL pitchers go to the NL parks. They gain a boost in value because they get to face the pitcher rather than a designated hitter.

• You may find that other managers on your team are employing a streaming strategy as well. If this is the case, plan one game ahead. Add pitchers a day before they are scheduled to start to get a jump on the competition.

• Make sure you are aware of any transaction limits in your league. Obviously, this strategy involves massive amounts of adds and drops, which, if you have a low transaction limit, could be a problem in your league.

• Know the league's pitching limits. Some leagues set a certain number of innings as a maximum, and by streaming you may reach this limit far before the season's end.