Fantasy Baseball: 4 Pitchers to Stream for Week 14
Jose Urena, Miami Marlins
Starts: July 4th at St. Louis Cardinals, July 9th at San Francisco Giants
ESPN ownership: 26 percent
A low-key deep-league contributor thanks to his 6-3 record and 3.42 ERA, Miami Marlins righty Jose Urena has understandably been treated as a touch-and-go option by shallow leaguers, who likely cast a sideways glance towards his 4.79 FIP and sub-6.0 K/9. Now might be a good time to embrace Urena even in standard formats, though, as week 14 finds him fitted with a strong two-start slate.
The subdued strikeout rate should clue you into the fact that Urena lacks overpowering stuff. Indeed, Urena is a classic "bad fastball" guy, with a four-seamer that's surrendered a .957 OPS on the season but three strong secondary pitches that have coaxed wRC+ marks south of 60. Thing is, Urena won't need to bring the heat against the Cardinals or the Giants, as both teams show average or below fly-ball and hard hit tendencies, as well as homer-per-fly rates in the bottom third of the league.
Sure, these teams might take pitches and force Urena to work for his outs, but neither represents the kind of major power threat that might make Urena's 3.0-plus walks-per-nine (BB/9) come back to bite him. The young Marlin is a strong plug-and-play for owners who can find their streikouts elsewhere.
