MLB

Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream in Week 1

Tom Whalen  —  @tomcwhalen Mar 27th, 2019
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​Trevor Richards, Miami Marlins

Starts: March 29th vs. Colorado Rockies, April 3rd vs. New York Mets
ESPN ownership: 7%

The Miami Marlins have embraced the youth movement, moving Wei-Yin Chen to the bullpen and outright cutting Dan Straily. This leaves the rebuilding Marlins with one of the more intriguing young rotations in the league, with Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith, and Trevor Richards all wiggling onto the fantasy radar.

Richards may not be the best pure talent of the bunch, but seems to be the strongest streaming option this week because he lines up for two starts at home in pitcher-friendly Marlins Park. Richards is a particularly strong play against Colorado, with the Rockies' offense a perennial underachiever away from Coors. Colorado has tallied the third-lowest team wRC+ on the road since 2016, ahead of only the offensively challenged Giants and Padres.

A turn against the playoff hopeful Mets next week is a little less appetizing, but perhaps Richards' monster change-up (coaxing a 52.5% reach rate and 24% strikeouts last season) can keep New York off balance, and the favorable ballpark can soften the damage on Richards' below-average fastball.

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