Fantasy Baseball Week 19 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers feature Slade Cecconi, Joe Boyle
This week may not be the best to stream a pitcher, given how much the trade deadline could realign matchups
By
Scott White
•
1 min read
Not that you'd sit just any pitcher, of course, but if you have an opening or two and could use a streamer off the waiver wire, you've come to the right place. Scott White has 10 recommendations for the upcoming scoring period, all rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
All information is up to date as of Sunday evening
Sleeper pitchers for Week 19 (July 28-Aug. 3)
A recent elbow scare has suppressed Edward Cabrera's roster rate, but he bounced back nicely against the Padres in his last start. You could ask for better matchups than the Yankees and Cardinals, but it hasn't so much mattered who he's faced lately, putting together a 2.18 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 over his past 10 starts.
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Slade Cecconi has been a surprisingly steady performer so far, and judging by the whiff rates on his slider and curveball, he may even have more strikeout potential than he's revealed. He looked at one point like he'd be a two-start pitcher, but he's a worthy streamer even just against the road Rockies.
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Jose Soriano has been hit or miss of late, but with his league-best ground-ball rate, it mostly comes down to how many strikes he throws. He's struggled in his two starts against the Rangers this year, but those wounds were largely self-inflicted. They remain a favorable matchup, ranking in the bottom third of the league in runs scored.
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Eric Lauer just threw an eight-inning gem against the Tigers and has a 2.93 ERA since joining the Blue Jays rotation for good in mid-June. That's the kind of run you bet on when it intersects with a matchup as favorable as the Orioles, though I do have long-term concerns about Lauer given his unfortunate combination of high exit velocities and an extreme ground-ball rate.
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Max Scherzer is coming off his best turn in six since returning from a thumb injury and has been reaching his usual velocities while striking out more than a batter per inning. Here's betting he'll deliver his best results yet against a Royals lineup that ranks second-to-last in runs scored.
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Joe Boyle is now confirmed to be taking the demoted Taj Bradley's place in the rotation, lining him up for two starts in Week 19. Granted, they're against the best and third-best lineups in baseball, but his strikeout upside may be enticing enough for you to give him a whirl anyway.
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Patrick Corbin has been remarkably steady this season, and while I've mostly been inclined to write it off, it does seem like an improved cutter is to credit for it, helping him to neutralize right-handed batters. The double-dip against the Angels and Mariners is favorable enough for you to take the plunge, if only in points leagues.
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I've mentioned that the Braves lineup, which has been in a malaise all season, seems particularly dejected right now, and Brady Singer seems like the sort of pitcher who could take advantage given his ability to work deep into games as long as he's limiting damage. He has just one quality start in his past five turns, but I predict he adds another one here.
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Andre Pallante has had a couple rough outings recently -- and his lack of strikeouts probably eliminates him from 5x5 consideration -- but his elite ground-ball skills make him a threat for a quality start every time out. You can trust him to get one, if not two, with matchups as good as the Marlins and Padres.
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We're clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one, but Aaron Civale has put together back-to-back scoreless outings, most recently against the Cubs. He's been around long enough that success isn't totally foreign to him, and he'll be facing the most strikeout-prone team in baseball this week.
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