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Last week was a weird one for Miami Marlins lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who earned minor buzz with his abbreviated no-hit outing on Wednesday only to have those headlines overshadowed when it was revealed that he's been pitching with a partially-ton UCL since last season.
But Wednesday's performance proved, as long as Chen's arm is attached, he can be a serviceable plug-and-play for fantasy streamers, a distinction that he should continue to hold with two plus matchups against the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates in the coming week.
The Phillies actually have favorable splits against lefties on the young season, showing slight gains in OPS against and in strikeout rate. But this is damning with faint praise -- the Phils are a middle-of-the-road offense, at best, and one that struggles mightily against curveballs, which should play into Chen's hand.
The lefty's big curve should come in handy on Sunday against a Pirates offense that has struggled to gain any momentum offensively, especially against southpaws, against whom Pittsburgh has mustered a paltry .604 OPS so far this season along with a 23.3 percent strikeout rate that represents a 7-plus-percentage-point spike on their mark versus righties. Chen has a strong shot at taking home a win here, lining up to face middling Pirates hurler Chad Kuhl.