Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream in Week 18
Jon Gray, Colorado Rockies
Starts: July 31st at St. Louis Cardinals, August 5th at Milwaukee Brewers
ESPN ownership: 56.6%
Standard leaguers have been slow to welcome Jon Gray back from his short triple-A retool, leaving the vexed Colorado Rockies starter on the wire in almost half of ESPN leagues. This is perhaps understandable given his assignment last week against the imposing Houston Astros offense -- at Coors Field, no less.
You have to wonder how many owners had the stones to activate Gray for that start. Those who did were rewarded for their daredevilry with seven innings of one-earned-run ball, perhaps solidifying the suspicion among sharp fantasy players that Gray's underlying skills (3.01 FIP, 13.2% swinging-strike rate) were bound to overwhelm his poor surface results (5.16 ERA, 1.37 WHIP).
Gray's seemingly inevitable course correction should hit full speed in a two-start Week 18. Both the Cardinals and Brewers are bottom-third offenses in terms of production against righties over the last month, and while the Brewers and their hitter-friendly ballpark would carry an air of menace for lesser streaming candidates, Gray's swing-and-miss arsenal should play well against a team that's been the National League's most strikeout-prone team against right handers over the last 30 days.
