Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream in Week 23
Andrew Heaney, Los Angeles Angels
Starts: September 4th Texas Rangers, September 9th at Chicago White Sox
ESPN ownership: 34.3%
It wasn't too long ago that Andrew Heaney seemed like a potential difference-maker for fantasy owners. Then, the Los Angeles Angels lefty followed a stellar 2.88-ERA July with a miserable 5.55-ERA August, leaving expecting owners holding the bag.
Heck, his strongest start of the month was a six-inning shutout at the Houston Astros for which few sensible standard leaguers would have had him active! Still, a 3.52 fielding independent pitching (FIP) mark in August suggests that Heaney's performance might not be as lame as his results.
This week, streamers can find out for themselves if Heaney is poised for a bounce-back. Texas has scraped by on a .112 group ISO against southpaws over the last month. With a more respectable .178 team ISO over that span, the White Sox' power numbers against left-handers are a bit better, but it's been feast or famine for Chicago, as they posted a 30.8% strikeout rate against southpaws in August.
The offense-first environments here indeed make Heaney a high-risk play, but the 27-year-old clearly has upside to burn.
