Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream in Week 2

Eric Lauer, San Diego Padres

Starts: April 8th at San Francisco Giants, April 13th at Arizona Diamondbacks
ESPN ownership: 12.0%

It must be Groundhog Week for Eric Lauer, who lines up in Week 2 for the same two-start turn that kicked off his season. The good news is that the 23-year-old San Diego Padres' lefty yet again draws the Giants, this time at Oracle Park, where San Francisco has mustered a weak .106 team ISO at home in the short sample thus far

The bad news is that Lauer's weekend opponent, the Diamondbacks, had his number last time around, tagging him for nine hits (including two long-balls) and four earned on Tuesday. Arizona looks on the surface to be one of the hottest home squads in the majors, but their mammoth 1.106 OPS at Chase this season comes on a very slim 80-plate-appearance sample, complete with an unsustainable .436 team BABIP.

The soft-tossing Lauer probably isn't the one to expose an over-achieving offense. A career 19.1% strikeout rate confirms a cap in upside, but gains in reach rate and first-pitch strikes on the young season might indicate some growth for the sophomore southpaw. Regardless, facing two beatable offenses in two accommodating ballparks should put Lauer on the streaming map in most leagues.