Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream in Week 11

With the fantasy starting pitching landscape looking increasing dire as the season wears on, the stream is starting to feel more like a sporadic drip.

To extend the analogy one awkward step further: it's a desert out there, and beggars can't be choosers when you're thirsty for useful pitching production. Quality options with low fantasy ownership are few and far between this week, but we've got five arms that should wet your whistle and help your squad in Week 11.

Chase Anderson, Milwaukee Brewers

Start: June 14th at San Francisco Giants
ESPN ownership: 9%

We'll forgive you for having cold feet here, since the last time you tabbed Chase Anderson as a streamer, he coughed up three long balls to, of all teams, the punchless Miami Marlins. But the Milwaukee Brewers righty bounced back nicely on Sunday, limiting the Pittsburgh Pirates to two runs while striking out six in as many innings in his longest starting effort of the season after beginning the year in a long relief role .

Granted, Anderson's 1.69 homers-per-nine this year rests just a hair below the 1.71 rate that made his 2018 campaign so disappointing, but a trip away from the pitcher-hostile Miller Park provides Anderson with a bit of a safety net this week, as does a matchup with the San Francisco Giants, who are among the dregs of the National League in terms of power output.

Sure, Anderson's inconsistent fastball might take the kind of beatings that get him in hot water even in the cavernous AT&T Park, with that pitch getting roasted for an .845 OPS on 273 offerings this season. But a strong changeup (41.5% reach rate, 18.5% whiffs) makes him a threat to post some crooked numbers in the strikeout column, tabbing Anderson as an intriguing streamer play in a week that's light on luxury options.

Tyler Mahle, Cincinnati Reds

Start: June 12th at Cleveland Indians
ESPN ownership: 7%

Another young pitcher with a toxic home run issue, Tyler Mahle has uncorked a sensational 22.5% strikeouts-minus-walks across 38.1 frames since the start of May, yet the 24-year-old Cincinnati Reds righty has a ho-hum 3.99 ERA to show for it over that span thanks to a hair-raising 21.1% homer-per-fly rate.

To be fair, much of that damage comes from a nine-hit, three-homer pasting at Wrigley Field that all but the most desperate of NL-only players probably would have curated out of their fantasy lineups. Streamers can lean on Mahle with more confidence this week, as he's slated to face a Cleveland Indians team that has positively regressed a bit of late after its dreadful offensive start but nevertheless remains a middle-of-the-road producer against righties over the last month.

Anibal Sanchez, Washington Nationals

Starts: June 10th at Chicago White Sox, June 16th vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
ESPN ownership: 7%

For evidence that ageism remains one of the prime market inefficiencies in fantasy sports, look no further than Anibal Sanchez. The 35-year-old righty has spun 21.2 frames of 1.66-ERA ball with an outrageous 31.5% strikeout rate in five starts since the beginning of May, and yet Sanchez can barely sniff a roster in most standard leagues.

This is a boon for streamers, of course, as the Washington Nationals hurler looks like a low key terrific two-start add for Week 11. At the very least, shallow leaguers with daily moves have to be all over his early-week start against the Chicago White Sox, who have been utterly miserable against righties over the last month (26.5% group strikeouts, .135 ISO).

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

Starts: June 10th vs. St. Louis Cardinals, June 16th vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
ESPN ownership: 5%

The only team that grades out worse than the White Sox against righties over the last thirty days is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have floundered to .134 group ISO and .644 OPS in that span, both MLB lows for the period. Pair that with a Pittsburgh Pirates team that grades near the middle of the pack in those same power metrics, and Miami Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara looks like an interesting deep-league flier for the upcoming week.

The Marlins Park two-step is key here. Check out these home/away splits for the balance of the season:

Not only does Alcantara get better results at Marlins Park, but it's clear from the strikeout-minus-walk numbers that at home the youngster is far more comfortable with challenging hitters in the zone. The 23-year-old's inability thus far to harness his high-90s heater will probably have fantasy owners keeping him at arm's length for most of the year, but this double shot of home cooking will be hard for needy fantasy players to turn down in Week 11.

Daniel Norris, Detroit Tigers

Start: June 12th at Kansas City Royals
ESPN ownership: 2%

The immensely hittable Daniel Norris (4.72 ERA, .800 OPS allowed in his last 44.1 innings) doesn't have much to recommend him for besides his handedness.

But in a week where deep leaguers will be checking in on any and all warm bodies, the Detroit Tigers southpaw draws a pretty juicy matchup against a Kansas City Royals team that has been an absolute mess against lefties over the last month.

The least productive offense against southpaws by far over that span, Kansas City as a team has struck out at a whopping 27.9% clip, giving the admittedly shaky Norris a bit of shine as a last-ditch play for owners in a real pinch.