Meng’ dynasty
A’s hurler takes fantasy leap
STREAMING pitchers is a strategy many fantasy owners deploy, often several times a week in an effort to get a boost in certain categories.
Sometimes it works and owners get their desired outcome. Other times, though the matchup looked too good to pass up, it blows up in your face and your start wondering why you picked up Bartolo Colon to face the Yankees (that is a far-fetched example, but anything to get Big Sexy mentioned).
But, what if those streamers, those rental pitchers, start to put together stretches in which they look like they can become permanent fixtures on your team?
Oakland’s Daniel Mengden looks like the second coming of Rollie Fingers (seriously, look at his picture), and recently has pitched like the 1981 MVP and Cy Young award winner.
In six May starts, Mengden went 4-1 with a 1 . 51 ERA, 24 strikeouts, just four walks and a .181 opponent average. He lasted into the sixth inning in five of those starts, and he has allowed more than three earned runs in just two of his 12 starts.
On Thursday, Men gd en extended his scoreless streak to 25 innings, a career high. It is also the longest scoreless streak of any A’s pitcher since Sean Doolittle (26 1/ innings) in 2014, and the longest by an Oakland starter since Cory Lidle tossed 32 scoreless innings in 2002.
Megden is not overpowering hitters — he is striking out just 5.81 per nine innings and has a fastball that ave ra ge s 92 mph. But, he is limiting his walks (0.97 per nine i nnings, or 2.7 percent of the batters he faces) and is getting batters out using his secondary pitches. Though opponents are hitting .269 against his fastball, which he is using a career-low 54.8 percent of the time, they are hitting .184 against his slider, .229 against his changeup, .182 against his curveball and .191 against his sinker.
Mengeden’s .247 BABIP and 3.20 FIP, along with the fact he already has pitched in a careerhigh number of innings for a season (74 1/ 3), indicate he is due for a regression, but not to the point that he cannot be a useful fantasy starter. He will face the Rangers (the 27th-worst offensive team) in his next start before facing stiffer tests against the Astros and Angels.
Mengden, who is available in 30 percent or more of Yahoo and ESPN leagues, is not just a guy who looks like he belongs in a barbershop quartet, yank- ing on his vertically striped vest while singing “Shine On, Harvest Moon” to senior citizens at a carnival. He deserves to be rostered. You can be cautious when he faces the Astros (though, he did limit them to two runs over 6 2/3 innings May 9) and other top-ranked offenses, but don’t drop him from your team and allow someone else to have him.
Here is a look at some other streamers with staying power:
Ross Stripling made f ive starts for the Dodgers in May, dominating in each one while going 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA, 40 strikeouts, a .222 opponent average and just four walks. Over his past three starts, opponents are hitting .194 against him and he has struck out 28 batters over 19 2/ 3 innings. In 22 career starts, he has a 3.64 ERA and struck out 8.1 per nine innings, so this should not be considered a total fluke.
Joe Musgrove has made just two starts for the Pirates, but he is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 12 strikeouts and a .231 opponent average. It is a small sample size, but he is armed with a 95 mph fastball and has pitching guru Ray Searage in his corner, which screams huge potential for any fantasy roster.