It's not just Seth's OPS that will make your players jealous, look at that thing!
Photo Credit: jkonrath

I get it. I understand now. You don't want to add Seth Smith because he's too good for your team. If you slid his .925 OPS into your Outfield or Utility position your other players would become jealous, I get it. Because his ownership rate went up only two percent since yesterday when I last plugged him, I'm going with the reverse psychology route this time. Seth Smith is too good for your team, don't pick him up. Seriously now, it is bewildering to why Seth Smith is owned in less than 30% of Y! leagues.

The Rockies Outfielder hit two Home Runs on Tuesday against the Indians. The first was a shot to deep right off Starter Mitch Talbot, the second was to deep right center off Closer Chris Perez. Smith drove in 3 RBI and raised his AVG up to .316 with a 3 for 4 day at the plate. He's now ranked 83rd overall and he's owned in only 29% of Y! leagues. This is a crime and it's beyond a misdemeanor. This is a fantasy felony.

While we're on the unlawful theme, if when you do roster Seth Smith you'll need to recruit a partner-in-crime to platoon with the Left Handed Outfielder. This isn't a big deal as you'll know well in advance when Colorado matches up against a Left Handed Starting Pitcher. The low maintenance situation is well worth the .316-36-8-32-3 line that Seth brings to the table. Not only is the overall line bolsterous, he's consistent with it. He's hit over .300 in each month this season. On a per-game basis (according to Baseball Monster) Seth Smith ranks in at No. 72. This is a free 7th round pick! 

This is all you're getting tonight. You've made me angry. OK, technically I've begun my fantasy football prep work, but we'll pretend that I'm upset with you for not adding Seth Smith. I like that angle. Til next time - peace out - @andrewakamds

Even Chris Partlow knows who Young Leake be.
Photo Credit: dbking

At “Stream Pies,” we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on SPs who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the strongest recommendations starting at the top).

Just a heads up, no “Stream Pies” tomorrow as there was no one I liked among the spot start candidates for Thursday’s games. Fortunately, there was no shortage of stream-worthy options available for Wednesday’s matchups.

For games played Wednesday, 6/22/11
Mike Leake vs. NYY
It seems risky to spot start a pitcher facing the Yankees at a hitter-friendly venue, but Leake has really improved in June (2.48 ERA and 14.4 LD%) and the Yanks are known to struggle against pitchers they’ve never faced before. With a healthy diet of cutters, expect New York’s offense to have a tough time putting runs on the board against Leake.

Nick Blackburn @SF
I streamed the shit out of Blackburn two years ago towards the end of the 2009 season as he was killing it in his last few starts as the de facto Twins ace. Blackburn isn’t flashy, but he can get on some good pitching runs and he appears to be in the midst of one now (1.77 ERA in last three). With the Giants struggling to score runs, this should be a solid start for Blackburn.

Joel Pineiro @FLA
I successfully broke Pineiro’s five game streak of allowing four earned runs per start by recommending him against the Mets, and I’m going back to the well again versus a Marlins team in clear turmoil.

John Lannan vs. SEA
Like Blackburn, Lannan is capable of going on a strong pitching run and is drawing an offense struggling to put up runs. Lannan has allowed just four earned runs in his last five starts and with the Nationals on a roll, he should deliver another quality outing for fantasy owners.

“Stream Pies” Recommendation Results for 2011
12 Wins (26 starts), 158.0 IP, 4.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 5.35 K/9

The Sons of Roto are staunch supporters of The Sons of Beachy
Photo Credit: ajm9339

The Beachy Boys are not to be messed with, we're a group of bad-ass surf ninjas who just happen to have Brandon Beachy on our fantasy baseball teams. We're only 25% strong at the moment, but we're about to rise in numbers when Brandon makes his return to the Braves rotation on Wednesday (against TOR). Beachy may make an appearance in Starbonell's streaming series today, but Beachy is no streamer; he deserves a permanent spot on your teams (even your AL-Only team). You don't come across many free agent Starting Pitchers who have a 9.34 K/9 and 2.44 BB/9. Beachy's 3.83 K/BB ranks 12th best among all Starting Pitchers (40 IP min). The 91 mph fastball isn't singing hairs, but his Slider and Cutter generate plenty of Whiffs (15% and 12.5% respectively). Beachy is studly and if you don't agree you're about to get drop kicked by a dude on a surfboard. You don't want that, you want Beachy in your rotation. You know what to do.

Let us see what else caught my eye in the world of lesser-owned fantasy staples. More of Monday's MLB action after the jump.

A broken Pujols is usually looked at by a proctologist, but we'll make due here
Photo Credit: Djh57

When fantasy baseball’s perennial No. 1 overall draft pick gets hurt, it warrants a special injury report from yours truly. Devastating news for the Cardinals and fantasy owners surfaced today when Albert Pujols, God’s gift to baseball, suffered a non-displaced left distal radius fracture and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. I’m here to tell you it might be longer than that and I’ll tell you why after the jump.

All bluff, no stuff? Not Guth’.
Photo Credit: Keith Allison

At “Stream Pies,” we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on SPs who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the strongest recommendations starting at the top).

As you all know, there was no “Stream Pies” yesterday. The reason? No one proved worthy enough to earn a Starbonell Stream-O-Approval. It was probably the smart move, as some of my recommendations (namely, Phil Coke and Rick Porcello) proceeded to torpedo my low-3.00s ERA over the weekend.

Worry not my loyal Starbo-minions. There will be some SPs named on here that suck once in a while, but for the most part, you are still getting the best stream advice possible and once today’s spot-start stars get their shine on, Big Poppa Pockets will be back in your good graces. Plus, I’m pretty sure the dudes that I’ve been advocating for are sporting a .500 BABIP with low FIPs and xFIPs, so this will all get worked out by season’s end.

Now, on to Tuesday’s recommendations.

For games played Tuesday, 6/21/11
Jeremy Guthrie @PIT
Guthrie’s been a respectable stream starter most of his fantasy career, posting ERAs below four in three of the last four seasons, but delivering horrible K rates in the process. Though he’s had some sketchy starts of late, he’s facing a terrible Pirates offense and is capable of delivering a gem when he’s got it all working.

Carl Pavano @SF
Pavano’s killing it over his last three starts (2-0, 25 IP, 1.44 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 12 Ks) and was excellent during inter-league play last season.

Doug Fister @WAS
The Twisted Fister (which is, ironically, the name of the new porn I’m directing) owns an unimpressive 4.50 ERA over his last five starts and is facing one of the hottest teams in baseball, but Kid Clutch ain’t fazed. The crafty Fister is just the type of pitcher who can fool a lineup with mind tricks, and since he only has one career start against the National League for his career, I like his odds of keeping the Nats guessing at the plate.

Josh Outman @NYM
With a name like Outman, how can we go wrong? Actually, it’s more like “with a start against a back-to-Earth Mets lineup in one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball, how can we go wrong?” Yeah, that’s the ticket.

“Stream Pies” Recommendation Results for 2011
12 Wins (26 starts), 158.0 IP, 4.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 5.35 K/9

You can call him Alexis if you want, but don't drop the guy.
Photo Credit: keith011764

Twice in the past week I've found Alex Rios in the lost and found bin of my fantasy baseball leagues. I like to think of my leagues as very competitive (one is a 14-teamer, the other is a 16-teamer) so I was surprised to find a player of his caliber waiting to be claimed for the price of a bench player. He's actually available in 33% of Y! leagues as of now. How quickly some forget that Rios hit .284 with 21 HR and 34 SB last season. Yes it is true, Rios is hitting .209/.261/.324, but his season isn't going as badly as most think.

Rios is actually making more contact than ever, inside and outside the zone. His 11.5% K% is nearly 5% better than last season (16.4%), which is his career best percentage. The Outfielder's problem lies with his bad luck BABIP. He's still hitting Line Drives, there is no deficiency there. His Infield Fly Ball percentage is high so it'd be understandable to expect a slightly lower BABIP, but not the 90 point drop he's suffering from. The power, his 7.4% HR/FB%, is a percentage point and a half lower than his career norm, but he is starting to warm up. Rios has Home Runs in back-to-back games and multi-hit efforts in four of his past nine games. The surface stats are ugly, but the track record and peripherals suggest a turn around is highly likely.

The one red flag that I do see is the 4 SB and 4 CS. The White Sox as a team are terrible on the base paths this season, they lead the league in times caught stealing (29) despite running less often than most ball clubs. It's tough to steal bases when you're rocking a .261 OBP though. Look for Rios to increase the thievery as the batted balls start to fall for hits, hopefully his rap sheet doesn't continue to grow at the same rate. The rest-of-season projection calls for a .286 AVG with 10 HR and 12 SB. He could easily steal more than twelve bases, but I'll play it safe here. There's clearly potential for more though. The turn around will happen, don't give up on Alex Rios.

You're no longer on my trade block Josh, get comfortable.
Photo Credit: jleggett

Josh Tomlin got back on track after four messy outings (TB, TOR, MIN, NYY), the Pirates were the perfect matchup to do so [6.2 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, ER, 5 K]. I know Tomlin has been fortunate with his .259 BABIP this season (a soft schedule helped facilitate that), but we should give him credit for the improved control. In deeper leagues we can afford to absorb his sub standard K/9 (5.14) as long as he maintains a BB/9 below 2.00 (it's 1.21 after tonight). If we slapped a .298 BABIP on the Indians Starting Pitcher he'd still have a 1.20 WHIP. Tomlin is getting ahead in counts (he boasts a Top 15 F-Strike%), he's getting batters to chase pitches outside the zone and he's not giving up any free passes. Let's stop calling him a Sell High candidate (because you can't do it) and give him some credit for what he is doing.

More news and notes from Friday after the break.

Jed, Darwin and Tommy perform their hit single, "She's got six toes and a six-shooter"
Photo Credit: Myrna Litt

With names like Jed, Darwin and Tommy, you would think this article was about the winners of a woodchuck shooting contest in Upstate NY. Or maybe these three fellas were all busted for DWI while driving a John Deere through a McDonald’s drive-thru. Hell, they may even have the same sister…who’s also their mother. No, this isn’t a story about rednecks and hillbillies, it’s an injury report on Jed Lowrie, Darwin Barney and Tommy Hanson. In addition, because I’m such a charitable human being, I’ll address a few other players just to please my peeps. Pay attention kids, I’m about to educate you yet again, hopefully you read carefully.

Phil This.
Photo Credit: Nightlife Of Revelry

At “Stream Pies,” we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on SPs who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the strongest recommendations starting at the top).

Since it’s Friday, we’ll be doling out a weekend edition of “Stream Pies” with Saturday and Sunday’s picks all wrapped up in one post. Enjoy bitches:

For games played on Saturday, 6/18/11
Phil Coke @COL
Coke gets the strongest recommendation because the Rockie’s best hitters (sans Troy Tulowitzki) are all lefties. He’s also been pretty solid this year overall, so I have no fear in doing a blast of Coke Saturday.

Carlos Carrasco vs. PIT
I told y’all to start him versus the Yankees in his last turn, and despite the risk, he delivered (W, 7 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks). He’s now pitched 15.1 consecutive shutout innings and takes on a crappy Pirates club.

Alex Cobb vs. FLA
Though he’s not much of a ballyhooed prospect, he owns a 9.59 K/9 and 2.43 BB/9 in the minors (AA and AAA) since 2010. Against the scuffling Marlins and a still recovering Hanley Ramirez, I’m comfortable throwing him out there.

Rubby De La Rosa vs. HOU
The Rubby Ducky has strikeout ability and since I was willing to start him against the Rockies in his last turn, you know Kid Clutch has to get behind De La Rosa (pause) against Houston.

For games played on Sunday, 6/19/11
Jonathon Niese vs. LAA
He’s been mad “Niese” for a month now and offers strikeout potential. I like the way he’s been throwing his curveball more often and love that he’s facing the wack Angels at home.

Tim Wakefield vs. MIL
The Red Sox are simply on fire and while I do think the knuckle-ball can stymie a team that doesn’t see it often, I’m mostly banking on Wakefield for the win.

“Stream Pies” Recommendation Results for 2011
8 Wins (17 starts), 107.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 5.37 K/9

Once again Chone Figgins has turned his back on us in the early going.
Photo Credit: ozmafan

Sometimes in our world of make believe baseball we need to do things most owners wouldn't do. If we want that winning edge we have to go against the grain, sometimes we have to do the unthinkable. With the news of Chipper Jones glimping (gangsta limping) around the locker room (adductor strain) I had to take the plunge and jump into the icy shallows that is known as Chone Figgins' stat line. This was a forced move, so in order to warm myself up I'm going to convince some of you to suffer with me. I'm going to plug Chone Figgins! Hey I plugged Alcides Escobar yesterday, let's dig this hole just a bit deeper. After the break we'll discuss the stomach churning options that go by the names of Figgins, Magglio Ordonez and Phil Hughes aka Fill Huggies.