Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers to Stream This Weekend

Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays

Start: July 15th at Los Angeles Angels
ESPN ownership: 40 percent

It might be the case that two dismal starts have inflated Alex Cobb's numbers to the point where he's being unfairly treated as replacement-level in standard leagues. Sure, cherry-picking samples is admittedly dubious methodology, but an extreme case like this seems instructive: 15 of Cobb's 33 total earned runs allowed since the start of May have come across two blow-up starts, a 6-run beating at the Orioles in early July, and a 14-hit, 9-run meltdown at the Seattle Mariners in early June.

Meanwhile, in the 80 remaining innings that the Tampa Bay Rays righty has pitched in that span, he boasts a 2.03 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, totals that would certainly draw more attention from fantasy owners than the seemingly middling 3.75 ERA and 1.24 WHIP that he carries on the season.

Of course, Cobb has to own all of his numbers, but you have to wonder if shallow-leaguers are sleeping on him as a grab-and-hold heading into the second half. At the very least, Cobb makes for a prime streaming option this weekend as he faces off against an Angels team who has been lackluster against the curveball all season. After all, Cobb lives and dies by that curve -- it might be his only above-average offering per weighted runs created plus (wRC+) allowed, but it's a near-elite pitch, coaxing career-high reach rates and limiting hitters to a .508 on-base plus slugging (OPS) over a 627-pitch sample.

Streamers should consider Cobb a top priority this weekend, and might make plans to keep him on their roster for the foreseeable future.