Fantasy Baseball: Add Seth Lugo, Luke Weaver, Jerad Eickhoff

A major challenge of writing fantasy baseball advice is the near-endless variety of scoring formats and league types. One strategy that is more or less universal regardless of league quirks, however, is the practice of streaming pitchers. Whether you’re in a head-to-head playoff matchup or trying to make up ground in a rotisserie or points league, you can benefit from a timely stream. The following four pitchers meet the three basic criteria: They’ve been pitching well recently, they have favorable schedules down the stretch, and they’re on the wire in the majority of both Yahoo and ESPN leagues.

Jerad Eickhoff, Philadelphia Phillies (48 percentYahoo, 27.5 percentESPN)

Eickhoff has been solid all year, but he’s taken his performance up a notch recently. Over his last fourgames, the burly right-hander has posted a tidy 2.63 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He’s recorded quality starts in all four appearances, and nabbed wins in two of them. He’ll face the reeling Pirates at home on Thursday before closing out the year with three starts against bottom-10 offenses: White Sox at home, Braves on the road, and Mets at home.

Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals (27 percentYahoo, 31.3 percentESPN)

Weaver has just one victory in his first six career starts, but that’s mostly due to a lack of run support. The rookie has pitched to a 3.48 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, with 39 strikeouts and just eight walks in 31 innings of work. He next takes on the Giants, who have scored fewer runs than all but three clubs since the All-Star break. You probably want to avoid running Weaver out there for his start next week, since it’s at Coors Field, but he’ll finish the year with quality matchups at home against the Reds and Pirates.

Seth Lugo, New York Mets (46 percentYahoo, 49.2 percentESPN)

Lugo had his last start pushed back a day due to a blister, which may have cost him an extra start against the light-hitting Phillies. He does still get to face them, though, along with the Twins and Marlins. The rookie has won his last four starts, posting an excellent 1.80 ERA and 0.96 WHIP during that time. He hasn’t struck out too many hitters so far, but he did post good whiff rates in the minors.

Ervin Santana, Minnesota Twins (50 percentYahoo, 42.4 percentESPN)

On the morning of June 25, Santana had a 2-7 record, 4.83 ERA, and 1.43 WHIP in 13 starts. Since then, he’s 5-3 with a 2.48 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. During this resurgence, Santana has been striking out more hitters while allowing fewer walks and home runs. Two of his three remaining games are on the road against the Mets and Royals, two bottom-five offenses. In between, he’ll face the Mariners at Target Field, which has played friendly to RHP this year.

Kyle Bishop is a Fantasy Baseball expert for Rotoballer.com.