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June 2, 2024, 11:45 amLast Updated on March 27, 2025 4:50 pm by André Lemos | Published: June 2, 2024
The first full week of June baseball is upon us, and Streamer Tidd-Bits is back with it. Our most recent Merit Based recommendations were flops, but we swept our Matchup Based recommendations and now sit at one game over .500 on the season for that series. First, we’ll break down the bad news. Our Merit Based recommendations from the week of 5/13 – 5/19 were Mason Black and Randy Vasquez. After showing promise in his second start of the season versus the Reds, Black flopped in his next two starts against the Rockies and Pirates, with both being very appealing matchups. Vasquez didn’t do much better, also stumbling in his home matchup against the Rockies and then on the road in Atlanta. Both starters have since been demoted to the minors, good riddance.
Now it’s time for the good news. After two straight weeks of Matchup based losses, we bounced back in a big way with our picks for the week of 5/20 – 5/26, securing two wins. Our undying love for Ryan Feltner was finally rewarded, as he spun one of his best starts of the season. Versus the As in Oakland, Feltner threw six scoreless innings in a no decision. Our other recommendation, Joey Estes, didn’t pitch quite as well but he did strike out six Rockies and had a 1.00 WHIP over seven innings pitched. Thanks to both wins, our year-to-date Matchup Based record sits at 7-6-1. With all that out of the way, here are the detailed results from the picks we previously mentioned, as well as our recommendations for the week of 6/3 – 6/9.
5/13 – 5/19 Merit Based Results:
Mason Black: 2 GS, 5.7 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 Ks, 12.71 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 0 Wins
Grade: Loss
Randy Vasquez: 2 GS, 9.7 IP, 18 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks, 7.45 ERA, 1.97 WHIP, 0 Wins
Grade: Loss
Year-to-date Merit Based stats: 28 GS, 143.0 IP, 160 H, 76 ER, 54 BB, 107 Ks, 4.78 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 6 Wins
Year-to-date Merit Based record (W-L-N/A): 4-7-1
5/20 – 5/26 Matchup Based Results:
Ryan Feltner @ OAK: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, No Decision
Grade: Win (QS, 6+ Ks)
Joey Estes vs COL: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 Ks, 5.14 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, No Decision
Grade: Win (6+ Ks)
Year-to-date Matchup Based stats: 14 GS, 73.3 IP, 69 H, 29 ER, 25 BB, 59 Ks, 3.56 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 1 Win
Year-to-date Matchup Based record (W-L-N/A): 7-6-1
Note: Unless otherwise specified, all stats referenced in this article are through 5/28, and all players are rostered in 30% or fewer of NFBC Main Event leagues.
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Merit Based Adds
Miles Mikolas, STL, 28% rostered – When I checked Miles Mikolas’s game log to see if he had a rough last couple of starts, I was shocked to see that his last three starts have actually been quite good. With that said, I believe this is the first time he is under the 30% rostered threshold, and his seven earned runs allowed over his last 17 innings pitched, as well as a WHIP just over 1.00 don’t justify him being available in so many leagues, especially in a format as deep as the Main Event. In addition to the very good surface numbers, over the last two weeks Mikolas has a respectable 17.1% K-BB%, as well as very good ERA estimators (3.74 SIERA and 3.92 xFIP). If you play in a deep league (e.g. 15-teamer or NL-only) and Mikolas is available, make sure you fix that during this weekend’s FAAB run.
Mitch Spence OAK, 2% rostered – Kudos to the one team (maybe two) in the Main Event that started Mitch Spence this week and received a win thanks to his start versus the Rays. On the season Spence has an excellent 3.52 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, but per his game log he only recently became a starter. However, this start versus the Rays is proof that he can survive as a starter, and his year-to-date stats show that overall he can succeed at the big-league level. Over the last two weeks his ERA estimators are just a notch above 4.00, and his walk and swinging strike rates are roughly the same. Those statistics being so close is not ideal of course, but I think Spence is worth a gamble as he’s lined up to face the Blue Jays and Twins in his next two starts.
Matchup Based Adds
Austin Gomber COL, 23% rostered @ STL – If you listen to fantasy baseball podcasts somewhat regularly, I’m sure you’ve heard Austin Gomber’s name plenty of times over the last couple of weeks. Gomber wasn’t my original selection here (Tyler Alexander was replaced in the Rays rotations by Ryan Pepiot), but when I went hunting for another selection I was shocked to see Gomber is only rostered in 23% of Main Event leagues. I mean getting “Gombered” is a term after all, so the NFBC sharps don’t seem to be buying what Gomber did in the month of May. If you weren’t already aware, during May, Gomber pitched to a 0.68 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 26.7 innings pitched! Three starts were on the road, but he overcame the Rangers in Colorado. Over the last two weeks the Cardinals are roughly league average against lefthanded pitchers (105 wRC+), and with the way Gomber has been pitching I think he’s worth the gamble.
Ryan Feltner COL, 12% Rostered vs CIN/@ STL – I usually try to avoid two start pitchers for this article, but I can’t pass up our boy Ryan Feltner, especially after he rewarded us with a win two weeks ago. This time around Feltner faces the Reds at home and the Cardinals in St. Louis. I’m not going to cite Feltner’s last two weeks of stats, primarily because they aren’t good thanks to the beating the Guardians gave him in Colorado. But that’s a Coors starts and the Guardians have surprisingly been one of the better offenses this year. His first opponent, the Reds, have the second worst wRC+ versus right-handed pitching over the last two weeks, including a 29.8% K%. They have been crushed by injuries and suspensions this year so I am ok with taking the risk in Coors (two of Feltner’s home starts have actually been very good). The Cardinals matchup is a little less straightforward. Despite having the third best wRC+ versus right-handed pitching over the last two weeks the Cardinals’ offense has been underwhelming this year, and he’ll be pitching in St. Louis. This is one of the riskier matchup-based recommendations so far this year, but if you need volume I can sign off on another Feltner stream this week.
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