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ESPN's 2026 Draft Guide | Betting notes for Friday
Pitchers to stream on Friday
Cade Cavalli's underlying skills have lagged over his past two outings, but the outcome was the same as the prior four -- a quality start. Still, unless he regains the strikeout prowess exhibited at the beginning of this stretch, Cavalli is vulnerable to a rough outing. However, next up for the Washington Nationals is a home date with the Cincinnati Reds, whose offense, facing right-handers, strikes out at a league-leading clip, fueling the worst wOBA versus righties.
Payton Tolle's 4.24 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over his last three outings may not reflect it, but the lefty has pitched well since the break. A .429 BABIP and 25.0% home run per fly ball mark have inflated his ratios. A 25.7% K-BB% and 2.71 xFIP are better indicators of how well he's performed. Next up is a home affair with the Boston Red Sox hosting the Athletics, whose offense ranks last in road wOBA against southpaws.
Earlier in the season, Roki Sasaki seemingly figured things out, only to revert to a less effective form. He appears to have gotten back on track again, with a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 26 strikeouts and only seven walks over his past 24 frames, spanning four starts. On tap is a road affair with the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting the Arizona Diamondbacks. Sasaki will square off with a lineup sporting the second-lowest wOBA versus right-handers.
Shane Baz is 0-4 over his past eight efforts, despite posting a 3.50 ERA. To be fair, his WHIP over that span is 1.34, but that's exaggerated due to a .348 BABIP in this stretch. He has fanned 44 over these 46 1/3 innings while issuing just 13 free passes. His 3.55 xFIP supports his actual ERA, demonstrating he has pitched better than his record suggests. Baz's next chance to break into the win column is in Arlington when the Baltimore Orioles visit the Texas Rangers.
Shane Drohan has logged at least six stanzas in five straight outings, with four entering the book as a quality start. He's been especially effective over his last efforts, punching out 28 with just four walks over 24 1/3 innings. The Milwaukee Brewers open a home interleague set with the Minnesota Twins. The visitors are a surprising 10th best in MLB, scoring 4.65 runs per game, but they are more effective versus right-handers. Drohan is a southpaw, and the Twins tote the fifth-lowest wOBA facing lefties in the league.
Keider Montero appears to have a regular rotation spot for the Detroit Tigers for the rest of the season. He's not dominant, instead getting by on solid command and control. Over 116 1/3 innings, the righty has issued just 25 bases on balls while surrendering only 11 long balls. On tap is a road affair against the San Francisco Giants, who are the second most impatient team in the league.
Hitters to stream on Friday
It took a while, but the rostership levels of the top Red Sox hitters finally eclipsed the 50% cutoff used to identify streaming candidates. Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela are still available in over 20% of ESPN leagues, but they no longer qualify as streamers. Willson Contreras is available in 54% of ESPN leagues, so he technically doesn't make the cut, but it's close. Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio and Masataka Yoshida are available in over half of ESPN leagues. With the wind blowing out at Fenway Park, and the Boston Red Sox facing Athletics starter Jack Perkins and a depleted bullpen, check on the availability of all Red Sox hitters.