Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco Giants may have stumbled onto their next star pitcher. When Matt Cain got hurt, the team called upon Yusmeiro Petit to start. He did a great job and will be starting again Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In his first official start, Petit pitched six shutout innings against the San Diego Padres. He struck out four batters on his way to a victory. While the Padres aren’t the best-hitting team in baseball, Petit showed dominance and earned himself another start. He only allowed three hits on 72 pitches, 50 of which were thrown for strikes.
The Pirates have a better offense, but not by much. They are 26th in average (.234), 20th in on-base percentage (.312) and 25th in slugging percentage (.365). PNC Park is not much of a hitter-friendly park, which should bode well for Petit in his second start. If Petit can be just as effective against the Pirates, the he shouldn’t have to worry about the power numbers from Pirates hitters.
On the season, Petit has pitched 20.2 innings combined as a starter and reliever with 20 strikeouts, a 2.61 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. With those numbers, Petit is a perfect streaming option to kick off the new week. He is available in over 98 percent of ESPN.com leagues. Of all the pitchers starting on Monday, Petit is ranked seventh on the ESPN Player Rater.
If you think Petit will have another six-inning outing like he did last week, and I do, then take the chance on the young Giants pitcher. He has a good matchup and can fill the stat sheets.
Bill Pivetz is a fantasy sports writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @BPiv_Sports.
