Whether it’s because of an injury or poor performance, there are always opportunities to stream players off the waiver wire. The best players to stream are those who are under-owned and face appealing match-ups for the upcoming week.
Here are five players who are available in more than half of Fleaflicker leagues and have attractive match-ups during the tenth week of the season.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple & Android Stores.
Top Hitter Streamers for Week 10
Jose Ramirez (CLE, 2B/3B/SS/OF) - 26% Fleaflicker
Ramirez has essentially become an everyday player, rotating between third base and left field for an Indians team that lacks offensive depth. In his first full-time gig, Ramirez, 23, has impressed to the tune of a .320/.393/.464 slash line with three home runs and four stolen bases in 153 AB. He has eight multi-hit games since the beginning of May, including three in a row heading into Friday.
The Indians embark on a 10-game road trip on Monday, beginning with a four-game series with the Mariners, who will toss James Paxton, Wade Miley, Taijuan Walker and Nate Karns. The M’s have a very strong staff, but with Felix Hernandez on the shelf and Hisashi Iwakuma not pitching in this series, matching up with the co-AL West leaders is a lot less daunting. Then the Tribe heads over to Los Angeles, where they will meet Jhoulys Chacin, Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker, all of whom have an ERA above 4.00.
With a mix of lefties and righties in that group, Ramirez, who has hit at least .300 against both, is a strong play for the upcoming week. That multi-game hit streak may not continue, but he is a solid bet for a big showing over the next two series.
Martin Prado (MIA, 3B) - 23% Fleaflicker
Prado came into May hitting an astonishing .397, but hit just .270 in May to bring his average down to .317. An 0-for-6 day on Thursday lowered it to .313, but despite the recent struggles, he has still enjoyed a strong start to the season. In particular, he has crushed left-handed pitching over the first two months of the season— .359/.435/.410 in 39 AB. This isn’t a fluke, either. He batted .324/.388/.503 against lefties from 2013-2015.
This week, Prado and the Marlins are scheduled to face four lefties in Pat Dean, Edwin Escobar, Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray, all of whom have an ERA above 4.00. The Marlins will also see two particularly horrible right-handers in Kyle Gibson (6.10 ERA) and Ricky Nolasco (5.28). Two series against teams with losing records and a weak crop of starters is the perfect formula for Prado to get back to his scorching hot ways.
Asdrubal Cabrera (NYM, SS) - 14% Fleaflicker
Cabrera has made several appearances here earlier in the season, and he continues to be under-owned in a shortstop pool that is incredibly weak after the top seven or eight guys. The Mets’ new shortstop owns a .275/.335/.392 line with four homers, 16 R and 18 RBI. With David Wright sidelined for at least eight weeks, Cabrera should slide into the two hole permanently, and being surrounded by Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes should continue to help Cabrera boost his overall stat line.
In week 10, the Mets continue their road trip in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, where they will face Jonathan Niese, Juan Nicasio, Francisco Liriano, Jimmy Nelson, Javier Guerra, Wily Peralta and Zach Davies. Cabrera, a switch hitter, never has to worry about righty/lefty match-ups, and should be able to put up a good week against five pitchers with an ERA above 4.00 (excluding Jimmy Nelson and Junior Guerra).
Yangervis Solarte (SD, 1B/2B/3B)- 14% Fleaflicker
After missing a month and a half with a hamstring injury, Solarte went hitless in his first 10 AB, but has been swinging a smoking hot bat ever since. Over his last nine games, the 28-year-old infielder has gone 14-for-34 with three home runs, nine runs scored and nine runs batted in.
On the schedule for the Padres is a home series versus the Braves and a road trip to Colorado. On the hill for those teams will be Williams Perez, Aaron Blair, Julio Teheran, Jon Gray, Tyler Chatwood and Eddie Butler.
With the exception of Teheran, each of those pitchers is something of a question mark. Perez has been inconsistent and Blair has been straight up terrible. As for the Rockies, the narrative remains the same. Very few pitchers make for an appealing fantasy play at Coors Field. The way Solarte is swinging the bat, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him string together a couple more multi-hit games this upcoming week.
Tommy La Stella (CHC, 2B/3B) - 3% Fleaflicker
La Stella was seeing a lot of action early in May, but that playing time faded late in the month, partially because of the number of lefties the Cubs have faced. Over 70 AB so far this season, he has batted .288/.381/.507 with two home runs. La Stella doesn’t hold much in the power or speed departments, but he is a solid hitter who is lucky to be part of a potent Cubs offense.
To start the week, the Cubs draw a trio of Phillies pitchers whom they knocked around just last weekend in Adam Morgan (4 IP, 6 ER on May 27), Jerad Eickhoff (6 IP, 4 ER on May 28) and Vincent Velasquez (4.2 IP, 7 ER on May 29). Then, they travel to Atlanta to face Mike Foltynewicz, Matt Wisler and Williams Perez, all of whom have an ERA below 4.00 but aren’t dominant strikeout pitchers. Additionally, all three of the Braves’ starters are young and have no track record of success in the majors. Of that group, only Morgan is a lefty, so La Stella could see a bunch of starts in week 10. With that playing time, he should continue to hit like he was doing a month ago. He is worth a stream in very deep leagues.
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