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Welcome back, RotoBallers! As a reminder, in this piece we're looking for weekly streamers in head-to-head leagues, which means players who are 50% owned or less in Yahoo! leagues and who have seven games in the week. These players could provide great value off the waiver wire, particularly in head-to-head leagues, for week 10 of the 2017 baseball season.
To catch my streamers column each and every week, add me on Twitter @rotonails and always check the RotoBaller MLB page.
With that said, let’s dive into the stream(ers).
Editor's Note: Our friends at Fantrax have even more fantasy baseball advice columns and videos to help improve your teams. Be sure to also check them out!
Bats to Stream and Start in Week 10
Domingo Santana (OF, MIL) - 42% owned
Santana has been a fixture on this list, but I will repeat the key points. He is a speed/power threat in a good lineup (fourth in MLB in runs per game). This year, he has cut his K-rate to 26.0%, allowing him to post a respectable .273 average. At 24 years old, Santana should continue to improve. Take his .273/8/28/29/4 line against average pitching matchups this week, and happily live with the results.
Stephen Piscotty (OF, STL) - 48% owned
Piscotty posted a .305/7/29/39/2 line in only 63 games in his rookie 2015, and he followed that up with .273/22/86/85/7 in 2016. Those numbers, and his age (26), made him a hot commodity coming into the year. However, he has gotten off to a slow start and battled a couple injuries, leading to a .240/2/11/12/2 line. The average is likely a result of a BABIP .044 below his career average, and numbers in injury-plagued seasons are hard to gauge accurately. Nevertheless, he is looking healthy and facing very favorable pitching matchups. He is not only a good streaming option, but he is a good buy low and hold opportunity.
Whit Merrifield (2B/OF, KC) - 24% owned
Merrifield has seemingly come out of nowhere to fantasy relevance, starting the year with a .294/6/17/12/6 line in only 36 games. Some reports, such as SB Nation’s, attribute the early success to bulking up with an extra 25 pounds of muscle this offseason. I always take a wait-and-see approach to power breakouts in small samples, but the speed seems real; in 725 minor league games he stole 143 bases. His batted ball profile and low K-rate (13.6%) suggest he should put up a decent average. Thus, while the jury is still out on whether Merrifield will experience a power surge this year, he should provide you decent average with a good potential for steals.
Hernan Perez (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIL) - 41% owned
While Merrifield has come out of nowhere this year, Perez came from nowhere last year to post a .272/13/50/56/34 line in only 123 games. The question coming into this year was whether he could find regular playing time. With Ryan Braun’s injury, he should receive regular time this week. In 47 games this year, he has a line of .277/5/21/23/2. I would expect the stolen bases to increase based on his track record, and with modest power in a great offense, he presents a great streaming option until Braun returns.
Howie Kendrick (1B/2B/3B/OF, PHI) - 11% owned
You may be asking yourself, is he really still playing? That’s a fair question, as he was injured from April 15th until May 29th, and thus has logged only 13 games as of Friday. Nevertheless, Kendrick was remarkably consistent from 2009-2015, hitting between .279 and .295 every year, with between seven and 18 homers each year, and between six and 11 steals each year. Last year, his BABIP dropped .037 below his career numbers, leading to a .255 average, but he again posted eight homers and 10 steals. This year he has started with a .333/1/7/6/2 line. Snag him and reap the rewards of his remarkably consistent production.
Orlando Arcia (SS, MIL) - 4% owned
Coming into the season, Arcia seemed like a sure bet for steals if nothing else. He had stolen base totals of 20, 31, and 25 in his three full minor league seasons, and he had eight steals in 55 major league games in 2016. Moreover, he is on a team that led the majors in steals in 2016. This year, however, he has only swiped one bag. But, he already has four homers and his trimmed his K-rate to 17.5%. If you want to gamble on steals with a small dose of power and stomachable production in the other three categories, Arcia is a good bet.
Tommy Joseph (1B, PHI) - 21% owned
Joseph has been on this list before, and he did not disappoint. He is a slugger who won’t steal you bases or win you a batting title (to put it nicely). In 154 career games, he has a .254/29/68/71 line. Expect more of the same this week; that is, good power potential with decent run production, and a batting average that won’t completely sink your ship.
Also worth monitoring
Jayson Werth (OF, WAS) – Werth has a .264/7/26/17/4 line and bats in a potent offense, but he will face tough pitching matchups this week, including the likes of Sonny Gray and Clayton Kershaw as the Nats finish up a west coast road trip.
Brandon Phillips (2B, ATL) – Phillips has posted both double-digit homers and double-digit steals in all but two of the years from 2006-2016, and he is on his way to another with a .294/3/21/16/7 start to the year.
Carlos Beltran (OF, HOU) – A hot commodity at last year’s trade deadline and this offseason, the 40 year-old Beltran has slowed down a bit; he has a .247/6/24/18/0 line to start the year. Nevertheless, he could provide some decent production this week as the entire Astros offense has exploded recently.
Cesar Hernandez (2B, PHI) – Hernandez had 36 steals the last two years, and has a .282/5/35/12/6 line to start the year. Don’t expect the power to stay at that rate, but he is a good source of steals that won’t kill you in other categories (except RBI).
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