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Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Monday, June 26th.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Stolen Bases
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Stolen Bases
Last week, one of the RotoBaller site owners told me he successfully streamed a stolen base for the first time this season (Taylor Motter). That made me think, I should probably address expectations when streaming steals. In a general sense, there are two types of stolen bases on the waiver. With pure burners like Jarrod Dyson, Mallex Smith, and Rajai Davis, you can usually count on a steal every third game. With more well-rounded talents like Motter, you're looking for a swipe every 10 games. It's relatively easy to stream a steal with the burners, it's quite difficult when targeting the versatile folks. The latter group, by virtue of versatility, are more likely to also help with other categories.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
It should be dry today and tomorrow. Speaking of Monday, with only eight games on the agenda, we'll actually have to scrape for talent.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Monday, June 26th
Pitchers to Use
With a thin schedule and a bunch of aces on the bump, we have to stretch a bit for pitching streamers. The easy top pick is Jordan Montgomery. The southpaw is a frequent guest of Streaming Wars. He may be my favorite consistently available arm. He has a weird matchup at the GSpot (Guaranteed Rate Park). The White Sox are the top offense versus lefties by a wide margin (126 wRC+). Seems to me that their .359 BABIP will probably regress. I anticipate typical production from Montgomery. He's posted a 3.74 ERA with 8.56 K/9 and 3.13 BB/9. He offers a bit of everything for fantasy owners.
By comparison, German Marquez feels risky. He's visiting pitcher friendly AT&T Park. The Giants offense is dead last versus right-handed pitching (78 wRC+, read 22 percent below average). Do note, wRC+ is context aware, meaning they get a boost for playing at a pitcher's park. Their raw stats (i.e. what we count for fantasy) are even worse than 22 percent below league average. Marquez has a very similar stat line to Montgomery - 3.92 ERA, 8.15 K/9, and 3.17 BB/9 - although he's much more volatile.
For dice rolls, consider Brandon Finnegan's return from the 60-day disabled list versus Michael Wacha. Finnegan may have some rust from the long break. Entering the season, he was viewed as a potential breakout candidate with a healthy strikeout rate. As for Wacha, his ownership has plummeted due to a series of unfortunate disasters. In his last six starts, he's posted a 8.17 ERA. In only one of those outings did he toss more than 4.1 innings. Even the Phillies beat him up. Be wary.
Other Targets: ---
Pitchers to Exploit
Speaking of the Phillies, Nick Pivetta has seemingly found an extra gear. Over his last two starts, he's tossed 13 innings with 19 strikeouts, eight hits, three walks, and three runs. If he had a better matchup than the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, I'd consider grabbing a share or two. Of the current Phillies starters, Pivetta may be the best of the bunch two years from now. Until then, I expect a bumpy ride.
Other Targets: Eddie Butler, Ricky Nolasco, David Holmberg
Homers on the Wire
Ryder Jones was recently promoted by the Giants. The third baseman had some pop and contact skills in the minors, but I doubt they'll immediately translate to the majors. Especially not at AT&T Park. He's still worth a dice roll in very deep leagues.
Matt Davidson is a must-play against left-handed pitching. His platoon splits are both insane and nearly believable.
Ian Happ is a frequent recommendation here for his volatile power and good lineup role. The Cubs have also been trying Mark Zagunis against left-handed pitchers. The righty is a patient, high contact hitter with decent pop. He's another solid option for those very deep formats.
Other Targets: Chase Utley, Logan Forsythe, Mitch Moreland, Brian Goodwin, Tommy Pham, Jose Martinez, Paul DeJong, Scooter Gennett
Steals on the Wire
Andrelton Simmons may bat cleanup with a lefty on the bump. Rich Hill hasn't been as consistently excellent when healthy. Simmons, meanwhile, is experiencing his version of the breakout we saw from Zack Cozart a couple years back. Simmons has seven home runs and 13 steals in 321 plate appearances. We haven't see this sort of production from him since 2013.
Other Targets: Tim Anderson, Delino DeShields, Michael Taylor
Skill Positions
I suppose the catchers to target are Tom Murphy and Tony Wolters, even though they're playing at a stingy park. I assume Wolters will start on Sunday (it's 7:00 am so who knows) which means Murphy will be behind the dish tomorrow.
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