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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, September 4.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- The Final Month
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. The Final Month
With one month left on the fantasy baseball calendar, let's look back at some of the standout performances from last September. There's only so much ground you can make up in one-sixth of a season. You'll need to honestly assess which categories are and are not assailable.
| Top Performances From September 2016 | Top Performances From September 2016 | |||||
| Stat | Player | Count | Stat | Player | Count | |
| Runs | Curtis Granderson | 25 | Wins | Jon Lester | 5 | |
| Byron Buxton | 24 | Max Scherzer | 5 | |||
| Ender Inciarte | 24 | Saves | Mark Melancon | 10 | ||
| RBI | Kendrys Morales | 30 | (six others) | 8 | ||
| Justin Upton | 28 | K | Justin Verlander | 56 | ||
| HR | Justin Upton | 13 | Chris Sale | 48 | ||
| (three others) | 11 | Max Scherzer | 46 | |||
| SB | Trea Turner | 15 | ERA | Jon Lester | 1.48 | |
| Dee Gordon | 15 | Johnny Cueto | 1.78 | |||
| Jonathan Villar | 12 | Justin Verlander | 1.82 | |||
| AVG | Joey Votto | 0.389 | WHIP | Jharel Cotton | 0.82 | |
| Yadier Molina | 0.388 | Jon Lester | 0.82 | |||
| Freddie Freeman | 0.367 | Ubaldo Jimenez | 0.83 | |||
If you're trying to catch lightning in a barrel, you should expect no more than 20 runs, 25 RBI, 10 home runs, 10 steals, and a .350 average from any individual - and not all from the same guy. For steals, it certainly helps to already own one of the few rabbits. Power is probably the most difficult category to predictably outperform the crowd. Grab a leadoff for runs, a cleanup hitter for RBI, or a Votto for batting average.
On the pitching side, my advice is to already own a top five pitcher. If you need the luck of a leprechaun, hopefully you're chasing WHIP. That's the only category with weird results.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
Sunny San Diego may actually be rainy today. It's only a 30 percent chance for wet skies. Tomorrow features a bunch of sun for Labor Day. Every team will play. Enjoy.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Monday, September 4
Pitchers to Use
Jake Junis is by far the most interesting arm available. He'll face a gutted Tigers offense. They're without Victor Martinez (injury), Miguel Cabrera (suspended), and Justin Upton (traded). Junis has fantasy average numbers including a 4.41 ERA, 8.10 K/9, and a 1.29 WHIP through 63.1 innings. He's 6-2 on the year. Junis is quite likely to earn a victory opposite an untouted rookie making his debut.
The Mets and Phillies feature two of the most exploitable offenses. Mark Leiter is starting for Philadelphia. His 3.88 ERA and major league blood lines have led to a jolt in ownership. Be careful. Most of his success can be traced back to what looks like a lucky soft contact rate. He still profiles as a long reliever. His opponent, Rafael Montero, is coming off the best outing of his career. He tossed 8.1 innings of shutout baseball against the Reds. Montero has a 2.77 ERA over his last 26 innings, although his command remains below average. Both Leiter and Montero are risky plays.
Other Targets: Chad Kuhl
Pitchers to Exploit
Scouts view Tigers right-hander Artie Lewicki as a swing-starter. He features a 92 to 94 mph fastball and an adequate slider. His curve and change are described as fringy. Lewicki posted strong numbers in five Triple-A starts (2.03 ERA, 9.58 K/9, 2.03 BB/9). He avoids walks and will probably discover that major league hitters feast on middling stuff in the strike zone.
Other Targets: Homer Bailey, James Shields, Matt Moore, Chad Bettis, Chris Smith, Marco Gonzales
Homers on the Wire
Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera is scheduled to return tomorrow. He's technically over 50 percent owned (56 percent to be precise), but I expect that rate to fall once he's forced off the disabled list. Herrera will likely insert into the top of the order in some combination with Nick Williams, Rhys Hoskins, and Cesar Hernandez. That's a productive-looking top four batters. Now all Philly needs is to get something out of Tommy Joseph and Maikel Franco. Freddy Galvis seems like the obvious fifth hitter.
Lonnie Chisenhall looked like one of the breakout stars of 2017 before missing a second chunk of the season to injury. He's back and hopefully ready to reprise his role as a slugger. A matchup against homer prone James Shields at Guaranteed HR-Rate Park is a plus.
Other Targets: Scott Schebler, Keon Broxton, Neil Walker, Brandon Moss, Wilmer Flores, Dominic Smith, Brandon Crawford, Jed Lowrie, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Matt Joyce, Chad Pinder, Marcus Semien, Stephen Piscotty, J.D. Davis, Jayson Werth, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Enrique Hernandez
Steals on the Wire
The Angels suddenly have a crowded lineup. Brandon Phillips isn't a big base running threat these days, but he'll take advantage of lax defense (10 steals). Cameron Maybin and Ben Revere are better bets to steal a base, but they have to compete with each other, C.J. Cron, and Albert Pujols for playing time. Only two can be in the lineup at the same time unless one of Mike Trout, Justin Upton, or Kole Calhoun are getting an off day.
Other Targets: Denard Span, Kolten Wong
Skill Positions
Chris Iannetta is hitting .328/.414/.557 in a small sample against left-handed pitchers. Rich Hill isn't the typical southpaw, but it's still a decent spot to give Iannetta a whirl. Kurt Suzuki and Robinson Chirinos are alternatives. They're on opposite sides of the Andrew Cashner-R.A. Dickey brawl of mediocrity.
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