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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. Even at this early juncture, there's value in streaming.
For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories, and target players who may be available on your waiver wire.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Thursday, April 19. Let's get to it.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best MLB Series, NFL Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
Agenda
- Paying Attention
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Paying Attention
I was most of the way through writing this article when I realized I had been looking at Wednesday's games, not Thursday's. This is what's known as a rookie mistake. Make sure you're avoiding any similarly boneheaded snafus in managing your teams. In particularly, it's easy to neglect setting your lineups, or double-checking them close to game time once lineups are announced and weather is apparent.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
It's still cold in the Upper Midwest, and both Reds-Brewers and Cardinals-Cubs are threatened by rain and/or snow for their day games. All other games should proceed as scheduled.
3. Streamer Picks - Thursday, April 19
Pitchers to Use
As usual, Thursday's a light slate, which means there aren't a whole lot of appealing starters to stream. Eduardo Rodriguez has punched out 15 batters in just 9.2 innings, but he's got a tough matchup; the Angels have been easily the best offensive club in baseball so far. Nobody else has topped 100 runs yet.
CC Sabathia against the Blue Jays is a decent play, although Sabathia is just coming off the disabled list.
Other Targets: Honestly, none
Pitchers to Exploit
Chris Tillman vs. Jordan Zimmerman! Who wins? Hitters on both teams, that's who. The Zombie Bowl between Matt Harvey and Anibal Sanchez should feature some offensive fireworks as well. Marco Gonzales and his 8.25 ERA versus the Astros seems like a recipe for disaster.
Other Targets: Ty Blach, Dillon Peters, Nick Tropeano
Homers on the Wire
Unfortunately, you won't be able to get a piece of the Astros' lineup that you don't already have right now except for Yuli Gurriel, who's unowned in just over 60 percent of Yahoo leagues. Gonzalez is prone to the long ball, though - 1.5 HR/9 for his career.
Preston Tucker and Nick Markakis aren't making anyone forget about Ronald Acuna's eventual ascension, but both veterans are pulling their weight in the early going. They've combined for five home runs and will face the Pitcher Formerly Known as Matt Harvey, who's allowed 24 bombs in his last 108 innings dating back to last season.
Other Targets: Chris Owings, Chris Davis, Yuli Gurriel
Steals on the Wire
Kevin Pillar stole three bases in a game earlier this year. He hasn't swiped one since, but hey, maybe he's just waiting for the right time. And maybe the right time is today!
Other Targets: Niko Goodrum, Ryan Flaherty, Cameron Maybin, Ketel Marte
Skill Positions
Kurt Suzuki's brief DL stint is behind him, and in an extremely small sample he looks to have picked up right where he left off after a surprisingly good 2017.
Another shaky appearance for Brad Ziegler on Tuesday night. Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider have both been much more effective so far, and you have to wonder how much longer the leash is for the Big Z.
