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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. It may only be April, but it's never too early to start 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 Monday, April 30. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- A Warning
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. A Warning
The following analysis includes ugly pitching statistics that may not be suitable for small children and/or fantasy owners needing ratio help. Reader discretion is advised.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
Only Boston faces a significant precipitation risk today, but it's pretty high (80 percent). Most of their rain is in the morning, but it could last all day. Otherwise, Cleveland will be cold and the rest of the schedule looks fine.
3. Streamer Picks - Monday, April 30
Pitchers to Use
Eduardo Rodriguez is the obvious streaming candidate on the slate, and the only remotely safe one. He has more strikeouts (23) than IP (22 1/3) this season, giving him a solid base to build on his 3.63 ERA for the season. He's also opposed by the lowly Kansas City Royals, so a win should be relatively easy to obtain.
Other Targets: None
Pitchers to Exploit
This is the section the warning above was intended for, so feel free to avert your eyes if you have a sensitive stomach. The worst pitcher tomorrow is Brandon Finnegan of the Cincinnati Reds. His 8.03 ERA is bad, but the fact that he's only averaging a little over four innings per start also gives a bunch of terrible middle relievers a chance to pitch. The Brewers should feast.
Eric Lauer of the San Diego Padres gets a second MLB start after getting torched in his MLB debut at Coors Field (3 IP, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K). Why would you debut a starting pitcher at Coors Field? Facing the Giants in San Francisco is a much easier matchup, but Lauer's two-pitch repertoire is likely to struggle against everyone at the MLB level.
If neither of those appeal to you, the best arm below has an ERA of 6.33 this season. Ouch.
Other Targets: Lance Lynn, Sonny Gray, Jordan Zimmerman, Jake Faria
Homers on the Wire
This is really easy. Pick one of the awful arms above and search for anybody with even a modicum of pop in their bat. Lance Lynn has a HR/9 of 1.45 this season, so let's try looking for Blue Jays to stream. Teoscar Hernandez has the coveted combination of a favorable matchup and the upside to become a roster mainstay, but you could also look toward the lesser-owned Curtis Granderson, Kendrys Morales, Steve Pearce, and Russell Martin for some pop.
Other Targets: C.J. Cron, Jeimer Candelario, Yuli Gurriel, Jesus Aguilar, Carlos Gomez, Hernan Perez, Brandon Crawford
Steals on the Wire
My colleague Brad Johnson loves recommending Rajai Davis here whenever Cleveland faces a lefty, and Cole Hamels is one of those! Hamels is a mere shadow of the ace he used to be, so don't be too intimidated by the brand name opponent.
Davis has four steals already this year and knows how to handle LHPs (107 wRC+ career), so Brad's logic is sound. Davis has added appeal tomorrow thanks to the struggles Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos has had throwing out would-be base thieves (2-for-19 on the season).
Other Targets: Lewis Brinson, Bradley Zimmer, Kevin Pillar, Denard Span, Michael A. Taylor, Mallex Smith, Delino DeShields, Manuel Margot, Franchy Cordero
Skill Positions
Arodys Vizcaino is plenty good enough to keep recording saves all season long, but the team may want to mix A.J. Minter into the equation. With a 2.19 ERA and 11 Ks over 12.1 IP, Minter should perform well if the team follows through on this plan.
