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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. This article, which began last season, runs seven days a week. We are always ready to stream.
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 Friday, June 15. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Obi Juan Soto vs Han Soto
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Obi Juan Soto vs Han Soto
Your help is needed. I'm definitely partial towards one of the options - and not only because it's friendly with auto-player linkers.
Which?
— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) June 14, 2018
2. Today's Weather and Updates - Thursday, June 14
There's a witheringly small risk of storms in Atlanta. Or more specifically, Cobb County.
3. Streamer Picks - Friday, June 15
Pitchers to Use
We have a few decent options to chew on tomorrow. A guy like Kyle Gibson should have a higher ownership rate, although I'm not racing to the wire for a matchup against the Indians. By comparison, Brent Suter or Jose Urena are attractive purely due to their favorable matchups.
Chad Kuhl is the best target. A new-ish curveball gives him some strikeout upside. The Reds are also an easy opponent at spacious PNC Park. Seth Lugo visiting Chase Field is the second most attractive option. The Diamondbacks aren't especially imposing. Lugo has carried his bullpen velocity into his spot starts. Combined with a quality curveball and solid command, he's a legit fantasy asset.
Other Targets: Julio Teheran
Pitchers to Exploit
The Yankees are promoting Jonathan Loaisiga directly from the lower minors for a spot start. The decision was made purely to avoid a 40-man roster move - he was already protected whereas a guy like Chance Adams is still off the roster. I fully expect a bumpy ride at Yankee Stadium. I kind of like Nate Eovaldi as a general volume play, but I don't foresee good things happening against the Yanquis. Despite missing several seasons, Eovaldi appears to be unchanged from past iterations.
Other Targets: Matt Harvey, Yohander Mendez, Chris Bassitt
Homers on the Wire
Derek Dietrich is running hot. He's batting .293/.344/.453 versus right-handed pitchers. More recently, he's popped five home runs over his last 71 plate appearances with a .375/.423/.688 triple slash. He'll have the platoon advantage against Kevin Gausman at power friendly Camden Yards.
A couple Rays prospects and C.J. Cron get a big boost from an easy matchup at Yankee Stadium. Besides Cron, focus on Jake Bauers and Willy Adames. They're used to facing minor league quality pitchers like Loaisiga.
Other Targets: Derek Dietrich, Brian Anderson, Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, Austin Meadows, Colin Moran, Lonnie Chisenhall, Matt Adams, Tyler Flowers/Kurt Suzuki, Hunter Renfroe, Ian Desmond, Yolmer Sanchez, Daniel Palka, Luis Valbuena, Austin Barnes, Enrique Hernandez
Steals on the Wire
The battery of Julio Teheran and either Flowers or Suzuki will be the most stolen base prone pairing of the day. Fortunately, the Padres will likely start Travis Jankowski, Manuel Margot, and Freddy Galvis - all of whom can be found on most waiver wires. They'll remain useful over the weekend as they complete a four game set against the exploitable Atlanta backstops.
Runners like to target Gary Sanchez. Mallex Smith is pretty likely to reach base versus Loaisiga. The game gets harder once that crazy bullpen is involved.
Other Targets: Jose Peraza, Kevin Pillar, Greg Allen, Delino DeShields
