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Baseball is back, and fantasy managers in daily leagues no doubt already have holes to fill. The easiest way to do that is with streamers. Fortunately, RotoBaller has you covered with daily streaming picks.
Each day, RotoBaller will provide you with some of the best fantasy baseball streaming picks - options to consider in fantasy baseball daily leagues. Additionally, these recommendations can be useful for fantasy managers setting DFS lineups.
Wednesday brings us a usual mid-week split slate that sees six first pitches prior to 7:05pm ET. While we don’t have TD Ballpark, Great American Ballpark or Coors Field on the schedule, there are a number of questionable pitchers taking the hill that we can target with some streaming bats, and a couple of low-rostered pitchers that also have some favorable matchups. Roster percentages referenced are from Yahoo! leagues.
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Hitter Streamers for 5/26 - Shallow Leagues
Tucker Barnhart (C, CIN) - 33% rostered
Matchup: @ WAS RHP Joe Ross
Barnhart has cooled off some after a red-hot start, but he’s still slashing a solid .278/.358/.444 with 12 extra-base hits and 15 RBI. The veteran backstop is thriving in opposite-handed matchups, furnishing a .284 average .808 OPS and .358 wOBA against right-handers, along with an impressive 33.3 percent line-drive rate and 40.7 percent hard-contact rate when facing them on the road. In turn, Ross’ troublesome numbers include a 5.62 xERA, 2.1 HR/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a career-high 11.0 percent barrel rate surrendered. He’s also yielded a .292 average, .935 OPS and .396 wOBA to left-handed hitters. Ross has also been absolutely blistered at home by all comers, pitching to an 11.17 ERA, .342 BAA and .497 wOBA in a small sample of 9.2 innings. Whenever Ross exits, Barnhart could also be primed to succeed, considering Nats relievers have allowed a .333 average and .398 wOBA to the 42 lefty bats they’ve faced at home in the last two weeks.
Kike Hernandez (2B/SS/OF, BOS) - 33% rostered
Matchup: vs. ATL LHP Drew Smyly
Hernandez is renowned for his ability to decimate left-handed pitching, and he’ll face one who’s done his fair share of teetering this season in Drew Smyly. The veteran southpaw has actually been very good over his last three starts, putting together quality outings in all of them while pitching to a 2.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 18 innings. Nevertheless, Smyly has had considerable trouble keeping the ball in the park all year, posting a career-high 2.7 HR/9 through his first 37 innings while also surrendering a career-high 48.2 percent hard-hit rate, figures that are worrisome when considering Fenway Park is the setting of Wednesday’s game. Hernandez boasts a .277 average and .327 OBP versus southpaws thus far, and he also sports a massive .490 wOBA against Smyly’s most frequently thrown pitch, the four-seam fastball, which the veteran pitcher has given up a .384 wOBA on this season.
Bryan Reynolds (OF, PIT) - 47% rostered
Matchup: vs. CHC RHP Trevor Williams
Reynolds went into Tuesday’s action with an excellent .298/.389/.472 slash line with 20 extra-base hits and 18 RBI over his first 44 games. The 26-year-old is quickly proving his miserable 2020 campaign was an outlier, and in addition to the numbers already cited, he’s boasting a .375 wOBA. As his line indicates, Reynolds has had success from either side of the plate, and he’s carrying a .748 OPS and .337 wOBA versus righties, along with a 27.2 percent line-drive rate versus that handedness. Meanwhile, Williams has flashed plenty of vulnerability versus left-handed hitters on the road, giving up a .448 average and .529 wOBA in that split, along with a 1.5 HR/9.
Nico Hoerner (2B/3B/SS, CHC) - 31% rostered
Matchup: @ PIT RHP Wil Crowe
Hoerner is in the midst of a resurgent season, slashing .324/.395/.423 across 81 plate appearances heading into Tuesday’s action. The 24-year-old won’t offer much in the way of power, but brings some nice wheels that can yield a stolen base or two and also sports an impressive .352 wOBA and a career-high 45.0 percent hard-hit rate per Statcast. Meanwhile, Crowe has several worrisome metrics, including 4.6 BB/9, 1.4 HR/9 and a 5.20 xERA, along with a .305 average, .870 OPS and .380 wOBA surrendered to right-handed hitters. Hoerner has also been at his best against righties, as evidenced by his .333 average, .844 OPS and .364 wOBA in same-handed matchups.
Wednesday update: Hoerner left Tuesday's game with a left hamstring strain and could be out of the lineup for Wednesday. Stay tuned for updates.
Hitter Streamers for 5/26 - Deep Leagues
Josh Naylor (1B/OF, CLE) - 5% rostered
Matchup: @DET RHP Jose Urena
Naylor is an intriguing left-handed bat to trot out against Urena, who’s carrying a 5.13 xERA, .273 BAA and 1.49 WHIP over his first nine starts. Urena is also yielding a .368 average, .955 OPS and .413 wOBA to left-handed hitters at home. For his part, Naylor sports a .291 average, .843 OPS and .354 wOBA when facing righties on the road, along with a 17.6 percent HR/FB in that split. Naylor has been a much better hitter on the road overall, and he’s also demonstrated some nice pop by lacing 13 of his 37 hits this season for extra bases going into Tuesday’s action.
Yandy Diaz (1B/3B, TB) - 6% rostered
Matchup: vs. KC LHP Mike Minor
Diaz surprisingly remains without a home run, but he’s an excellent contact hitter (12.8 percent strikeout rate) and does carry a solid .334 xwOBA, while his .361 xSLG, which has plenty of room for improvement, is nevertheless markedly better than his actual .299 figure in that category. Seven of the eight homers Minor has surrendered this season have been to right-handed hitters as well, and he’s allowing a .329 wOBA to that handedness on the road. Diaz has been excellent against southpaws at Tropicana Field, as evidenced by his .455 average, 1.204 OPS and .522 wOBA in that split over a sample of 31 plate appearances.
Donovan Solano (2B, SFG) - 11% rostered
Matchup: @ ARI RHP Merrill Kelly
Solano is back to an everyday role at second base after overcoming a calf injury, and he went into Tuesday’s action with a solid .279 average over 67 plate appearances. Solano posted a .328/.362/.459 slash over his first two seasons in San Francisco, so he likely has room for improvement on his current numbers. Solano has also been very productive in same-handed matchups, generating a .281 average and .333 on-base percentage in that split. Notably, Kelly has been the weakest in those scenarios, as he’s given up a .291 average, 11 extra-base hits, .827 OPS and a .352 wOBA to right-handed hitters, along with a 1.6 HR/9. Finally, consider Solano is also boasting a hefty .429 wOBA against the four-seam fastball, a pitch Kelly has thrown most often this season and allowed a .419 wOBA on.
Odubel Herrera (2B/OF, PHI) - 15% rostered
Matchup: @ MIA RHP Nick Neidert
Herrera gets a crack at a pitcher who’s had plenty of trouble versus left-handed hitters, allowing a .391/.563/.609 slash line and .504 wOBA to the 32 he’s faced thus far in 2021. Neidert’s 9.42 xERA is markedly higher than his 6.75 figure as well, while Herrera went into Tuesday’s game with a .271 average and .757 OPS, along with a 43.5 percent hard-hit rate per Statcast. He’s also demonstrating above-average plate discipline in the form of a career-high 10.2 percent walk rate and career-low 18.4 percent strikeout rate.
Pitcher Streamers for 5/26 - Shallow Leagues
Johnny Cueto (SP, SFG) - 28% rostered
Matchup: @ ARI RHP Merrill Kelly
Cueto has put together a strong start to his season that includes a 3-1 mark, 0.6 HR/9 and minuscule 5.1 percent barrel rate allowed. His 4.65 xERA is higher than ideal, and he’s definitely been more vulnerable on the road (.328 BAA, .358 wOBA allowed). However, the Diamondbacks have been a downright poor team (18-30 record going into Tuesday) and they went into Tuesday’s game having scored three or fewer runs in seven of the previous eight games (and were getting shut out through six innings Tuesday as of this writing). Cueto has also done a good job limiting damage all season, giving up three earned runs or less in five of six starts.
Pitcher Streamers for 5/26 - Deep Leagues
James Kaprielian (SP, OAK) - 18% rostered
Matchup: vs. SEA TBD
Kaprielian has pitched to a 2.53 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 15:4 K:BB across 10.2 innings in his first two starts while flummoxing the potent lineups of the Red Sox and Angels in the process. The 27-year-old’s 2.94 xERA supports the notion he just hasn’t been getting luck thus far, and he draws a good matchup through which to extend his strong start to the season. The Mariners checked into Tuesday’s action with a robust 29.0 percent strikeout rate, .222 average, .294 OBP, -2.0 wRAA and .300 wOBA against righties on the road in May, and even poorer .214, .285, -8.3 and .294 figures in those respective categories over the entire season.
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