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The return of baseball means the return of injuries, surprise benchings, and other random events that keep ballplayers off the field. This could leave fantasy managers in daily leagues scrambling to find fill-in players to plug the gaps. Fortunately, RotoBaller has you covered with daily streaming picks.
Each day, RotoBaller will provide you with some of the best streaming options to consider in fantasy baseball daily leagues. Additionally, these recommendations can be useful for fantasy managers setting DFS lineups.
We don't quite have our usual full-slate of Friday games as some team's home-openers on Thursday means an off day on Friday. It's still a large nine-game slate, however, which means there are plenty of options to plug into fantasy lineups. There are a few day games on tap so check lineups early in the day and roll into the weekend on a high note.
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Hitter Streamers for 4/9 - Shallow Leagues
Tyler Naquin (OF, CIN) - 24% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Taylor Widener
No one is swinging a hotter stick right now than Naquin who has laid claim to the leadoff role in Cincinnati. Naquin has four homers already this season while posting an absurd 100.5 MPH average exit velocity, best in the Majors. He obviously can't sustain that pace but Naquin is locked in right now and in a good position to score fantasy points atop a surprisingly good Reds lineup. He'll likely bat three times with the platoon advantage versus the righty Widener which bodes well for Naquin who's career OPS is almost 100 points higher versus righties (.696 vs .792).
Donovan Solano (2B/3B/SS, SF) - 60% rostered
Matchup: vs.COL LHPAustin Gomber
The Giants offense seems to always be underrated for fantasy but they should be a strong source of fantasy production against Gomber. Solano is a great option to plug into multiple positions if you need a starter on Friday. He took an 0-for-5 in his last game, but had multiple hits in the four previous games and has seven runs+RBI through five games. Solano matches up well with Gomber who throws over 50 percent fastballs and Solano batted .293 against the heater last year.
Randal Grichuk (OF, TOR) - 45% rostered
Matchup: vs LAA LHP Andrew Heaney
Grichuk is a notoriously streaky hitter but he's started the 2021 season on fire and now he gets a solid matchup with Heaney who gets hit hard by right-handed batters. Heaney allows 1.86 HR/9 in his career to right-handed batters compared to only 0.63 HR/9 versus lefties. Grichuk has a strong 64.1 hard-hit rate through five games which should play up in Dunedin, the temporary home of the Blue Jays. Grichuk is always a home run threat having posted at least a .450 slugging percentage every season since 2015.
Ha-Seong Kim (2B/SS, SD) - 31% rostered
Matchup: @TEX RHP Kohei Arihara
Kim has started at shortstop in both games since Fernando Tatis Jr. got hurt and should be garnering more fantasy interest now that he has a clear path to playing time. Kim is a good hitter, last season in the KBO he slashed .306/.397/.523 with five homers, 23 steals, and a 141 wRC+. He should be in the lineup again Friday versus Arihara who plays right into Kim's skillset. Arihara is a finese pitcher who gave up contact on 96.8 percent of pitches he threw in his first start. Kim is a patient hitter who will take his walks and force the opposing pitcher to come into the strike zone.
Hitter Streamers for 4/9 - Deep Leagues
Jurickson Profar (2B/OF, SD) - 18% rostered
Matchup: @TEX RHP Kohei Arihara
Like Kim above, Profar is a good contact hitter who is getting more playing time in the absence of Tatis. Profar is coming off a strong 2020 season where he batted .278 and ranked in the 92nd percentile at avoiding strikeouts. The veteran has some pop in his bat as well posting 20 home runs in both 2018 and 2019 so he offers a solid combination of contact and power skills that will make him a tough-out for Arihara.
Josh Naylor (OF, CLE) - 2% rostered
Matchup: vs. DET RHP Julio Teheran
This pick has everything to do with attacking Teheran who has been known to have the occasional (or not so occasional) blow-up start. Teheran is a fly-ball pitcher posting a fly-ball rate of over 40 percent in six straight seasons. He also walks a ton of batters posting at least 4.25 BB/9 in three straight seasons. Needless to say, Teheran is a prime target when streaming hitters and the Cleveland bats will surely be popular in DFS on Friday night. As for Naylor, he's swinging a good bat early in the season with hits in four of five games. He should be in the lineup batting sixth or seventh so a multi-run homer is what we're shooting for here.
Darin Ruf (OF, SF) - 1% rostered
Matchup: vs. COL LHP Austin Gomber
Ruf has homered in back-to-back games and now gets a matchup versus southpaw Austin Gomber. Ruf is a known lefty-masher with posting a .926 career OPS versus lefties compared to only .660 versus righties. Gomber was hit hard in his Rockies debut and even though this is a road start, Gomber could have trouble on Friday with a largely right-handed Giants lineup.
Pitcher Streamers for 4/9 - Shallow Leagues
Steven Matz (SP, TOR) - 41% rostered
Matchup: vs. LAA LHP Andrew Heaney
Matz made his Blue Jays debut on Monday and immediately made a good impression as he diced through the Rangers. Matz allowed just one run on two hits and struck out nine across 6 1/3 innings. The veteran southpaw has dealt with a myriad of injuries in his career but has always had upside when healthy. He's been throwing the ball well for Toronto dating back to Spring Training when he posted a 1.76 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP and 15:2 K:BB. The Angels are a tougher lineup than Texas, but Matz should be able to find enough strikeouts to put up a nice day for fantasy managers.
Pitcher Streamers for 4/9 - Deep Leagues
Taylor Widener (SP, ARI) - 5% rostered
Matchup: vs. CIN RHP Tyler Mahle
We mentioned Naquin as a streamer earlier and Cincinnati isn't the best matchup to attack at the moment, but deep-league managers looking for a streamer should consider Widener who was electric in his first start of the season. The 26-year-old righty tossed six scoreless frames with five strikeouts Sunday at San Diego. Widener posted a strong 38.3 CSW rate in his first start, usually a good indicator of future success. Widener is barely rostered and capable of giving managers a quality start with some strikeouts.
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