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Welcome to the first edition of MLB Daily Fantasy Baseball Streamers! The season is finally here and we here at RotoBaller are there for all of your streaming needs.
Each day, RotoBaller will provide you with some of the best streaming options to consider in both shallow and deep fantasy baseball daily leagues. Streaming hitters and pitchers to exploit matchups are important to help you win your league. You can also use these recommendations to help build your DFS lineups. This article will use rostered percentages and position eligibility from Yahoo! leagues.
Today we have a 13-game slate, giving us multiple options to target as streamers. The best picks for today come from the Yankees, Royals, and Giants.
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!
Hitter Streamers for 4/5 - Shallow Leagues
J.D. Davis (3B/OF, RHB, NYM) - 53% Rostered
Matchup: @ PHI LHP Matt Moore
Davis makes his season debut against a lefty in Moore who has made two big-league starts since 2018. Last season, Davis had a better walk rate (up 3.4%) and strikeout rate (down 6.2%) against southpaws. While Davis had a down year in 2020, slashing .247/.371/.389, he put up a .220 ISO in the previous season, so there's power upside here, especially in the bandbox that is Citizens Bank Park in Philly.
Aaron Hicks (OF, SHB, NYY) - 45% Rostered
Matchup: vs. BAL RHP Jorge Lopez
Hicks has been a fixture in the three-hole in this stacked Yankees lineup. He goes up against Lopez, who put up a measly 16.1% strikeout rate and troubling 1.62 HR/9 last season. Lopez's struggles with the longball coupled with the hitter's park that is Yankee Stadium bodes well for Hicks in this game. While Hicks has gotten off to a slow start at the plate, today is a good opportunity for a breakout against a mediocre starting pitcher.
Michael A. Taylor (OF, RHB, KC) - 27% Rostered
Matchup: at CLE LHP Logan Allen
Taylor has been mashing so far this season, going 6-for-13 (.462) with two home runs and six RBI in 13 plate appearances. Last season, Taylor put up a .276 ISO against lefties, which bodes well against Allen, who doesn't strike out many hitters (14.3 K%) and has issues with control (14.3 BB%). Taylor began the season in the eight-hole but has been bumped up to the sixth spot in this lineup. Fire him up in this excellent matchup.
Luis Arraez (2B/3B/OF, LHB, MIN) - 23% Rostered
Matchup: vs. DET RHP Jose Ureña
Arraez has gotten off to a torrid start so far, going 6-for-12 (.500) with one run, one double, two RBI, three walks, and three strikeouts in the first three games of the season. Arraez been hitting in the leadoff spot in every game, putting him in a great position for counting stats. This is a good matchup against Ureña, who posted a 12.5% walk rate and 14,4% strikeout rate in 23.1 innings last season. Ureña is one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball.
Hitter Streamers for 4/5 - Deep Leagues
Wilmer Flores (1B/2B, RHB, SF) - 7% Rostered
Matchup: at SD LHP Adrian Morejon
Flores is one of my favorite players to stream against lefties. Last season, he slashed .274/.313/.661 with a 149 wRC+ against southpaws. The risk here is that Morejon has good stuff, posting an impressive 26.6 K-BB% in a small sample of 19.1 innings last year. There's also a good chance that Morejon does not last long in this game as the Padres try to manage his workload and ease him into the season. Still, Flores is always in play against lefties.
Austin Slater (1B/OF, RHB, SF) - 7% Rostered
Matchup: at SD LHP Adrian Morejon
Slater continues the deep stream theme of lefty-mashers, posting a .316/.469/.658 slash with a 200 wRC+ against southpaws last season. While he's had trouble making contact so far (53.8 K%), this is a hitter who showed strong plate discipline (15.4 BB%) with an improved strikeout rate (21.2 K%, decrease of 8.5%) last season. Morejon is a good young pitcher, but Slater has a nice upside today.
Hanser Alberto (2B/3B, RHB, KC) - 3% Rostered
Matchup: at CLE LHP Logan Allen
Alberto slashed .375/.396/.521 with a 148 wRC+ against southpaws last season. It was a similar story in 2019 where he put up a .399/.415/.537 slash with five homers. While he's hitting in the bottom-third of the Royals lineup (slotted in the eight-hole), this is another bet on platoon splits. Alberto has a chance at solid production in this matchup against a mediocre lefty in Allen.
Jordan Luplow (OF, RHB, CLE) - 0% Rostered
Matchup: vs. KC LHP Danny Duffy
Luplow is yet another deep streaming option that absolutely punishes left-handed pitching. Luplow only had 92 plate appearances in 2020, but if we look back to 2019, he slashed .320/.439/.742 with a .422 ISO and 200 wRC+ against southpaws. Luplow has hit leadoff in his two starts this season, so this is a great spot for him against Duffy, who put up a 1.60 HR/9 in 56.1 innings last year.
Pitcher Streamers for 4/5 - Shallow Leagues
Jordan Montgomery (LHP, NYY) - 42% Rostered
Matchup: vs. BAL
Montgomery disappointed fantasy baseball players with his surface stats last year, putting up a 5.11 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 44 innings, but if we look under the hood we see an intriguing pitcher. Montgomery showed strong control (4.7 BB%) with the ability to miss bats (12.9 SwStr%). He was also unlucky, as evidenced by his .320 BABIP and 65.0 LOB%. Monty goes up against an Orioles lineup that put up a 98 wRC+ (17th) against southpaws last season.
Pitcher Streamers for 4/5 - Deep Leagues
Matt Shoemaker (RHP, MIN) - 6% Rostered
Matchup: at DET
Shoemaker is one of the more injury-prone pitchers in baseball, but he's been a solid streamer when healthy. Last season, he put up a 4.71 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 14.8 K-BB% in 28.2 innings. When his splitter is working (.252 wOBA allowed in 2020), he can provide strong production. He has a great matchup against a Tigers offense that put up a 76 wRC+ (28th) and 28.2 K% (30th) against righties last season.
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