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Baseball is back, and fantasy managers in daily leagues no doubt already have holes to fill with streamers. 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 have a massive 9-game slate Thursday, and it’s an unusual one in that all but two are afternoon contests. That naturally means lineup decisions have to be made early in the day, but fortunately, there are quite a few streamable players with 30 teams taking the field. This article will use rostered percentages and position eligibility from Yahoo! leagues.
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Hitter Streamers for 4/8 - Shallow Leagues
Garrett Hampson (2B/SS/OF, COL) - 47% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Merrill Kelly
Does anyone have the need for speed? Garrett Hampson sure does after using his elite 29.1 ft/sec sprint speed to swipe three bags yesterday. On top of showcasing his excellence on the basepaths, Hampson is also showing progression at the plate by making contact in the zone at an 87.5% clip. This newfound plate discipline has translated nicely on the young season to the tune of six hits in only 20 at-bats. While he may be known for a lack of pop, the matchup keeps him in a hitter-friendly Coors Field, where anything can happen.
David Peralta (OF, ARI) - 29% rostered
Matchup: @COL RHP Jon Gray
On paper, David Peralta looks like a sub-optimal streamer, but this feels like the perfect "get-right" game. For starters, the matchup will be held in the aforementioned Coors Field. Next, Peralta squares off against right-hander Jon Gray, who looked feasible in his season opener but had a dreadful 6.69 ERA last year. Peralta's success throughout his MLB career has come by way of right-handed pitching. He has a career .866 OPS, .201 ISO, and 27% better than MLB-average hitters in terms of wRC+. Today could be his day!
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B/SS, MIA) - 23% rostered
Matchup: @NYM RHP Taijuan Walker
Jazz Chisholm is the type of player that could make a ton of noise today. He has 91st percentile sped to go along with a .439 xwOBAcon and 50% hard-hit rate. In only 20 plate appearances, Chisholm has productively swiped two bases and hit two extra-base knocks. At only 23-years old, he has a zone contact% above league-average, while having a chase rate below league-average. If all the tools come together in harmony today, it'll be sweet music to your team's ears.
Carson Kelly (C, ARI) - 22% rostered
Matchup: @COL RHP Jon Gray
Another streamer pick playing in Coors Field? Yes! Whenever there is a game at Coors you circle it and hope to grab available players. Unless you drafted one of the very few decent catchers in your draft, picking up Carson Kelly could pay huge dividends. Kelly seems to be more aggressive at the plate(53.7 swing%), specifically in the strike zone because his z-contact% is north of 93%. For perspective, the MLB-average z-contact% is 82.2%. If he doesn't get snakebitten by his low launch angle and continues to drive baseballs at the 44.4% hard-hit rate, it could be very worth the pickup.
Hitter Streamers for 4/8 - Deep Leagues
Cedric Mullins (OF, BAL) - 20% rostered
Matchup: vs. BOS LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Did you know that Cedric Mullins has a base hit in every game this year? Well, it's true, and he has 12 total hits in those six games played. The Baltimore Orioles leadoff hitter is not only making lots of contact, but 41.2% of his batted balls are over 95-mph. Mullins' early success can be seen by the decrease in ground ball hits. He draws a matchup against southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, who is coming off an entire 2020 season of documented injuries and dealing with arm issues currently. Rodriguez could be very rusty from the long layover, and Mullins is ready to take off.
Colin Moran (1B/2B/3B, PIT) - 18% rostered
Matchup: vs. CHC RHP Jake Arrieta
Colin Moran is a much stronger hitter when facing right-handed pitching. He touts a .168 ISO and 33 of his 37 career HRs have come off RHP. Additionally, he bats cleanup in the Pirates lineup, so runs and RBIs could be piling up if things go right. Already on the young 2021 season, Moran has the 97th percentile in barrel% and 94th percentile in hard-hit%. The HR and RBI potential could be a huge boost at any of his multi-eligible positions.
Justin Upton (OF, LAA) - 13% rostered
Matchup: @TOR RHP Ross Stripling
The matchup alone is a very enticing one. Ross Stripling has become a shell of his former sell from the days as a Los Angeles Dodger. The right-handed Blue Jay starter is giving up HRs at an alarming rate. Upton is stroking the ball very well already. His xwOBAcon(.406), hard-hit%(41.2%). and 47.1 fly ball rate suggests he may just be a slight tweak away from crushing HRs. The game will take play in Dunedin as well, while we don't have a ton of data to go off up, speculation is this will be a very hitter-friendly park in the hot Florida weather.
Pitcher Streamers for 4/8 - Shallow Leagues
Taijuan Walker (SP, NYM) - 30% rostered
Matchup: vs. MIA RHP Nick Neidert
Walker makes his 2021 debut today against Nick Neidert. The newly acquired Met does a decent job at inducing ground balls at a 43% clip, while also striking out 21% of batters. Last season was a tale of two halves for him. In the final six outings, Walker put up 26.1 innings pitched with a 1.37 ERA and 25 strikeouts. The incorporation of a slider paired nicely with his four-seam fastball and both pitches generated more than a 20% whiff rate. The Marlins will look to make this streamer pick obsolete but have a .294 wOBA and 89 wRC+ on the season, I am not worried about them and neither should you.
Pitcher Streamers for 4/8 - Deep Leagues
Tyler Anderson (SP, PIT) - 1% rostered
Matchup: vs. CHC RHP Jake Arrieta
Tyler Anderson is virtually unowned in many league formats, but that means many would have missed his seven strikeout performance over 5 innings pitched on Opening Day. The Chicago Cubs are a woeful bunch right now at the dish. They strike out over 28% of the time and have a 65 wRC+, simply put, they are not performing well. Anderson has a SwStr% over 11% on both his cutter and changeup. If he can keep the Cubs off-balance with changing speeds, he may be able to steal you a win.
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