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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 15-game slate Thursday, and it’s an unusual one in that there is a double-header. That naturally means lineup decisions have to be made early in the day. 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 4/28 - Shallow Leagues
Paul DeJong (SS, STL) -49% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Vince Velasquez
Anytime you're searching for a streamer, you need to take a step back from the surface stats. And in DeJong's case, you really have to look past the surface stats. His slash line of .179/.289/.372 leaves a bad taste in anyone's mouth. Fear not; however, DeJong could be ready for a breakout game ahead of him.
One reason to consider DeJong is his loud quality of contact. Barrel% is one of the best metrics when looking for HR potential. Basically, it is an optimal batted ball event that has a strong correlation with dingers. DeJong's barrel% is 14%, while the MLB average is around 6.4%. Another statcast metric that jumps off the page is DeJong's .440 xwOBAcon, which is nearly 80 points higher than league-average.
Lastly, DeJong is a bit of a reverse-splits hitter. While DeJong is a right-handed hitter, his success at the plate is against RHP instead of LHP. During DeJong's 1323 career at-bats, his ISO(.212) and wRC+(109) are higher than when he faces right-handed pitchers.
Adolis Garcia (OF, TEX) - 43% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Alex Cobb
A little background on Adolis Garcia, he is a late-blooming prospect that went off in 2019. In 529 triple-A at-bats, he posted a 32 HR season with 192 runs+RBI while stealing 14 bases. The kid can do quite a bit of everything; we just may not have been able to see much of it in 2020.
Adolis sneaks past his strikeout issues(30.9% K-rate) because of the powerful quality of contact. In only 52 at-bats, Adolis has 14 hits with five long balls. This production stems from a massive 22% barrel rate and .512 xwOBAcon. The unexpected production boosted the number of leagues rostered by nearly over 50%. Sadly, this could be the last week we see Adolis Garcia in a streamer column.
Austin Riley (3B/OF, ATL) - 41% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks
Austin Riley was off to a horrendous start on the year. His 106 wRC+ and only four RBI in 80 at-bats are nowhere near the production expected. The reason for Riley's underwhelming stats is due to the poor plate discipline. Take a glance at the chart below.
In the last seven games, you can see that Riley stopped chasing pitches outside the zone, and an immediate result is a spike in Riley's wRC+. In that timeframe, Riley is 6-for-18 with a .722 SLG% and 1.222 OPS. Did the switch turn on? Is Riley about to break out? The answer looks like yes, and while the matchup vs. Hendricks might seem like a tough one, given his ability to limit hard contact. Hendricks has struggled mightily, and it could be another day to pick on him with streaming options.
Kolton Wong (2B, MIL) - 28% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara
For a league with OBP instead of AVG, Kolton Wong is a super streamer. His plate discipline is better than ever in 2021. He touts a healthy 13.6 walk rate, to go with a low 13.6% K-rate. This boosts his slash line to .333/.445/.500 in 44 plate appearances.
Wong is also back from a brief 10-day IL stint and back atop the Brewers lineup. Besides sitting out last night's games, Wong had collected two hits in each of the previous four games. This should make him a likely candidate to produce any runs on the day. Also, Wong has swiped a pair of bases on the young season. So a potential SB is always in the cards!
Hitter Streamers for 4/28 - Deep Leagues
Nico Hoerner (2B/3B/SS, CHC) - 14% rostered
Matchup: @ RHP Huascar Ynoa
Nico Hoerner is already rostered at 14% in leagues, which seems pretty high considering he has only played in six games. The main reason fantasy owners are flocking to Hoerner is his speed and batting average. He sits with the 85th percentile in sprint speed and seven hits in 18 at-bats. The power might be a little light for Hoerner but finding someone you can plug into so many positions and have such a unique profile is rare to find on the waiver wire.
Jordan Luplow (OF, CLE) - 11% rostered
Matchup: vs. LHP J.A. Happ
Luplow looks like he is on the verge of a breakout in 2021. Cleveland used Luplow mainly as a platoon hitter against southpaws only. But in 2021, he has stepped up his game vs. RHP. In 22 AB vs. RHP, Luplow has six extra-base hits, with three being HRs. There is thunder in his bat, but it can come with a quiet batting average.
Cleveland also loves to stick Luplow near the top of the batting order. As I mentioned, his batting average may not be steady, but he can draw walks. Why is that beneficial? Because he would be the base paths ahead of proven sluggers like Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes. Great chance for runs and maybe a dinger for tonight!
Pavin Smith (1B/OF, ARI) - 9% rostered
Matchup: vs. LHP Ryan Weathers
Pavin Smith is a contact machine. He boasts a 93% zone-contact rate with a massive 57.7% hard-hit rate. When you put those two metrics together, it's not hard to see why he is slashing .271/.311/.457 with a pair of HRs. It could get even better; he showcases double-digit walk rates throughout his time in the MiLB.
His matchup is against southpaw Ryan Weathers, who is an unproven arm tossed into the Padres rotation. People may be scared off by his 0.59 ERA, but he overperformed a bit. His 3.71 xERA and 3.03 FIP agree that he is good but not untouchable. Weathers like to attack the zone and get ahead in the count. A free-swinger like Pavin should be able to collect a couple of hits tonight. And let's hope he does something big with them!
Pitcher Streamers for 4/28 - Shallow Leagues
Alex Wood (SP, SFG) - 15% rostered
Matchup: vs. HOU RHP German Marquez
The matchup is a very enticing place to start for Alex Wood. Any SP making a start against the Rockies outside of Coors Field get a massive up in value. The Rockies are one of the poorest hitting teams in the MLB. They have a 101 wRC+ vs. LHP, but an 80 wRC+ vs. LHP at home. Yes, not being in Coors Field hinders them that much.
Beyond the great matchup, Wood also has the slider working in 2021. The pitch has picked up four inches of vertical movement with 2 inches of horizontal drop. The added movement profile to his best knockout pitch has resulted in a whiff% increase. Batters have a -60 wRC+ vs. the slider, and when they make contact, it's usually in the dirt(78.6 GB%).
The new-look slider and the rest of his arsenal produce a 0.75 ERA, with a 25% K-BB rate. Start him wherever you can: great matchup and tangible change that is creating success!
Pitcher Streamers for 4/28 - Deep Leagues
Nick Pivetta (SP, BOS) - 8% rostered
Matchup: @ NYM Jacob deGrom
Yes, I think you should consider Nick Pivetta in deeper leagues. *ducks* But seriously, let's state the elephant in the room-he walks too many batters(16% BB-rate). There, I said it. Once you get past the fact that Pivetta can walk too many, there is quite a bit to like for today's streamer pick.
I can look past the gaudy walk rate because he doesn't give up a lot of bad contact. His barrel% is under 6%, which is lower than the league average. But for Pivetta to be successful today, the main components will be the breaking balls. Both have a wRC+ below 100 but also get thrown for balls quite often.
The New York Mets have been a middle-of-the-pack offense vs. RHP. The biggest problem is they have a 47% groundball rate, fourth-worst among all MLB teams. Only two teams have a worse ISO vs. RHP than the Mets. Pivetta needs to let the Mets beat the ball into the ground and limit the walks for a decent outing.
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