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Fantasy managers in daily leagues no doubt 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's slate kicks off at 1:10pm ET, but our first selection comes into play in the mid-afternoon Padres-Diamondbacks tilt. We have a couple of solid high-upside hitters in matchups against big-name starters in today's suggestions, as well as a quartet of rookies, including two pitchers, that stand poised to make an impact in their respective matchups.
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!Roster percentages referenced are from Yahoo! leagues.
Hitter Streamers for 9/1 - Shallow Leagues
Luis Urias (2B/3B/SS, MIL) - 35% rostered
Matchup: vs. SF RHP Kevin Gausman
Urias doesn't have the most appealing of matchups on paper by any means against Gausman, but the slugging infielder, who's enjoying a career season, brings too much power upside to the table not to consider him. Urias has belted an impressive 41 of his 98 hits on the season for extra bases, and 33 of those, including 14 homers, have come off right-handed pitching. He's also particularly thrived against that handedness on the road, where he owns a .274 average, .848 OPS and .359 wOBA against righties, along with an impressive 28.5 percent line-drive rate and 40.7 percent hard-contact rate. Gausman has been tough on right-handed bats, but he's started to allow more impactful contact as the season has gone on, yielding an elevated 28.5 percent line-drive rate in August.
Andrew Vaughn (1B/OF, CWS) - 31% rostered
Matchup: vs. PIT RHP Max Kranick
Kranick had significant issues with big-league bats during his initial big-league tenure earlier in the season, pitching to a 7.20 ERA and 1.70 WHIP across five starts. He's now drawing the proverbial short straw in his return, as he'll have to face off with the White Sox on the road. Vaughn is one of the few lower-rostered Chicago bats that could well be on your league's wire head of Wednesday's matchup, and he makes for a viable consideration. The rookie continues to have some ups and downs after making the leap from High-A ball to the majors, but he owns an impressive 25.0 percent line-drive rate and 39.4 percent hard-contact rate against right-handed pitching at home. Kranick was hit hard by both handedness of hitter when he was up earlier in the season and surrendered a .302 average and .383 wOBA to right-handed hitters specifically.
Randal Grichuk (OF, TOR) -57% rostered
Matchup: vs. BAL RHP Matt Harvey
Grichuk can be a bit of a boom-or-bust option at times due to his abysmal .279 on-base percentage, but his 43 extra-base hits, which include 21 homers, speak to his power upside. The veteran slugger has a good statistical matchup on tap Wednesday versus Orioles starter Matt Harvey, who's yielded a .325 average, .869 OPS and .373 wOBA to right-handed hitters on the season. Harvey is also coming off a rough month of August where he surrendered a 6.12 ERA, .354 wOBA and 5.09 xFIP across 25.0 innings, and once he exits, Grichuk will also get a crack at a Baltimore bullpen that pitched to an MLB-worst 7.69 ERA and AL-high .363 wOBA in August.
David Peralta (OF, ARI) - 21% rostered
Matchup: vs. SDP RHP Yu Darvish
Peralta has shaken off the presumably tough matchup against Darvish on numerous occasions in the past, hitting .350 with three homers and only three strikeouts against the right-hander in 22 career plate appearances. The veteran outfielder is also enjoying another solid year against right-handed pitching at home, producing a .268 average, .783 OPS and .339 wOBA in that split while striking out at just a 15.5 percent clip. What's more, Peralta is coming off his best all-around month at the plate, as he slashed .324/.343/.441 in August. Meanwhile, Darvish has seen a notable dip in strikeout rate against right-handed hitters on the road (7.9 K/9) and has arguably been the beneficiary of some good fortune when considering the contrast between the .213 BABIP and the 4.51 xFIP that are part of that split.
Hitter Streamers for 9/1 - Deeper Leagues
Michael Taylor (OF, KC) - 6% rostered
Matchup: vs. CLE LHP Logan Allen
Taylor has enjoyed his matchups versus left-handed pitching this season, posting a .282 average against southpaws overall, along with a .759 OPS and .329 wOBA versus that handedness at home. Taylor is coming off his best month average-wise in August, when he hit .272, and he has a highly favorable matchup on paper to start the game versus Allen. The young southpaw has had a nightmare of a season, and he's allowed a .374 wOBA to the 100 right-handed hitters he's faced, as well as a .313 average to the small sample of 18 such bats he's faced on the road.
Darin Ruf (1B/OF, SFG) - 3% rostered
Matchup: vs. MIL LHP Brett Anderson
Ruf is likely to be in the lineup Wednesday with a southpaw in Anderson getting the start for the Brewers. The veteran outfielder has always hit left-handed pitching well and boasts a .272 average, 1.001 OPS and massive .416 wOBA against that handedness this season, along with a 165 wRC+. He's already enjoyed some success versus Anderson in his career as well, and the Brewers starter has allowed a .270 average and .326 wOBA to right-handed hitters on the road, along with a 41.1 percent hard-contact rate.
Willians Astudillo (C/1B/3B, MIN) - 2% rostered
Matchup: vs. CHC LHP Justin Steele
Astudillo projects to be in the lineup Wednesday versus the rookie lefty Steele, who's already allowed five home runs to right-handed hitters, along with a .286 average and .358 wOBA to that handedness on the road. For his part, Astudillo is enjoying a particularly successful season against left-handed pitching, postng a .290 average, .802 OPS and .340 wOBA in that split. Astudillo has also been a solid performer against Steele's trademark four-seam fastball in his career, generating a .301 average, .797 OPS and .337 wOBA against that offering.
Jake Meyers (OF, HOU)- 16% rostered
Matchup: @ SEA RHP Logan Gilbert
Meyers has hit the ground running in his MLB career, slashing .316/.338/.500 across his first 80 plate appearances. The 25-year-old has been enjoying an everyday role with Chas McCormick (hand) on the injured list, and he'll get a crack at a fellow promising (but currently struggling) prospect in Logan Gilbert on Wednesday. Gilbert has pitched to a 13.50 ERA and 2.13 WHIP across his last three starts, and he's given up multiple earned runs in eight consecutive turns overall. Gilbert has given up a .341 wOBA and nine of 13 homers on the season to right-handed hitters, while Meyers has already forged a .304 average, .925 OPS and .394 wOBA against right-handed pitching on the road over a modest sample, and a .372 wOBA on the road overall.
ALSO CONSIDER: Abraham Toro (2B, 3B, SEA) - 18% rostered
Pitcher Streamers for 9/1 - Shallow Leagues
James Kaprielian (SP, OAK) - 55% rostered
Matchup:@ DET RHP Wily Peralta
Kaprielian is in the midst of an impressive rookie campaign that's seen him generate a 7-4 record, solid 3.65 ERA and 9.1 K/9. He has had a bit more trouble on the road than at home, but his elevated 4.93 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in that split are primarily due to one poor outing against the Padres on July 27. The right-hander also has a premium matchup awaiting Wednesday, as the Tigers finished August with a .199/.244/.312 slash line, MLB-worst -22.9 wRAA and AL-low .243 wOBA against right-handed pitching at home.
ALSO CONSIDER: Steven Matz (SP, TOR) - 57% rostered
Pitcher Streamers for 9/1 - Deeper Leagues
Joe Ryan (SP, MIN) - 12% rostered
Matchup: vs. CHC LHP Justin Steele
We'll roll the dice a bit here with Ryan, who'll be making his major-league debut Wednesday after posting a solid 3.41 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 92 strikeouts over 66 innings at the Triple-A level with the Rays and Twins organizations this season. As the latter number indicates, Ryan has outstanding swing-and-miss stuff, which could play very well against a Cubs squad that produced an MLB-high 30.5 percent strikeout rate against right-handed pitching in August, along with a .237 average, .290 OBP, -13.4 wRAA and .292 wOBA. Ryan may not go more than five innings, but with a lack of trustworthy deep-league pitching options available Wednesday, his upside makes him worth a shot.
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