RADIO
There are plenty of strategies that fantasy managers explore in hopes to get an advantage over their opponent. Heavy lineup, heavy starting pitchers, no catcher, all (or mostly) reliever staff, no reliever staff, etc. Even if you play a balanced lineup, injuries can cause holes. A few weeks without a key player won’t kill a season, but why accept losing when you can stream?
Streaming can be a risky business. If you do it right and check the necessary boxes, you can win the week. This column will do most of the work for you. It’ll cover weekly recommendations for when you need: steals, home runs, average, strikeouts, wins, and/or ratios (ERA/WHIP).
All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! Fantasy leagues.
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Steals – Head-to-Head Category Streamers
Jarrod Dyson (OF, ARI) - 4% Owned
Dyson has quietly been effective when in the lineup for the Diamondbacks. He’s sporting a .291 batting average and .400 on-base percentage on the year with seven steals. Four of the seven have been in the past week, swiping two against the Braves and two against the Rockies. Dyson only managed 202 at-bats in 2018, but still stole 16 bases. When he’s in the lineup and on base, he’s looking to steal. You’ll have to make sure he’s in the lineup before adding him, but he’s worth it if you’re chasing steals.
Amed Rosario (SS, NYM) - 46% Owned
Unlike Dyson, Rosario plays most every day at shortstop for the Mets. He’s been bouncing around the lineup a bit, batting second but also seventh and eighth on occasion. Over the past two weeks, he’s been hot, hitting .313 with an on-base percentage of .340 and two steals. His four steals on the season aren’t representative of the ability here, considering he nabbed 24 last season. With the lineup somewhat sputtering, now would be a good time for him to get running.
Home Runs – Head-to-Head Category Streamers
Hunter Renfroe (OF, SD) - 33% Owned
Those who preached about Renfroe’s power were disappointed early this season, but he’s recently woken up with three homers in his last four games. He’s boosted his season slash to .250/.296/.610 with nine home runs over 100 at-bats. This puts him on pace for 36 homers if we assume the same 400 at-bats from the past two seasons each. That seems far-fetched considering there’s still a bit of a jam for playing time in San Diego, but it would be wise to use him while he’s hot. The majority of his home runs have come against righties (.256/.310/.615 with seven homers), but not far off from his numbers against lefties (.227/.250/.591 with two homers).
C.J. Cron (1B, MIN) - 19% Owned
Cron doesn’t boast a great batting average, but he’s in the lineup nearly every day and is one of the better bets to go deep. In a career-high 501 at-bats in 2018, Cron hit 30 homers. He’s certainly on pace to beat that this year, with a slash of.234/.294/.458 with seven home runs in 107 at-bats. What’s more interesting is his two home runs in only 13 at-bats against lefties. He lines up to see at least two lefties next week. As a whole staff, the Angels and Mariners are fourth and fifth, respectively, in home runs allowed this season. That should play well for Cron’s power this week.
Batting Average – Head-to-Head Category Streamers
Jake Bauers (1B/OF, CLE) – 19% Owned
After a rocky start to his major league career, Bauers has been heating up. He’s hitting .333 over the past two weeks with an on-base percentage of .375. He’ll take his hot hitting into a week that is as good as a layup, as he’ll face the White Sox and Orioles pitching. These two staffs are ranked as the first and third worst in batting average against this season. Bauers has reverse splits and has hit lefties (.281/.324/.438) better than righties (.247/.344/.351) this season.
Jorge Soler (OF, KC) - 36% Owned
Soler is another bat benefitting from dreamy pitching matchups. The Royals will face the Rangers and Angels who rank second and twelfth in batting average against. Like Bauers, Soler has been red-hot lately hitting .306 with nine runs, three homers, and nine RBI over the past two weeks. The best bet for hits is to ride the hot hand until it goes cold. Soler may end up closer to a .250 batting average by the end of the season, but he should keep your batting average up this week. He’s much better against lefties (.325/.349/.550) than righties (.229/.287/.495) this season.
Strikeouts – Head-to-Head Category Streamers
Lucas Giolito (SP, CWS) – 13% Owned
2018 wasn’t kind to Giolito, as he posted a 6.13 ERA over 173 1/3 innings. However, he’s showing signs that he is worth a hard look in favorable matchups. The number that immediately jumps off the page from last year is his much-improved strikeout rate that currently sits at 29.2%, up from just 16.1% in 2018. He has had some good matchups but he also struck out eight Indians and seven Red Sox in his last two starts. Next up is a Toronto lineup that is fifth-worst in strikeouts and runs scored this year.
Brandon Woodruff (SP/RP, MIL) – 39% Owned
The hype on Woodruff is rising after his nine strikeout and one run performance over six innings against Washington on Wednesday. His ERA currently sits at a mediocre 4.25 but he has also managed a great strikeout rate of 29.7 percent so far. The ERA can be justified by looking at his game log so far, which is full of strong offenses including the Cardinals (twice), Cubs, Dodgers, and Mets (twice). He’s posted at least five strikeouts in every game he’s pitched. He’ll get a good Phillies lineup next week, but as we mentioned, strikeouts haven’t been lacking even against strong teams.
Wins - Head-to-Head Category Streamers
Chris Bassitt (SP, OAK) - 41% Owned
If you streamed Bassitt last week, you didn’t get a win, but you got a great performance, as he threw 7 2/3 innings of three-run ball with nine strikeouts. Unfortunately, the A’s couldn’t give him any run support, which will be hard to duplicate against the Tigers this week. With a strong lineup behind him and facing Detroit’s last-in-the-league in run scoring lineup, he should chalk up a win in this one and keep ratios low.
Wade Miley (SP, HOU) - 22% Owned
I know its Wade Miley, but he’s criminally under-owned right now. He doesn’t strike out a ton of batters (30 in 45 1/3 innings) but he has upheld a very nice 3.18 ERA so far this year. As we all know, the best way to revamp a pitchers career is a one-way ticket to Houston. He doesn’t quite have the underlying numbers to make him more than a streamer (4.32 FIP and 4.62 SIERA), but he’s a solid option in a landscape of brutal pitching this year. He’ll also get to face off against a miserable Tigers lineup (see above) and is backed by one of the most dangerous lineups in the game. That’s a win.
ERA/WHIP - Head-to-Head Category Streamers
Aaron Sanchez (SP, TOR) - 32% Owned
He’s back again because fantasy owners refuse to hang on to him despite a gem against a strong Twins lineup his last time out. He allowed three earned runs and struck out six over seven innings. It’s easy to forget that Sanchez was a low-three ERA pitcher in 2015 and 2016. Mainly because of recurring injuries and blisters that derailed his past two seasons. When healthy, this guy can deal. The White Sox have a solid batting average this season, but they rank only 21st in runs scored against righties. They also have a lineup of guys that strikes out the eighth most in the league this year. Bet on Sanchez to keep rolling.
Merrill Kelly (SP, ARI) – 10% Owned
The riskiest play of the bunch. Kelly has a few clunkers on his resume this year, but has also shown some shine, specifically against the Red Sox (8 IP, 9 K’s, 1 ER) and Pirates (7 IP, 5 K’s, 2 ER). This stream is based mainly on a matchup against the Giants who are 25th in runs scored this year with a .223/.284/.368 slash against righties this season. For a 10% owned pitcher, Kelly should return a nice start at no cost.
More Streamers and Head-to-Head League Columns
