Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Wednesday, August 2nd.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- The Rest of the Fallout
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. The Rest of the Fallout
The final day of the trade deadline was busy this year. Some of these affect us streaming folk. Behold:
- Dodgers acquire Yu Darvish (irrelevant, except that some decent guys like Brock Stewart lose starts) and Tony Watson (irrelevant) and Tony Cingrini (Scott Van Slyke may play some in Cincinnati)
- Yankees acquire Sonny Gray (Montgomery may lose starts)
- Nationals acquire Brandon Kintzler (wither Sean Doolittle, look at Taylor Rogers and Matt Belisle)
- Red Sox acquire Addison Reed (A.J. Ramos regains job)
- Astros make bad swap for Francisco Liriano (Teoscar Hernandez has path to playing time in Toronto)
- Pirates acquire Joaquin Benoit (long shot for a couple saves)
- Indians acquire Joe Smith (irrelevant)
- Orioles acquire Tim Beckham (some very fringy streaming implications for Baltimore)
- DBack acquire David Hernandez (might become primary setup reliever)
- Brewers acquire Jeremy Jeffress (change of scenery candidate?)
Those are just the deals since I posted yesterday's column. We discussed a few more there. Overall, the biggest impact of the deadline was a closer merry-go-round. Meanwhile, the Astros lost Lance McCullers for a couple weeks, opening the door for Brad Peacock. The Mets promoted Amed Rosario.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
There's a small chance for rain in San Diego this evening. The weather looks like it should be friendly again tomorrow.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Wednesday, August 2
Pitchers to Use
The Dodgers are calling upon Brock Stewart for another start. The righty has promise thanks to swing-and-miss stuff, but opportunities are few and far between. He should receive plenty of run support opposite a mediocre Braves club. He has the potential to supply a quality start, win, and six strikeouts.
After initially struggling early in the season, Trevor Williams has settled in as a surprisingly decent pitcher. The righty won't offer big strikeout totals, but he does induce plenty of ground balls and soft contact. In many ways, he's a poor man's Zack Godley. Williams is set to host the Reds at pitcher friendly PNC Park.
Other Targets: Brent Suter, J.C. Ramirez
Pitchers to Exploit
There is no shortage of exploitable pitchers on the docket tomorrow. Julio Teheran may have a hard go of it versus a rather left-handed Dodgers offense. He has ugly splits versus lefties, including 5.80 K/9 and 4.87 BB/9. The overall results have benefited from a lucky .243 BABIP. He's homer prone to both righties and lefties.
Other Targets: Jordan Zimmermann, J.A. Happ, Derek Holland, Luis Perdomo, Trevor Bauer, Jeremy Hellickson, Robert Stephenson, Vance Worley, Julio Teheran, Andrew Cashner, Ariel Miranda, Austin Pruitt, Chris Flexen, Tyler Chatwood, Jake Thompson, Daniel Gossett, Matt Moore
Homers on the Wire
Derek Fisher is the real deal. He's hitting for power and average while showing off good plate discipline - .317/.404/.610. Find a place for him on a permanent basis. He's opposed by Pruitt. Consider Marwin Gonzalez, Yuli Gurriel, and Carlos Beltran too.
Although Matt Davidson's platoon splits have regressed, he still remains a better slugger versus left-handed pitching. His opponent, J.A. Happ, has been extremely homer prone this season.
Other Targets: Jim Adduci, Steve Pearce, Max Kepler, Robbie Grossman, Mitch Moreland, Brandon Moss, Josh Bell, Brian Goodwin, Matt Adams, Carlos Gomez, Mike Napoli, Paul DeJong, Wilmer Flores, Tommy Joseph, Nick Williams, Freddy Galvis, Aaron Altherr, Jed Lowrie
Steals on the Wire
I recommended Kevin Pillar and Leury Garcia yesterday due to good matchups against bad catchers. Those matchups remain intact for tomorrow. Add Tim Anderson to the list too.
Delino DeShields generally starts against left-handed pitchers. One of Shin-Soo Choo or Nomar Mazara will have an off day. DeShields is a decent hitter with a few too many whiffs to make his profile work as a must-start outfielder. However, his steal rate - 19 swipes in 242 plate appearances - is among the best in the league.
Other Targets: Wilmer Difo, Jarrod Dyson, Jose Reyes
Skill Positions
Need a catcher? Try Robinson Chirinos. Need to reach deeper? Consider Andrew Knapp. He's not very good, but he can hit a little.
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