Fantasy Baseball H2H Streamers – Week 10: I Dont Know Jack

I had some unique streamers last week, and I had some mixed results. What’s really sucked about the last week is all of the injuries across MLB. The worst aspect of fantasy baseball is dealing with injuries, especially when they’re piling up like they are right now. There’s always a month like this every year, but it’s important to hold things together and ride some streamers to make up for those absences. With that in mind, let’s look at the favorable schedule and then get into those streamers!

Favorable Team Matchups

7 Games

Baltimore Orioles (vs. TB, vs. TOR)

Chicago White Sox (vs. MIN, vs. DET)

Houston Astros (at TEX, vs. MIL)

Minnesota Twins (at CWS, at PIT)

Texas Rangers (vs. HOU, vs. KC)

Toronto Blue Jays (vs. MIA, at BAL)

6 Games

Cleveland Guardians (vs. WAS, vs. BOS)

Detroit Tigers (vs. LAA, at CWS)

Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. COL, vs. PHI)

New York Yankees (at KC, at ATH)

San Francisco Giants (vs. ARI, at COL)

Seattle Mariners (at ATH, vs. ARI)

Tampa Bay Rays (at BAL, vs. LAA)

Pitching Streamers

Jack Flaherty, DET (vs. LAA)

I’m embarrassed to say this, but I was actually bullish on Flaherty coming into the year. That has been a horrific call thus far, but now that he’s on numerous waiver wires, this is a good week to go back to him as one of our streamers. What’s encouraging is that we’re seeing some good strikeout stuff from Flaherty over recent weeks, posting an 11.5 K/9 rate across his last four starts. That’s encouraging since Flaherty has a 3.78 career xFIP to go along with a 10.3 K/9 rate. That sort of strikeout stuff makes him one of the best streamers of the week simply due to this matchup. The Angels had the worst K rate in the league last season, and they’re sitting there once again this year. Not to mention, Flaherty has a 4.11 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 rate at home over the last three years. In his last two starts against them, Flaherty has 15 Ks across 11.1 innings. This is also a sneaky pickup for next week because he has two starts in pitcher’s parks against the Mariners and Rays!

Streamonator Valuation: $22.7

Merrill Kelly, ARI (at SF, at SEA)

If you could make two starts as a pitcher in two parks, these are the two ballparks you would choose. Citi Field is the only other one that it’s contention with these two, because San Fran and Seattle are two of the best pitcher’s parks in the sport. Those spacious ballparks are one impactful variable, but these lineups are far from scary. The Giants rank 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP and xwOBA, while the Mariners sit 20th in runs scored and 25th in K rate. You might be concerned to see Kelly’s 5.71 ERA, but he’s got a 2.05 ERA and 0.82 WHIP across his last three starts. The recent surge should continue when examining Kelly’s career norms, collecting a 3.84 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across over 1,000 career innings. Not to mention, Kelly has surrendered three runs or fewer in five straight matchups with San Fran.

Streamonator Valuation: $27.8

Zebby Matthews, MIN (at CWS, vs. PIT)

The fantasy community is really excited about Zebby, and we’ll ride him as one of our streamers this week. The numbers speak for themselves, with Matthews maintaining a 1.38 ERA and 0.77 WHIP through two starts this season. It’s a tiny sample size, but Matthews had a 3.09 ERA and 1.04 WHIP throughout his minor league career. The stuff has been there for Matthews to become a fixture in this rotation, and these two matchups this week should keep him right on track. While these two teams have been pleasant surprises this season, they still possess two of the weaker lineups in baseball. In fact, both of these teams were bottom three in runs scored and xwOBA last season.

Streamonator Valuation: $-9.7

Ben Brown, CHC (at PIT)

We’ve always wanted to see what Brown could do in a starting role, and we’re finally getting that opportunity. This former reliever has a 1.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 rate since struggling in the opener. Most of that has been out of the pen, but Brown has a 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 11.1 K/9 rate across his last three starts. Seeing him get to 82 pitches in his most recent outing is a promising sign as well because he’s nearly ready for a full workload. We already talked about how Pittsburgh’s lineup is worse than the numbers would indicate, with the Pirates ranked 23rd in K rate. Brown has also had success against them throughout his career, compiling a 1.74 ERA and 13.9 K/9 rate in 10.1 innings against them.

Streamonator Valuation: $-1.4

Jared Jones, PIT (vs. MIN)

This is probably the last time Jones will be on any waiver wires, so we’ll recommend him as one of our streamers. It’s not exactly clear when Jones is expected to make his return from Tommy John surgery, but this looks like the spot. This righty has been outstanding throughout his minor league rehab assignment, accruing a 1.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 rate across four starts. That’s why Pittsburgh has called him up to Triple-A for one final tune-up start, especially since his pitch count is creeping up to a full workload. This guy flashed some moments of brilliance before the injury, too, tallying a 4.14 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 rate in his rookie season. The matchup with Minnesota is the ideal landing spot, with the Twins ranked 23rd in xwOBA while losing their three-hole hitter to the IL last week.

Streamonator Valuation: $NA

Hitting Streamers

Ezequiel Duran, TEX (vs. KOU, vs. KC)

This guy always seems to have one or two months each season when he looks like a must-roster player. That’s all we’re really looking for from one of our streamers, with Duran hitting fifth for the Rangers every day right now. That promotion in the lineup is no surprise when looking at his statistics, with Duran amassing a .295 AVG and .840 OPS this year. He’s also got a .379 OBP and .923 OPS across his last 26 outings. One of the most underrated aspects of adding Duran is his position eligibility, with Duran eligible at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS and OF on Yahoo. The icing on the cake is this sensational schedule, with Texas playing seven home games this week against Houston and KC. The Astros are dead last in ERA and WHIP, while the Royals are missing their ace.

Sam Antonacci, CWS (vs. MIN, vs. DET)

I don’t understand why fantasy managers are sleeping on this guy. Antonacci was one of the top prospects in baseball, and he’s been playing like it since his call-up. This speedster has been the everyday leadoff hitter for the ChiSox over the last month, providing a .398 OBP and .963 OPS across his last 28 games. We saw even better numbers at the minors, with Antonacci accumulating a .444 OBP and .861 OPS while recording 60 steals across 153 games played. This guy could literally lead the league in steals over the next month, and he’s still sitting on over 60 percent of the waiver wires on Yahoo. We also love that he has seven games this week against two pitching staffs that don’t scare us at all.

SAGNOF (Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face)

Steals Specialists

Jose Fernandez (ARI)

RIP to the goat Jose Fernandez from the Marlins, but this guy isn’t too bad either. This Fernandez is hitting .283 this season and has recorded four steals over his last eight outings.

Jose Caballero (NYY)

Caballero was dropped in some leagues due to his IL placement, but he needs to be picked up in any roto league. He should be back in the next week and has 132 career steals across 410 games.

Saves Specialists

Grant Taylor (CWS)

Taylor is the most talented pitcher in this ChiSox pen, and he was rewarded with a save a few days ago. Seranthony Dominguez was available in that game, so we might be seeing a change at closer. Taylor has a 1.78 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 13.5 K/9 rate so far this year.

Gregory Soto (PIT)

Soto might’ve stolen the closer’s gig from Dennis Santana. This lefty has a 2.31 ERA and 0.81 WHIP while picking up three saves over his last six appearances.

Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions! Also, feel free to check out my Waiver Wire article from yesterday!