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By now, most of the H2H leagues have come to a conclusion. Congrats if you were able to walk away a champion, enjoy the bragging rights. If you weren’t so fortunate, better luck next year. There are still some leagues finishing up with their championship this week, so this post is geared for them. Hopefully I can help you pick up some streamers to edge out the pitching categories. And if not, at least you have someone else to blame. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my posts this season, I appreciate all the support and feedback!

So here we are, one last week to make a push to bring home the hardware. Similar to last week, I have included my favorite streamer for each day of the remainder of the matchup. All of these pitchers are owned in 30% or less of ESPN leagues.

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If you are reading this, it most likely means you made it through another matchup and are in the semi-finals or championship. No time to celebrate though, as we must focus on bringing home the hardware. A wise man once said streaming pitchers is like playing with fire. If that is the case, streaming pitchers in the playoffs is like playing with fire in a suit soaked in gasoline and gunpowder. But you gotta risk it for the biscuit!

Below are my favorite streamers for each remaining day of the week that are 40% owned or less on ESPN:

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It doesn’t get much better than this folks. While everyone else is looking forward to fantasy football around the corner, the real fantasy all-stars are trying to grind out a fantasy baseball championship. For better or worse, your entire season comes down to a few critical matchups. That’s right, playoff Manaea is in full swing!

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With one week left in the regular season for most H2H leagues (20 regular season matchups) you most likely know if you will be making a championship push in the playoffs, or if you came up short. If you are still reading these at this point in the year, I’m assuming your team is still alive. So let’s make one last push this week if you are on the bubble, or let’s starting thinking about next week if you have a spot secured.

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It’s only appropriate to start with the man this article Happ-ens to be named after. In his 16 games since being called up by the Cubs, Ian Happ (OF/3B, 9.8% owned in ESPN) has slashed .300/.391/.650. He has recorded 4 homers and 2 doubles while scoring 9 runs and knocking in 11. Perhaps most importantly, Happ has struck out just 10 times through his 46 PA. That comes out to a 21.7% K rate, so the “just” may seem a little generous. Which it is. But when you consider he struck out in 36.1% of his 462 PA last season, the 21.7% seems much more bearable.

Time will tell if his strikeouts will creep back up as he records more at-bats, but Happ is someone worth taking a shot on. Though he has always been known for striking out at a high rate, he also has continued to walk at a very healthy rate. His 13% walk rate is right in line with his 12.5% mark, and he gets a slight boost in OBP leagues. Though a limited sample size and impossible to remain so high, Happ’s .350 ISO, .425 wOBA, and 164 wRC+ are certainly encouraging. He hits in one of baseball’s best lineups, so there should be plenty of opportunities to generate runs for Happ. He could be a great addition to fantasy squads looking to add a bat down the stretch.

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What a year it has been for rookies. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing some absolute studs make their much anticipated MLB debuts thus season. This is truly one of the special rookie classes, and they have not disappointed. In a star-studded year, there have been several rookies that have flown under the radar. Below […]

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At this stage of the game, there are not too many consistent fantasy relevant pitchers sitting out there on the wire. There are plenty of guys to stream based on matchups, but then again that can be like playing with fire. Streaming is a huge part of H2H leagues since your ERA essentially resets after every week. So I’ve always been a fan of streaming pitchers with my last one or two roster spots. Sometimes you’ll get the occasional guy that impresses and sticks as a member of your rotation. Below are some guys I’ve added over the past week or two that can stick and be a viable option to finish the year. Based off ESPN and Yahoo ownership percentages I’ve labeled one as “Should Be Owned” already in your league, one as “Could Be Owned” in your league, and one that likely “Will Be Owned” in your league.

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Okay perhaps this one is more wishful thinking, but I really think Andrew Benintendi (2019 stats: .266/.358/.452 with 8 HR, 47 R, 43 RBI, and 9 SB through 404 PA) is bound to turn his season around soon. This one isn’t a case where his metrics suggest positive regression. In fact, his .339 BABIP is higher than his .323 mark. His .240 xBA suggests that based off his quality of contact, his .267 BA is actually higher than it should be. Benintendi’s strike out rate (+7.3%) and swinging strike rate (+4%) are significantly higher than last year’s marks. Oh right, I’m supposed to be convincing you why you should be buying him. I include these stats because like I said, this is more of a gut feeling than something backed by Statcast metrics or batted ball data. We have seen Benintendi perform at an outstanding level, and this isn’t it.

One thing that does stick out in his batted ball data is that he is making hard contact (34.5%) on batted balls 6.5% more than last season. This, combined with a career high fly ball rate of 45.6% should hopefully mean more extra base hits are to come. While his 8 home runs certainly aren’t very impressive, his 25 doubles are tied for 14th most in the league. His 4 triples are tied for 15th most among major league hitters. It is encouraging to see Benintendi’s 10.4% walk rate in line with his career mark, so we know he is still seeing the ball well. He hits in an extremely potent offense, so Benny should see lots RISP opportunities. He can be bought pretty cheaply, and he has shown in his career that he is a solid source of pop and speed. Going 10/10 the rest of the way is certainly not out of the question. ZiPS ROS: .278/.358/.452 with 6 HR, 33 R, 32 RBI, and 7 SB through 248 PA 

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Blake Snell (Rays, 1st Half stats: 5-7 with 4.55 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 126 K:33 BB, and 3.31 xFIP through 95 IP, 19 GS) is a reigning Cy Young award winner and likely a 2nd/3rd round pick in your fantasy drafts. And it is true that he has been coming along in in past few starts, allowing 4 ER while posting 21K:4 BB in his last 16 IP. However, his numbers on the season are still pretty gross if we’re being honest and there are lots of frustrated owners that may want to cut ties with Snell. You may not be able to get him as cheap as you could a couple of starts ago, but he can be had at a pretty substantial discount.

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Right when the season started, I wrote a piece where I gave my predictions for who I thought had the best shot to lead the league in each of the 5 main hitting categories among guys drafted outside the top 100. As we all could have guessed, I did not get them all correct. Using the same NFBC ADP data, I wanted to see which players outside the top 100 are actually leading in each main hitting category at the end of the 1st half. I also wanted to include how my picks stack up to the competition thus far.

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As we are just about H2Heading into the All-Star Break, more than half of our fantasy season is in the books. By now you should have a pretty good feel for how your team matches up to the other teams in your league. If you have not yet, you should go ahead and check in to see how you rank in each of the H2H categories to assess where you can make improvements to your team. Oh, everywhere? Me too! Joking aside, you should constantly be checking the waiver wire to see if there are options that are outplaying some of your starters. Because at this point in the year if you are not a lock to make the playoffs, you need to start having shorter leashes on your guys. Here are 3 guys under 30% owned in ESPN leagues in descending order.

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At this point in the season, nearly all of the highly dependable closers are off the waiver wire. However, given the significant turnover at the closer position, there are still arms that pop up that can be a viable source of saves. The window to pounce on them can be small, so it is imperative to stay on top of who has been getting the save chances and react accordingly. Below I have 3 closers all less than 25% owned on ESPN. For those in deeper leagues these guys may be gone already, but they are all available in 75% or more of ESPN leagues. I have listed them in order of their value in my eyes.

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