The trade deadline week is always one of the best times of the year! It means we’re coming down to the final months of the year, and it really separates the contenders from the sellers. We were happy that the deadline didn’t affect too much in last week’s article because we had another solid week! We want to build off that momentum and finish these final two months strong! With that in mind, let’s look at the matchups and then dive into the streamers!
Favorable Team Matchups
8 Games
Atlanta Braves (at PIT, at NYM)
7 Games
Boston Red Sox (vs. KC, vs. DET)
Detroit Tigers (vs. MIN, at BOS)
Kansas City Royals (at BOS, vs. STL)
Los Angeles Dodgers (at SD, at ARI, vs. COL)
Philadelphia Phillies (vs. WAS, vs. OAK)
Washington Nationals (at PHI, vs. OAK)
6 Games
Cincinnati Reds (vs. MIA, at PIT)
Houston Astros (at BAL, vs. LAA)
Miami Marlins (at CIN, vs. NYY)
Milwaukee Brewers (vs. COL, at CWS)
Pitching Streamers
Nick Pivetta, BOS (vs. DET)
This is probably the last week that Pivetta will be available as one of your streamers. He’s getting picked up everywhere because of a ridiculous run, and it’s easy to see why. The right-hander hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any outing since May, maintaining a 2.15 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and 12.7 K/9 rate since May 24. That’s the best run of this guy’s career, and it should continue against Detroit’s disastrous offense. The Motor City Kitties rank bottom four in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and K rate. There is a chance he faces Kansas City instead of Detroit, but it doesn’t really matter since those are two of the worst offenses in baseball. The Streamonator loves Pivetta, too, projecting him to provide $13.3 worth of value.
Hyun-Jin Ryu, TOR (at CLE)
It’s a bit risky to use Ryu right now, but the track record speaks for itself. The 36-year-old southpaw has a 3,28 ERA and 1.18 WHIP throughout his 11-year career. You might be discouraged by a poor start, but we’re going to trust the 11-year sample size over the one start we saw just last week. The biggest reason we want to ride him as one of our streamers is this matchup. The Guardians are 28th in OBP and 29th in OPS against left-handers while sitting 23rd in wOBA and 24th in xwOBA on the year. In his two most recent starts against Cleveland, Ryu has a 3.00 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 10.5 K/9 rate!
Wade Miley, MIL (vs. COL)
It’s strange that Miley has developed into such a solid pitcher, but it’s hard to fade him right now. The soft-tossing southpaw shocked fantasy managers with a 3.16 ERA and 1.22 WHIP last year but has backed it up with a 3.01 ERA and 1.16 WHIP this season. It’s hard to understand how a 36-year-old is doing that, but he’d have a 2.29 ERA and 1.13 WHIP if it weren’t for one ugly outing against the Dodgers.
The matchup is the icing on the cake, with Colorado ranked last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA on the road over the last two years. They also just traded away two of their best bats and have one of the worst lineups in the league right now. This is one of The Streamonator’s favorite streamers of the season, projecting Miley to provide $26.7 worth of value in this magical matchup.
Cole Schmidt, NYY (at CWS)
The Yankees have been a massive disappointment, but Schmidt has been a bright spot in an otherwise dark season. The right-hander has allowed three runs or fewer in 14 straight starts, sporting a 3.23 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in that span. He’s done that damage despite some nightmarish matchups, facing the Astros, Cubs, Rangers, Red Sox, and Coors Field in that super stretch. He also has five wins in his last seven starts in total, and another win could be on the horizon against this woeful White Sox team. Chicago sits 25th in runs scored, 30th in OBP, and 29th in xwOBA. The strikeouts have been slow to come around, but a quality start looks like a guarantee in this matchup!
Steven Matz, STL (at KC)
We’ve been stacking against Matz in DFS for a few years, and it’s impressive that he’s developed into one of our streamers. This lefty is playing the best baseball of his career right now, accumulating a 2.02 ERA and 0.97 WHIP since June 1. He started that ridiculous run in the bullpen but has gone on to allow one run or fewer in five of his last six starts. It’s hard to believe Matz is doing that with how bad he’s looked over recent years, but there’s no chance Kansas City clobbers his ERA or WHIP. The Royals rank 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and wOBA. He faced them coming out of the bullpen earlier in the year, allowing just two hits across 2.2 innings while striking out four batters!
Hitting Streamers
Brandon Marsh, PHI (vs. WAS, vs. MIN) 7 Games
Marsh has been all over the map this season, but this is an excellent week for him to go off. His recent form is his most intriguing asset, amassing a .448 OBP, .532 SLG, and .980 OPS across his last 17 outings. That’s sensational from one of your streamers, and hitting seventh in this stacked Philly lineup gives him plenty of RBI opportunities. The matchups against Washinton and Minnesota are fantastic, too, because Marsh gets to face five righties this week in two hitter-friendly parks. In 266 at-bats against right-handers this year. Marsh has a .387 OBP, .487 SLG, and .874 OPS. It’s not exactly the scariest group either, fading Joe Ryan on the Twins and facing a Nationals team that ranks 27th in ERA and 28th in WHIP.
Joey Meneses, WAS (at PHI, vs. OAK) 7 Games
Meneses has been a good hitter all year, but the power has been lacking. We’re willing to use him as one of our streamers because the power stroke is coming around. The Nationals three-hole hitter has a .295 AVG, .591 SLG, and .921 OPS across his last 22 outings. The average has been hovering around .300 all year, but if we’re getting a .500-.600 SLG, Meneses should be rostered in every league. Getting a seven-game week in the eighth-best hitter’s park only adds to his intrigue, and these matchups are far from concerning. Philadelphia is fine, but Oakland ranks dead last in ERA and WHIP.
SAGNOF (Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face)
Steals Specialists
Zack Gelof (OAK)
Gelof is starting to look like Oakland’s best hitter. A .867 OPS is attractive enough, but what has us perked up are his five steals across just 17 games. This guy had 20 steals at Triple-A last year and should play every day near the top of this A’s lineup.
Willi Castro (MIN)
We’ve had Castro in here almost every week, and he continues to stack steals on the waiver wire. This speedster is up to 27 swipes and is eligible at numerous positions. He also has seven games and is one of the safest bets to steal a bag this week.
Saves Specialists
Carlos Hernandez (KC)
With Scott Barlow getting traded to San Diego, Hernandez looks like the ninth-inning guy. He’s quietly been dominant for over a month now, maintaining a 1.66 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, and 9.6 K/9 rate since June 12.
Brooks Raley (NYM)
The Mets started their tank by trading David Robertson, which should allow Raley to pick up most of the saves. He’s recorded the first two since the trade, leading the team with 19 holds.
Gregory Santos (CWS)
With Kendall Graveman getting traded and Liam Hendriks landing on the IL because of Tommy John surgery, Santos is the only guy left In Chicago. He’s got a 2.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 8.9 K/9 rate since the opening week and has no competition in this pen.
Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!
