We struggled in Week 19, but we bounced back last week. All of our streamers did well outside of Zach Littell, and he didn’t even kill your lineups. That has me ready to keep rolling here, but it was a tough week to pick hitters. It’s hard to understand why because we have 10 teams that have favorable matchups in the six-game section! It just feels like many of the guys we wanted to recommend are rostered in too many leagues, but let’s get started with the arms and then dive into the hitting streamers.
Favorable Team Matchups
7 Games
Atlanta Braves (at COL, at LAD)
Detroit Tigers (vs. NYY, at CWS)
Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. ARI, vs. ATL)
San Diego Padres (at STL, vs, SF)
6 Games
Baltimore Orioles (vs. CWS, at ARI)
Chicago White Sox (at BAL, vs. DET)
Colorado Rockies (vs. ATL, vs. TOR)
Houston Astros (at BOS, vs. NYY)
Kansas City Royals (vs. PIT, vs. BOS)
Los Angeles Angels (at PHI, at OAK)
Pittsburgh Pirates (at KC, at STL)
Seattle Mariners (vs. OAK, at NYM)
Texas Rangers (at NYM, vs. MIN)
Toronto Blue Jays (vs. WAS, at COL)
Pitching Streamers
Chase Silseth, LAA (at OAK)
It will be tough to fade Silseth in such a superb spot. Since entering the starting rotation, this former reliever has been dominant, registering a 3.08 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 12.0 K/9 rate. That’s a month of dominance, and it’s less surprising when you see his 2.45 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 31 percent K rate at the minors over the last two years. Those numbers come into play here because he gets an outstanding matchup against Oakland. The A’s rank dead-last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA since the start of last season. In his three appearances against them since getting called up, Silseth has a 2.23 ERA against them!
UPDATE: Silseth was struck in the head by an errant throw on Saturday, so it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go here.
Ryan Pepiot, LAD (vs. ARI)
The Dodgers are one of the best organizations at developing starters, and it looks like Pepiot is another diamond in the rough. The right-hander has been rolling throughout his minor league career, collecting a 3.51 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 30 percent K rate. That’s the guy we’ve seen at this level this year, totaling a 2.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP through two appearances. He was actually used in a bulk relief role in his most recent outing, but throwing 76 pitches shows us that he’s ready to make a full start here. We love that in a home start against Arizona, who have some of the worst offensive statistics since the All-Star break. They also traditionally struggle in Dodgers Stadium and should only be projected to score 3.5 runs in this spot. We know Pepiot was demoted but look for him to be back for another spot start.
Bryan Woo, SEA (vs. OAK)
Woo has been one of our streamers numerous times this season, but a recent IL stint forced him to many fantasy manager’s waiver wires. It’s strange so many people gave up on this kid because he’s been a stud outside of two duds. In fact, Woo has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his other 10 starts, tallying a 3.02 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 9.2 K/9 rate in those outings. That’s the guy we’ve seen in the minors, maintaining a 2.49 ERA and 0.96 WHIP since playing in Single-A. We already talked about how atrocious the A’s have been, which will likely have Woo entering this matchup as a -250 favorite! This is one of the Streamonator’s favorite streamers of the season, projecting Woo to provide $38 worth of value in this spectacular spot.
Brady Singer, KC (vs. PIT)
We wanted to recommend Cole Ragans, but he’s getting picked up in nearly every league right now. We’ll go with Brady, who was one of the worst starters in baseball through the opening three months. However, something has clicked in the second half, and he’s looking like a great option as one of our streamers. The Royals righty has allowed four runs in back-to-back starts but had a 2.45 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 9.5 K/9 rate through his five previous starts. That run looks more like the guy we’ve seen in the past, with Singer sporting a 3.23 ERA and 1.14 WHIP last season. We believe he’ll hold this form for the final two months of the year, and it should be easy against a team like Pittsburgh. The Pirates rank bottom five in runs scored, OBP, wOBA, and K rate since the opening month of the season!
Mike Clevinger, CWS (vs. DET)
It’s hard to believe that Clevinger is one of our streamers, but he’s really turned his season around. The goofy righty has allowed four runs or fewer in 12 straight starts! He’s also got a 2.98 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in that sensational stretch. The strikeouts haven’t been great in that span, but it feels like fantasy managers are overlooking just how consistent this guy has been in the past. Since his rookie season, Clev has compiled a 3.25 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. That makes him tough to avoid against Detroit’s dastardly offense, with the Tigers ranked bottom four in runs scored, OBP, OPS, xwOBA, and K rate. In 13 career starts against the Motor City Kitties, Clevinger has a 1.63 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 9.7 K/9 rate! The Streamonator loves Clevinger, too, projecting him to provide $15.2 worth of value.
Hitting Streamers
Nolan Schanuel, LAA (at PHI, at OAK)
Streamers were tough to find for hitters this week, but this youngster looks like an intriguing pickup. This kid was actually drafted less than two months ago, but he’s already hitting leadoff for the Angels! His elite plate discipline is the primary reason for his call-up, amassing a .370 AVG, .510 OBP, and 1.004 OPS in 21 games in the minors. That’s why LA decided to fast-track him to this level, filling in for the injured CJ Cron.
He hasn’t missed a beat at this level either, posting a .538 OBP through his opening week as the everyday leadoff hitter! That sort of plate discipline is hard to understand at this age, but it makes him tough to avoid since he gets three games at Citizens Bank Ballpark and three games against an A’s team with the worst ERA and WHIP in baseball. Not to mention, he gets to fade Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler in the Phil’s rotation!
Maikel Garcia, KC (vs. PIT, vs. BOS)
Here we are with another leadoff hitter! It’s hard to find any leadoff hitter on the waiver wire, but it becomes easier when we’re evaluating bad teams. That’s what we have with KC, but it’s no fault of Garcia. Over his last 60 games, Maikel has a .292 AVG while picking up 14 steals in that span. He really doesn’t have much power, but anyone with that sort of average and speed is tough to fade with a schedule like this! Garcia faces a Boston team that ranks 18th in ERA and 19th in WHIP, while Pittsburgh ranks 20th in ERA and 22nd in WHIP. He also avoids Mitch Keller in Pittsburgh’s rotation and will likely face three lefties, which is fantastic since he’s got a .824 OPS against southpaws since his call-up.
SAGNOF (Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face)
Steals Specialists
Willi Castro (MIN)
Castro has been on the IL for a few weeks, but it looks like he’s on the verge of returning. He’s a sneaky source of steals, picking up 29 steals this year!
Harrison Bader (NYY)
Bader has been batting fifth or sixth for the Yankees recently, picking up 16 steals so far this season. He’s also got five over his last 14 outings, despite hitting horribly in that span. If he gets on base, Bader is running!
Saves Specialists
Alex Lange (DET)
It’s funny that Lange is in this section because he was removed as the closer just a few weeks ago. He’s turned things around since then, picking up the two most recent saves for the Tigers. If he was hastily dropped in your league, go scoop him up!
JoJo Romero (STL)
With Jordan Hicks getting traded and Ryan Helsley suffering setbacks in his rehab, it looks like Romero is the go-to closer. He’s got three saves since July 30 and has his WHIP below 1.00.
Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!
