Fantasy Baseball H2H Streamers – Week 1

How good does it feel to be back to baseball? We’ve been off for five months, but it feels like it’s been years. I’ll be providing my typical streamers piece every week, as I’ve done for the last five years, and I can’t wait to dive into it. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the streamers we love for the opening week!

Favorable Team Matchups

7 Games

Cincinnati Reds (vs. TEX, at MIL)

Milwaukee Brewers (vs. KC, vs. CIN)

6 Games

Arizona Diamondbacks (at NYY, vs. WAS)

Chicago Cubs (at ATH, vs. SD)

Colorado Rockies (at PHI, vs. ATH)

Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. ATL, at PHI)

Minnesota Twins (at CWS, vs. HOU)

New York Yankees (vs. ARI, at PIT)

Philadelphia Phillies (vs. COL, vs. LAD)

“Sacramento” Athletics (vs. CHC, at COL) Gosh, that sounds gross.

St. Louis Cardinals (vs. LAA, at BOS)

Texas Rangers (at CIN, vs. TB)

Pitching Streamers

Gavin Williams, CLE (at LAA)

This is probably the last time Williams will be one of our streamers because he’s likely to be rostered in every league soon. The righty is still below 60 percent rostered on Yahoo, so we need to include him until that number gets to where it belongs. Williams was among the best pitchers in spring training, posting a 2.08 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 38 percent K rate across 17.1 sparkling innings. That’s on par with the pitcher we saw before the injuries, with Williams totaling a 2.10 ERA and 0.96 WHIP throughout his minor league career. That’s useful here because LA has a minor league-looking lineup, ranked 27th in OBP, 28th in OPS, and 26th in wOBA last season.

Streamonator Valuation: $-19.5

Bowden Francis, TOR (vs. WAS)

Francis is another one of those guys on the fringe of the waiver wire, but he needs to be scooped up before a hot run. The Toronto pitcher was unstoppable in the closing months of last season, providing a 1.53 ERA and 0.53 WHIP across his final nine starts last year. Those are averages you’d expect to see from an elite closer, and it’s hard to believe he’s still eligible to be one of our streamers. He’s also got a 2.76 ERA and 0.88 WHIP at home throughout his career and shouldn’t have any issues with Washington. The Nationals were 24th in wOBA and xwOBA last season while ranked 25th in runs scored.

Streamonator Valuation: $0.7

Reese Olson, DET (vs. CWS)

This man was one of our streamers multiple times last season, and we’re going right back to the well. The numbers speak for themselves, with Olson obtaining a 3.75 ERA and 1.15 WHIP since his call-up three years ago. His ability to avoid shellings is equally impressive, with the righty allowing three runs or fewer in 17 of 22 starts last year. Another one of those quality starts should be easy to achieve against a team like Chicago. The White Sox were the worst offense in baseball last season, ranked last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and xwOBA. That’s terrifying in a pitcher’s park like Comerica, especially since Olson has 2.16 ERA and 0.56 WHIP in four career starts against the ChiSox.

Streamonator Valuation: $12

AJ Smith-Shawver, ATL (vs. MIA)

We weren’t so sure who would fill the final spots in ATL’s rotation but seeing ASS get one of those spots was a delightful surprise. The 22-year-old has only seen limited time at this level, providing a 3.64 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 29.2 innings. That’s close to what we saw at the lower levels, with Smith-Shawver sporting a 3.99 ERA and 1.19 WHIP since 2023. What really opened up eyes in the Braves dugout was his sensational spring training, amassing a 3.94 ERA while striking out 20 batters across 16 innings. Carrying over that strikeout stuff should be a sinch against Miami, with the Marlins ranked 28th or 29th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and xwOBA last season. That will also likely have ASS entering this matchup as a -200 favorite, which is a wonderful variable for one of your streamers!

Streamonator Valuation: $-3.8

Zach Littell, TB (vs. PIT)

This Tampa rotation is a far cry from the ones we’ve seen in the past, but they always seem to get the best from their starters. That’s been the case for Littell throughout his career, compiling a 3.81 ERA and 1.23 WHIP since 2021. That’s a solid four-year span, and it looks even better since he had a 1.82 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over the final two months of last year. The best part about this is that he gets a home matchup against a pitiful Pittsburgh lineup. The Pirates ranked 26th in K rate, 28th in wOBA, and 24th in runs scored last year, while Littell looked great in his opening start.

Streamonator Valuation: $9.3

Hitting Streamers

TJ Friedl/Christian Encarnacion-Strand, CIN (vs. TEX, at MIL)

Only two teams made the cut for hitting streamers that we like with seven-game weeks, and the Reds were one of them. Getting seven games in Great American Ballpark and Miller Park should have them as the highest-projected offense of the week. That’s even more likely when looking at the opposition, projected to face Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale, Logan Henderson, Kumar Rocker, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter and a TBD. They don’t face a single pitcher that scares us, and it should put these two hitters in line for big weeks.

Let’s kickstart these Cincy streamers with Friedl. This outfielder has been a sneaky fantasy option over recent years, collecting 18 homers and 27 steals in his last full season in 2023. Injuries have slowed him down since then, but we love that the Reds have inserted him into their leadoff spot in the opening week. As for Encarnacion-Strand, this was one of the best hitters in the minors over recent years. CES had a .320 AVG, .385 OBP and .988 OPS throughout his minor league career. That’s what we’ve seen early on, with Encarnacion-Strand posting a 1.500 OPS through the opening two games!

Rhys Hoskins/Joey Ortiz, MIL (vs. KC, vs. CIN)

This is the other team that made the cut for streamers with a seven-game week, and these Milwaukee bats should thrive when evaluating their matchups. We just discussed how special Cincy’s projections will be in GABP and Miller Park, but Milwaukee gets all seven games at Miller! That’s quite the schedule in the opening week, especially when looking at their opposition. They’ll face Michael Lorenzen, Kris Bubic, and Cole Ragans in the KC rotation while matching up with Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez, Brady Singer, and Hunter Greene for Cincy.

Hoskins has always been a great option for power, but we love him against lefties. He faces three this week and has a .388 OBP and .898 OPS against southpaws throughout his career. Hoskins is also a year clear from ACL surgery, and that’s typically when most athletes recapture their form. As for Ortiz, he appears to be locked into sixth in Milwaukee’s lineup as an everyday player. That’s a prime RBI spot, especially since Ortiz had a .379 OBP and .890 OPS at Triple-A.

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

Steals Specialists

Calvin Faucher (MIA)

Miami hasn’t technically announced a closer, but I’m betting on Faucher. After the Tanner Scott trade last season, Faucher recorded six saves over his final 13 appearances. He also had a 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 13.8 K/9 rate in that span and has very little competition in this pen.

Emilio Pagan (CIN)

With Alexis Diaz on the IL, somebody needs to close games in Cincy. Ian Gibault blew the first opportunity, but Pagan took care of business in the one save chance since then. The manager said he wants to go back to Pagan, so he could be a sneaky pickup for the remainder of the season.

Saves Specialists

Victor Scott II (STL)

It appears that Scott will be an everyday player in St. Louis and that’s all he needs to be one of the best steals specialists in baseball. He had 125 stolen bases across 213 games at the minors over the last two years.

Jake McCarthy (ARI)

Much like Scott, McCarthy is always a safe bet for steals when he’s playing every day. The speed demon has at least 23 steals in three straight seasons and looks like a true full-time player.

Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!