The results have been really solid across the last month, and last week was another good week. Ryan O’Hearn has been magical as one of our streamers over the last few weeks, and he’s finally getting rostered universally. Our biggest goal throughout the season is to stumble into must-roster players like that because the better the streamers, the more likely they’ll need to be rostered for the remainder of the season. Any player who builds up enough solid streams becomes a fantasy-relevant player, and stumbling into those types of guys through streaming is what can change your whole fantasy season. With that in mind, let’s look at the favorable matchups and then dive into this week’s streamers!
Favorable Team Matchups
7 Games
Athletics (vs. MIN, vs. BAL)
Detroit Tigers (at CWS, vs. CHC)
Minnesota Twins (at ATH, vs. TOR)
New York Mets (at LAD, at COL)
6 Games
Cincinnati Reds (vs. MIL, vs. ARI)
Colorado Rockies (at MIA, vs. NYM)
Kansas City Royals (at STL, st CWS)
Miami Marlins (vs. COL, at TB)
Seattle Mariners (vs. BAL, at LAA)
Tampa Bay Rays (vs. TEX, vs. MIA)
Pitching Streamers
Lance McCullers, HOU (at PIT, at CLE)
Not much has us excited about McCullers outside of his last start, but it’s impossible to overlook. That gem has us remembering all the good times McCullers provided in the past, with the righty striking out 12 batters en route to a quality start against the Athletics. That’s the best start we’ve seen from this guy in years, but he sneakily has a 2.50 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 13.0 K/9 rate if you remove his one stinker against Cincy. We trust that small sample size because McCullers maintained a 3.39 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 28 percent K rate over the last four years.
This might be a resurgence from the former fantasy stud, and these two matchups should have him headed in the right direction. The road game against Pittsburgh is the premier start of the week, with the Pirates ranked 27th in wOBA, 29th in runs scored, and 24th in K rate. The matchup with Cleveland might sound concerning, but they’ve also been one of the worst offenses in baseball. The Guardians rank 22nd in runs scored and 29th in xwOBA, with both of these ballparks being more favorable to pitchers as well.
Streamonator Valuation: $-24.5
Zack Littell, TB (vs. MIA)
Littell has been one of our streamers multiple times over the last three years, and it’s hard to understand why he’s still so undervalued. He’s just one of those typical Tampa pitchers that always outperforms their peripherals, with the righty registering a 3.97 ERA and 1.08 WHIP this season. That WHIP indicates that the ERA is a bit inflated, but it’s no surprise since Littell has a 3.92 career ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Those are solid numbers from one of your streamers, and it looks even better since Littell has allowed three runs or fewer in eight straight starts, sporting a 2.96 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in that stretch. The matchup with Miami is the jelly in the donut, with the Marlins ranked in the bottom five in runs scored, OBP, OPS and xwOBA since the start of last year.
Streamonator Valuation: $2.7
Max Meyer, MIA (vs. COL)
Woof! Meyer has been terrible recently, but this kid has too much potential to be on the waiver wire in a matchup like this. Let’s start there because facing the Rockies in Marlins Park might be the best possible matchup right now. Not only is Marlins Park a pitcher-friendly park, but the Rockies rank 29th or 30th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, xwOBA and K rate. It’s truly one of the worst offenses of all time, and their averages plummet outside the friendly confines of Coors Field. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss Meyer’s potential. The righty has allowed three runs or fewer in seven of 11 starts, providing a 2.41 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 11.4 K/9 rate in those seven outings. Most of those have been in Marlins Park, posting a 3.48 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 10.7 K/9 rate there this year.
Streamonator Valuation: $46.9
Brayan Bello/Lucas Giolito, BOS (vs. LAA)
We actually had these two together as streamers when they faced the White Sox a few weeks ago, and we’re going right back to that tasty recipe. Much like Chicago, Los Angeles has one of the worst lineups in baseball. The Angels rank 24th in wOBA and dead last in K rate (27.1 percent). That’s what we’re looking for when talking about volatile pitchers like this, because Bello and Giolit have both been brilliant at times throughout their careers.
Bello is the better option of the two, allowing three runs or fewer in seven of eight starts this year. He also has a 2.52 ERA in those outings, while totaling a 1.77 ERA at home. Giolito is a former Cy Young candidate, compiling a 4.19 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 28 percent K rate through his first six seasons in MLB. The last few years haven’t been the same due to some injuries, but Giolito has allowed one run or fewer in three of his last four starts. We didn’t even mention that both of these guys could be -200 favorites in this fantastic spot.
Streamonator Valuation: $-2.3/-7.3
Hitting Streamers
Agustin Ramirez, MIA (vs. COL, at TB)
The catcher position is always the most challenging position to figure out for fantasy purposes, but Ramirez has quietly been a massive addition to the spot. That’s why it’s hard to believe that he’s still available in over 60 percent of the leagues on Yahoo, because he’s been one of the best backstops in baseball. Ramirez has been hitting leadoff or second for the last few weeks, accumulating a .254 AVG, 508 SLG and .822 OPS in a breakout campaign. Those are stupendous numbers from a catcher, and he gets some great matchups this week. The Marlins match up with a Rockies team that ranks 29th or 30th in ERA, WHIP, xwOBA and xwOBA while Tampa has one of the best hitters’ parks in baseball.
Matt Wallner/Trevor Larnach, MIN (at ATH, vs. TOR)
The Twins’ offense has been terrible at times this season, but it’s not either of these guys’ faults. Wallner has quietly been their best bat this season, but a hamstring injury forced him to the IL for the last few weeks. The good news is that he returned to action yesterday and should be right in the heart of their lineup once again after homering in his first at-bat. Wallner has a .371 OBP, .510 SLG and .881 OPS across nearly 500 at-bats over the last three years.
He also has a .390 OBP and .928 OPS against righties in that span, which is tremendous since they face five of them in this seven-game week. It’s not a scary group of righties either, facing pitchers like Luis Severino, Gunnar Hoglund, Bowden Francis and Paxton Schultz. Facing right-handers like that makes Larnach an outstanding option as well because he hits in the two-hole against them. That prominent lineup spot is backed by a .357 OBP and .835 OPS against righties this year. Minnesota should be one of the highest-projected lineups of the week in a seven-game week, and these two should help to develop that damage.
SAGNOF (Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face)
Steals Specialists
Jose Caballero (TB)
We had Caballero in this section last week, and he needs to be rostered if he keeps running like this. The utility man has 88 steals since 2023, collecting nine of them across his last 12 outings.
Chase Meidroth (CWS)
Finding a leadoff hitter on the waiver wire is nearly impossible, but Meidroth is one of those guys. The ChiSox table setter has a steal in five of his last 13 fixtures, accruing a .373 OBP and .780 OPS in that span.
Saves Specialists
Danny Palencia (CHC)
Palencia is still available in way too many leagues, and it looks like he’s stolen the closer’s gig from Ryan Pressly. This righty has five saves over his last five appearances, amassing a 1.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 10.8 K/9 rate since the opening week of the season.
Robert Garcia (TEX)
It’s tough to guess who’s getting save chances in Texas with Luke Jackson losing the closer’s role, but Garcia looks like the best bet. He has two saves in his last three appearances, while posting a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 24 innings this year.
Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!
Are you buying Max Muncy’s resurrection after adding glasses in late April?
I’ve seen what blinders can do to a racehorse. Maybe it can have the same effect on an overaged slugger.
Yeah I’ve always believed in Muncy so I think he can sustain
14 team h2h league. Raleigh my #1catcher. Replace Austin wells for Carlos Narvaez?
Thankyou
I dont think much of Narvaez
deGrom no longer looks like that guy, the power arm. More like A right handed version of Mark Buehle.
On a side note, looks like Rocco Baldelli is letting his pitchers go deeper into games after using the training wheels on Zebby and Festa. Paddack, brilliant into the 8th today and he let Zebby throw in excess of 90+ pitches after giving up some crooked number runs in the first two innings and then settling down