I haven’t had many poor weeks with streamers this season, but last week was one of them. Brady Singer crushed us against the Pirates, and Spencer Arrighetti looked atrocious in his debut. The good news is that the hitting streamers were solid, and that’s a little bonus in an otherwise disappointing week. What’s fascinating about this time of the season is that we’re winding down to the end. We have a little less than two months remaining, and some of these crappier rotations will become more volatile as the season closes. With that in mind, let’s get started by looking at the favorable matchups and then dive into our streamers!
Favorable Team Matchups
7 Games
Arizona Diamondbacks (at TEX, at COL)
Colorado Rockies (at STL, vs. ARI)
Detroit Tigers (at CWS, at MIN)
Philadelphia Phillies (at CIN, at WAS)
6 Games
Athletics (vs. TB, vs. LAA)
Cleveland Guardians (vs. MIA, vs. ATL)
Houston Astros (vs. BOS, vs. BAL)
Kansas City Royals (vs. WAS, vs. KC)
St. Louis Cardinals (vs. COL, vs. NYY)
Pitching Streamers
Will Warren, NYY (vs. MIN)
Warren has been a bizarre pitcher this season, but his highs are too low to fade as one of our streamers. Let’s start by talking about his recent form, with Warren registering a 2.45 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across his last six starts. The WHIP is nothing worth writing home about, but Warren had a 4.09 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 11.9 K/9 rate through his first 11 starts. Those are lengthy terms of success, and a home matchup with Minnesota should keep his recent run rolling. The Twins rank 20th in OPS and 22nd in runs scored, while Warren has a 2.88 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 10.1 K/9 rate at home this year. Minnesota also traded away half their roster at the deadline, which is why Warren is likely to be a -200 favorite or higher!
Streamonator Valuation: $1.2
Cade Horton/Colin Rea, CHC (vs. PIT)
We’re going to recommend a pair of Cubs as two streamers this week, with Horton looking like the best option of the bunch. This breakout right-hander has been unstoppable, providing a 3.18 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Those numbers have really surged in the second half, with Horton entering this matchup amid a 22.2-scorless inning streak. That’s four straight starts with no runs allowed, posting a 1.61 ERA and 0.99 WHIP at home this year. As for Rea, he has a 3.86 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across his last seven starts after amassing a 1.46 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through May 1. Those superb statistics for this pair of Cubbies are phenomenal in a matchup with Pittsburgh because the Pirates rank in the bottom three in K rate, wOBA, runs scored, OBP, and OPS.
Streamonator Valuation: $NA/$1.9
Matthew Liberatore/Michael McGreevy, STL (vs. COL)
We rarely offer up-streamers from the same team, but it’s worked well recently. The most impactful variable when recommending teammates is the matchup, and a home meeting with the Rockies couldn’t be better. Colorado sits 29th in runs scored, xwOBA, and K rate, while posting even worse numbers on the road. That won’t bode well in a place like St. Louis, especially since McGreevy had the start of his career against these Rockies. McGreevy threw seven one-run innings in his lone start at Coors Field while coming off six scoreless innings against the Cubs in his most recent start. Liberatore has actually been the better pitcher, allowing two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts en route to a 3.63 ERA. He also had a 2.71 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through the opening two months while posting better splits at home.
Streamonator Valuation: $19.1/$24.9
Emmet Sheehan, LAD (at LAA)
It’s silly to say this, but there are streamers that we trust based on the team they play for. That’s a strange factor about fantasy baseball, but some teams develop starters better than others. It pairs beautifully with a stacked lineup behind him because that builds confidence for any pitcher. That’s all impactful when talking about a talented pitcher like Sheehan, tallying a 3.00 ERA and 1.20 WHIP this season. There was only one stinker against Milwaukee, with Sheehan maintaining a 1.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 9.4 K/9 rate through his other six starts. That’s really encouraging since Sheehan has a 2.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP at home while facing one of the worst offenses in baseball here. The other LA team ranks 25th in OBP, 21st in wOBA and dead-last in K rate.
Streamonator Valuation: $12.3
Michael Wacha, KC (vs. WAS)
Wacha has been one of our streamers numerous times over the last five years. It’s hard to believe that fantasy managers haven’t trusted him as a must-roster player, providing a 3.31 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over the last four years. That’s on par with the 3.36 ERA and 1.15 WHIP this year, but his recent form has been truly fantastic. This righty has allowed two runs or fewer in five straight starts, accruing a 1.78 ERA and 0.69 WHIP in that stretch. The best part of this is that he gets a home matchup against Washington, with the Nationals ranked 22nd in OBP, 23rd in OPS and 24th in wOBA.
Streamonator Valuation: $3.3
Hitting Streamers
Ezequiel Tovar/Jordan Beck/Mickey Moniak, COL (at STL, vs. ARI)
This is a rare occurrence to offer up three hitting streamers on one team, but the Rockies are a different animal at home. This team is bad enough that they play in the most hitter-friendly park while posting a lineup full of players you can’t trust for fantasy. That’s something we haven’t seen often over recent years, but these guys need to be rostered in a week like this. Let’s start there because the Rockies have four games in Coors Field. That park has been surrendering 15-20 runs on a regular basis recently, and it’s a cheat code for any team to play four games there. They also avoid Zac Gallen in that four-game set against Arizona while avoiding Sonny Gray in the St. Louis rotation.
That already puts all of these bats in sensational spots, with the Rockies projected to score 30-40 runs this week. If that does end up happening, they should be one of the highest-scoring teams of the week. Tovar has been one of their best hitters over recent years, tallying a .391 AVG, .641 SLG and 1.070 OPS at home this year. As for Beck, he’s on pace for a 20-20 season while producing a .449 OBP and 1.018 OPS across his last 18 outings. Moniak has been just as hot for an even longer stretch, sporting a .329 AVG, .686 SLG and 1.052 OPS across his last 41 fixtures.
Colt Keith/Kerry Carpenter, DET (at CWS, at MIN)
We have a trend going with teammates in this article, so let’s do it again for the Tigers. This offense has been terrible over recent weeks, but Carpenter still needs to be rostered in every league. He’s only sitting around 60 percent on Yahoo, but it’s only due to an IL stint. Carpenter has compiled a .407 OBP, 1.037 SLG and 1.466 OPS in nine games since coming off the IL and had crushed righties throughout his career. That pairs beautifully with his .861 OPS against right-handers.
Carpenter is the obvious pick because he’s scarcely available, but Keith is right there with him. The Motor City Kitties have been hitting Keith leadoff against right-handers, registering a .280 AVG, .362 OBP and .817 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor. Keith has also collected a .476 AVG and 1.167 OPS across his last seven outings! We’ve talked so much about splits that you’re probably wondering how many righties Detroit faces this week. They’re actually projected to face seven righties in all seven games while facing two of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. Minnesota ranks 23rd in ERA and 21st in wOBA, while Chicago sits 24th in WHIP, 25th in wOBA and 28th in xwOBA.
SAGNOF (Saves/Steals Ain’t Got No Face)
Steals Specialists
Wenceel Perez (DET)
With Detroit having one of the best schedules of the week, Perez has the platoon advantage against all seven righties while recording four steals and six attempts across his last 12 games.
Chandler Simpson (TB)
Simpson has finally developed into an everyday player for the Rays, recording 32 steals across just 243 at-bats this season.
Saves Specialists
David Bednar (NYY)
Many fantasy managers dropped Bednar after he was traded to NY, but it looks like he might be the closer with Devin Williams completely collapsing.
Phil Maton (TEX)
Texas has been struggling to find a closer all season, but Maton might be the guy after a trade deadline deal. He recorded the last save for the Rangers while maintaining a 2.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP this year.
Jojo Romero (STL)
With Ryan Helsley being traded to NY, Romero has two saves for the Cards since then.
Feel free to comment here or reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel if you have any questions!
I was looking at Wacha. I only have room to pick up one of these guys, would you go Wacha over McGreevy?