Fantasy Baseball H2H Streamers – Week 5

It was really frustrating to see Jose Soriano get blown up as my first streamer of the week, but everything improved after that. In fact, we got gems from Andrew Heaney and Max Meyer, with both players looking like must-roster players for the foreseeable future. TJ Friedl and Andrew Benintendi were also solid streamers from the hitting side, and it has me motivated to keep rolling here. With that in mind, let’s start by looking at the favorable matchups and then dive into those streamers!

Favorable Team Matchups

7 Games

Cincinnati Reds (vs. STL, vs. WAS)

Cleveland Guardians (vs. MIN, at TOR)

Minnesota Twins (at CLE, at BOS)

New York Mets (at WAS, vs. ARI, at STL)

St. Louis Cardinals (at CIN, vs. NYM)

Texas Rangers (vs. ATH, vs. SEA)

Washington Nationals (at PHI, at CIN)

6 Games

Atlanta Braves (at COL, vs. LAD)

Houston Astros (vs. DET, at CWS)

Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. MIA, at ATL)

Milwaukee Brewers (at CWS, vs. CHC)

Philadelphia Phillies (vs. WAS, vs. ARI)

San Francisco Giants (at SD, vs. COL)

Pitching Streamers

Ronel Blanco, HOU (at DET, vs. CWS)

This is one of my favorite streamers of the season. This is probably the final week he’ll be available because we expect him to be a must-roster player after what will likely be a monster week. Let’s kick things off by talking about these matchups. Not only does he face a 18th-ranked Tigers offense in one of the most spacious parks in MLB, but he also faces the worst offense in baseball at home. That’s impossible to overlook because he threw seven no-hit innings in his only matchup with Detroit last year.

Having two matchups like that would put anyone in play, but Blanco is not just any pitcher. This righty broke out last year with a 2.80 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 29 starts. He actually allowed four runs or fewer in all but one start and never allowed more than seven hits. We love that when evaluating his recent form, with Blanco posting a 3.24 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across his last three starts. Seeing Blanco throw 10-14 clean innings would be far from surprising, and a Top 10 week is in the realm of possibility.

Streamonator Valuation: $19.8

Tony Gonsolin, LAD (vs. MIA)

It’s risky to use one of our streamers making their season debut, but we all have to start somewhere, right? This couldn’t be a softer landing spot for Gonsolin, with the Marlins ranked 28th or 29th in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA since the start of last season. That’ll likely have Gonsolin entering this home matchup as a -300 favorite because that’s simply how much better the Dodgers are than the Marlins. It’s not like this righty is a slouch, though, tallying a 3.19 career ERA and 1.05 WHIP. That’s nearly 400 innings of dominant pitching, and we were encouraged by his 3.21 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 10.3 K/9 rate throughout his rehab assignment.

Streamonator Valuation: $NA

Tobias Myers, MIL (at CWS)

Myers is another pitcher returning from an injury, but he’s got one start under his belt. It was a shortened four-inning start, but seeing Myers throw 82 pitches means he’s nearly ready for a full workload. His 2.02 ERA and 1.05 WHIP throughout his minor league rehab assignment are a good indicator that he’s fully healthy, too, and we’re talking about a guy who broke out last season. Myers maintained a 3.00 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 25 starts, never allowing more than four runs in any of them. That streak should be easy to duplicate against a woeful White Sox lineup, with Chicago sitting last in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and xwOBA since the start of last year.

Streamonator Valuation: $-0.9

Luis Ortiz, CLE (vs. MIN)

Cleveland always seems to churn out these random starters every year, and they’ve stumbled into another one with Ortiz. This guy quietly had a breakout season in Pittsburgh last year, providing a 3.32 ERA and 1.15 WHIP across 135.2 innings. A nightmarish opener against San Diego scared fantasy managers away, but he’s returned to that 2024 form since then. In four starts since that San Diego shelling, Ortiz has a 4.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 12.4 K/9 rate. Those peripherals are average, but the elite strikeout stuff makes up for it. A home matchup with Minnesota might be the best part about this, with the Twins ranked 23rd in runs scored, 24th in OBP, 26th in xwOBA, and 27th in wOBA.

Streamonator Valuation: $1.1

Reese Olson, DET (at HOU, at LAA)

Olson has been one of our streamers numerous times over the last three years, and it’s hard to believe he keeps getting sent to the waiver wire. We’re talking about a talented pitcher with a 3.70 career ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He’s actually never had an ERA above 4.00 in any of his three years at this level, allowing four runs or fewer in 39 of 45 career starts. That makes him an easy option in a two-start week, especially since these offenses are far from intimidating. Houston ranks 25th in runs scored, 26th in OPS, and 24th in wOBA, while Los Angeles sits 21st in runs scored, 29th in K rate, 24th in xwOBA, and last in OBP.

Streamonator Valuation: $6.5

Hitting Streamers

Noelvi Marte/TJ Friedl, CIN (vs. STL, vs. WAS)

This is the third time we’ve had Friedl in this article as one of our streamers, and he will remain in it until he’s appropriately rostered. This leadoff hitter had 18 homers and 27 steals in his last full season. He also has a .310 AVG and .818 OPS across his last 17 outings. That makes him difficult to fade at home in a seven-game week, especially since he has a .790 OPS at home since 2023.

As for Marte, this was once one of the top prospects in baseball, and he’s starting to look like it. The third baseman has been moved up to fifth in the Reds lineup, registering a .353 AVG and 1.053 OPS so far this season. All of that makes these two amazing streamers because Cincy will likely be the highest-projected offense of the week with seven games at a hitter’s haven like Great American Ballpark. Not to mention, St. Louis and Washington have no arms we’re scared of.

Kyle Manzardo, CLE (vs. MIN, at TOR)

The Guardians have been looking to fill the Josh Naylor void, and Manzardo looks like the man. He’s been hitting cleanup for Cleveland all season, compiling a .326 OBP and .901 OPS in a breakout month. That’s the power we’ve been waiting to see because Manzardo maintained a .385 OBP and .924 OPS throughout his minor league career. That power stroke should lead to some dingers and RBI in this seven-game week, particularly since Manzardo is projected to match up with seven righties! He also avoids Kevin Gausman and Joe Ryan in these two rotations, which is fantastic since he has the platoon advantage against all of these backend righties.

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

Steals Specialists

Jake Meyers (HOU)

Meyers has been playing every day for the Stros, swiping seven steals across his last 17 outings.

Luisangel Acuna (NYM)

The speed runs in the family for the Acuna’s, with Luisangel accruing a .370 OBP and six steals across his last 15 starts.

Saves Specialists

Will Vest (DET)

It’s unclear who the closer is between Vest and Tommy Kahnle, but Vest has the three most recent saves in Detroit. He’s also got a 0.84 ERA, 0.56 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 rate in an unbelievable start to the season.

Camilo Doval (SF)

Ryan Walker has allowed six runs across 1.2 innings over his last three appearances. That’s led San Fran to lean into Doval recently, picking up three straight saves for this team. Doval has 94 saves over the last three years and was one of the best relievers in baseball before a bad first half last season.

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