Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week. We're coming up on the halfway point of the season, but there's still plenty of options on the waiver wire to aid your championship quest.
For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories, and target players who may be available on your waiver wire.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Thursday, June 21. Let's get to it.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and weekly lineup resources:- Fantasy baseball injury reports
- Fantasy baseball trade analyzer
- Daily MLB starting lineups for fantasy baseball
- Fantasy baseball BvP matchups data (Batter vs. Pitcher)
- Fantasy baseball PvB matchups data (Pitcher vs. Batter)
- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball player comparisons
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts, bullpens, saves
- Fantasy Baseball live scoreboard, daily leaderboards
Agenda
- I Have Returned
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. I Have Returned
Did you miss me? I'm writing this from the airport on a laptop for which I did not remember to pack a charger at the start of my vacation last week. Racing the clock to get this column submitted because I'm committed to helping your fantasy teams be all they can be. Will I succeed? Let's watch!
2. Today's Weather and Updates - Wednesday, June 20
Several games will be threatened by rainy conditions today: Tigers-Reds, White Sox-Indians, Mariners-Yankees, Orioles-Nationals, and Brewers-Pirates. The latter is almost certain to be postponed, as it's expected to rain steadily throughout the day in Pittsburgh.
3. Streamer Picks - Thursday, June 21
Pitchers to Use
Control problems prevented Junior Guerra from following up his surprising 2016 with a worthy sequel last season, but this year's showing has been much closer to the former. The veteran has posted sparkling ratios (2.89 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) whilst striking out nearly a batter per inning, but remains under 50% owned in Yahoo leagues.
Clayton Richard has produced quality starts in seven of his last eight turns, with a 3.04 ERA and 0.94 WHIP during that span. He'll take on the Giants in San Francisco.
Other Targets: Ivan Nova, Chris Bassitt
Pitchers to Exploit
Lucas Giolito retains permanent residence in this category until and unless he is demoted to the minors or figures out how to pitch. As it stands, he's one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball and facing a quality Oakland offense.
Matt Harvey + GABP + Cubs lineup = no-brainer exploit. He's allowed 16 runs in his last 21 innings of work.
Other Targets: Kevin Gausman
Homers on the Wire
Teoscar Hernandez already has four home runs in June, three of which have come in his last eight contests. Fellow Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk has gone deep five times this month, including twice last Sunday.
Other Targets: Jurickson Profar, Franmil Reyes, Christian Villanueva, Michael Conforto, Albert Pujols, Aaron Hicks, Daniel Palka, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Chapman
Steals on the Wire
10 of Michael A. Taylor's 21 stolen bases this season have come in the last three weeks. Assuming he's in the lineup, he'll face an Orioles squad that has allowed more steals than all but three other teams.
Other Targets: Jarrod Dyson, Jonathan Villar, Dustin Fowler, Denard Span