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Baseball is back, and fantasy managers in daily leagues no doubt already have holes to fill with streamers. Fortunately, RotoBaller has you covered with daily streaming picks.
Each day, RotoBaller will provide you with some of the best streaming options to consider in fantasy baseball daily leagues. Additionally, these recommendations can be useful for fantasy managers setting DFS lineups.
We have a 10-game slate Thursday, starting earlier than usual. Fortunately, there are quite a few streamable players with 20 teams taking the field. This article will use rostered percentages and position eligibility from Yahoo! leagues.
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Hitter Streamers for 5/6 - Shallow Leagues
Miguel Sano (1B/3B, MIN) -45% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Jordan Lyles
Need of some power from one of the hot corners? Miguel Sano was activated from the IL and returned to the Twins lineup last night. So let's look past the 2021 season for a moment and focus on the bigger picture to see who Sano is. He boasts an enormous 16.9% barrel rate! Let me repeat that, a career 16.9% barrel rate. ELITE! Along with his gaudy barrel rate are a career .497 xwOBAcon and a 51.1% hard-hit rate. His stat line looks bad for 2021 because he strikes out over 30% of the time. Start him today; he faces off against Jordan Lyles, a 7.39 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.
Hunter Dozier (1B/3B/OF, KC) - 36% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Triston McKenzie
Saying Hunter Dozier is white-hot would be an understatement. Last week, he 7-for-22 with six extra-base hits(3 HR, 3 2B) and slashing .318/.375/.955 with a 1.330 OPS. The season stats look putrid, which is likely what keeps his roster% well below 50%. That is paydirt for us today! The Statcast metrics love him too: 80th percentile hard-hit%, 80th percentile barrel%, and 81st percentile sprint speed.
Lorenzo Cain (OF, MIL) - 33% rostered
Matchup: @ RHP Zack Wheeler
Another veteran fresh off an IL stint that has caused his roster% to dip. I am willing to look the other way on his pre-injury start if you are, cool? Let's focus on better things, like Cain's 91st percentile in sprint speed and one stolen base since returning a couple of games ago. Grabbing Cain in your OF slot is not a power play at all. He has a career 90.2% zone contact% to pair with a well-above league-average contact rate(81.2%). An ideal outcome for the day would be a few hits, a couple of runs, and a stolen base.
Manuel Margot (OF, TB) - 21% rostered
Matchup: @ LHP Andrew Heaney
To start, I love the matchup against Andrew Heaney. Sure, Heaney can strike out a ton of batters, but wow, does he give up a bunch of loud contact. In addition, the 22nd percentile in barrel% suggests he is prone to giving up HRs. On the flip side, Margot is sporting a career-high 42% hard-hit rate. Furthermore, when facing a southpaw, Margot is 24% better than league-average in terms of wRC+.
Hitter Streamers for 5/6 - Deep Leagues
Josh Harrison (2B/3B, WAS) - 14% rostered
Matchup: vs. LHP Drew Smyly
Sometimes streaming is as easy as exploiting the struggling SP. In this case, our target is Drew Smyly, who is having a season to forget. His 8.05 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and the nine HRs given up on the year are putrid. But it is not just Smyly here; Harrison sees a resurgence. In the last two seasons, Harrison vs. LHP is sporting an ISO of .222 and .250 respectfully. To conclude, he is also batting second in the lineup that includes Trea Turner and Juan Soto. Just saying.
Starlin Castro (2B/3B, WAS) - 9% rostered
Matchup: vs. LHP Drew Smyly
Picking on Smyly again? Shame on us, but we are going to do it anyway. Throughout Starlin Castro's career against LHP, he has been very successful. His career slash line is .299/.348/.438 with a 112 wRC+. Again, these are great numbers to put up against a struggling left-handed pitcher. Look for Starlin to collect a couple of hits and add to your RBI total.
Willie Calhoun (OF, TEX) - 11% rostered
Matchup: @ RHP Michael Pineda
Calhoun is off to a great start since being activated from the IL. In 57 AB, his .316/.381/.491 slash line is a thing of beauty, and add it to his .872 OPS. Willie has already parked three balls into the bleachers and carries a .386 xwOBAcon. Furthermore, his strikeout rate has dipped below 15%, and he is walking more(7.9%). It kind of makes you wonder why he is still only 11% rostered. Either way, pick him up, and maybe he sticks all season long!
Pitcher Streamers for 5/6 - Shallow Leagues
Taijuan Walker (SP, NYM) - 42% rostered
Matchup: @ STL RHP John Gant
Walker is enjoying some nice success in 2021. Through 27 IP, Walker boasts a 3.00 ERA and nearly 24% K-rate. This hasn't generated much in the wins category, but you can't count on SPs getting those on the Mets. See Jacob deGrom. Anyway, the matchup is very enticing for Walker too. The St Louis Cardinals host an 89 wRC+ and .688 OPS vs. RHP. The Cardinals only walk 7.5%(5th worst in MLB) to go along with those middling numbers. That is terrific news for Walker, who if I had to knock one thing holding him back, it would be the walks. Great spot for him today!
Pitcher Streamers for 5/6 - Deep Leagues
Spencer Turnbull (SP, DET) - 8% rostered
Matchup: @ BOS Nate Eovaldi
The SP pool gets very shallow at this point. However, I would swim with Spencer Turnbull. He had a very rough start to the season with extensive time on the COVID IL. On top of that, luck has not been on Turnbull's side either. He shows a 4.50 ERA backed by a 3.21 xERA, which basically means the outcomes(thru Statcast metrics only) are better than the true outcomes. If Turnbull's slider is working, Boston is in for a long afternoon. It has a 55 wRC+ and 20% swinging-strike rate. Tough matchup against the Red Sox, so this is a dice roll.
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