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Week 16 is the final week before the All-Star break! Some leagues will add Weeks 16 and 17 together into one long week, while others keep them separate. Either way, my job remains the same - to deliver some hitters who can contribute valuable production for your fantasy teams!
Our hitter streamers fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column will identify hitters with good matchups and can be considered waiver wire streamers ahead of the Sunday night waiver wire runs for leagues with weekly transactions.
In this piece, every week I'll look to find hitters playing in the most games and who have the most favorable matchups to help you plug those gaps and fill those holes in your roster. You can also check out the rest of our fantasy baseball streamer content here at RotoBaller.
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What Teams Offer The Most Streaming Value?
This week, we have 10 teams playing seven games between Monday, July 8, and Sunday, July 14:
- Arizona
- Atlanta
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Colorado
- Detroit
- Los Angeles Angels
- New York Mets
- Pittsburgh
- Washington
Two teams play only five games this week that I would avoid - Kansas City and San Diego.
Park Factors and Matchups: Upgrades and Downgrades
- The Reds play all seven games at home against bottom dwellers COL and MIA -- UPGRADE
- The Cubs play at Baltimore and St. Louis -- DOWNGRADE
- The Marlins play at Houston and Cincy -- UPGRADE
- The A's play at Boston and Philly - UPGRADE
- The Yankees play at Tampa and Baltimore -- DOWNGRADE
Week 16 Fantasy Baseball Hitter Streamers
I'll recommend only players who are 40% rostered or lower and all roster percentages are from Yahoo!
Ben Rice, C/1B - NYY (39%)
It happened again! At least once every week a player jumps 15% in rostership or more from Saturday to Sunday morning due to a huge game and this week it's Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, who hit three home runs yesterday against Boston and has won the hearts of New Yorkers.
Ben Rice didn't know how to accept his curtain call 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/fMdQs1W2hO
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 6, 2024
Don't count on multi-homer games as being the norm for Rice, but he should hit for average and is doing such a good job getting on base consistently that New York moved him into the leadoff spot. Whether or not he sticks as the leadoff man remains to be seen, but Rice has proven he is the first baseman of the future for New York and may have taken Anthony Rizzo's job even after he's healthy.
Gabriel Moreno, C - ARI (39%)
The D-Backs' catcher finally got a day off yesterday after going 8-for-16 in his first four games back from the IL. Moreno is now hitting .250 on the season with 30 RBI, which is good enough to be your backup catcher and he should be back to catching four out of every five games as the main backstop in Arizona.
Masataka Yoshida, OF - BOS (39%)
It's been a rocky first half for Yoshida, who has appeared in just 43 games for the Sox due to injuries. However, he's been very solid lately for Boston, hitting .351 over the last two weeks and reminding everyone what a quality hitter he can be.
Let's not forget that Yoshida hit .289 last year with 15 home runs, 72 RBI, 71 runs, and 8 stolen bases. He could be ready for a big second half.
Brooks Lee, SS - MIN (31%)
I happen to have added Lee to nearly every team of mine already and if you don't snag him soon in your league, someone else will. The rookie shortstop has been as advertised in his first four games for the Twins, hitting .467 with a home run and 6 RBI.
One for the record Brooks! 👏
Brooks Lee mashes his first Major League home run! pic.twitter.com/jtO6ClX0Sa
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 6, 2024
Lee is a switch-hitter with an impressive contact tool and solid power to all fields for a middle-infielder. He's manning third base while Royce Lewis is out, but if he keeps hitting like this then Minnesota will have to find a way to keep him in the lineup. I am convinced that he's up with the Twins for the duration and he's already one of their most consistent hitters.
Brandon Lowe, 2B - TB (25%)
We've been here before with Lowe as he's on a nice little power surge with three home runs over his last six games. The tough part about Lowe is that he's still sitting out every time a lefty starts, making him a strong-side platoon player only. You have to weigh your options here and have another option at second you can use in daily leagues when Lowe sits, but it's not easy to find a middle infielder with the power upside of Lowe who now has eight long balls on the season.
Brandon Marsh, OF - PHI (23%)
Marsh is a similar player to Lowe in that he's stuck in a strong side platoon for the time being. Even with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber out, Marsh hasn't been able to get into the lineup every day. He should have one more week of hitting clean up when he is in there, which is what is appealing about him.
Spencer Horwitz, 1B/2B - TOR (22%)
I'll probably feature Horwitz in this column every week until he's 40% rostered or more. While the ceiling is fairly low with Horwitz, he's a super consistent player who rarely leaves you with all zeroes in the box score.
Within disappointing #BlueJays season, Spencer Horwitz has been rare success story: https://t.co/e4jhVju6Ql
— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) July 7, 2024
I don't know what's not to like about a guy hitting over .300 with an OBP over .400. If you're comparing him to another first baseman, then yes, his power numbers are low (just three HR in his first 25 games) but if we were comparing him to other second basemen, we'd be thrilled with that type of production. This kid is just a hitter and feels like a great bench option even if you have two solid everyday players at first and second base.
Colt Keith, 2B/3B - DET (17%)
Keith had quite the holiday weekend, homering once on the Fourth of July and then following it up with a two-homer game on Friday against the Reds in Cincinnati. He is less proven than a guy like Brandon Lowe, but Keith has every bit as much upside and is more of a threat to steal a base (he has four on the season).
Kyle Higashioka, C - SDP (14%)
We could be chasing a fluky hot streak here, but Higgy has hit .333 with 4 home runs and 13 RBI over the last two weeks while being the everyday backstop in San Diego. Two things are working against him here this week. For one, the Pads play only five games while other teams play six or seven.
The other issue is that San Diego's other catcher, Luis Campusano returned from the IL this weekend, so we should see the platoon back in effect.
Brendan Rodgers, 2B - COL (13%)
I realize that this is like the fourth second baseman on the list today, but I had to mention Rodgers who is back in good form after a stint on the IL that caused him to miss a good chunk of June.
Rodgers is hitting .341 over the last two weeks with 1 home run and 6 runs scored. He's an everyday player for Colorado and usually hits second against lefties and fifth against righties. The Rockies have a solid seven-game week ahead with a stop in Cincinnati (nearly as good of a hitting environment as Colorado in the summertime).
Fantasy Baseball Deep League Hitter Streamers to Consider
Some widely available hitters (under 10% rostered) could be worth a look this week.
- Andrew McCutchen, OF - PIT (10%)
- Leody Taveras, OF - TEX (6%)
- Michael Toglia, 1B/OF - COL (6%)
- Rowdy Tellez, 1B - PIT (4%)
- Richie Palacios, 2B/OF - TB (3%)
Good luck this week and choose those streaming options wisely!
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