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As injuries pile up and spots open up on your roster, the need to grab some solid hitters off the waiver wire increases in importance. Maybe you've just decided it's time to part ways with a struggling slugger and go in a new direction. For whatever reason you need hitting, I'm here to help!
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 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 11 teams playing 7 games between Monday, April 22, and Sunday, April 28:
- Chicago White Sox (@MIN, vs. TB)
- Cincinnati (vs. PHI, vs. @TEX)
- Kansas City (vs. TOR, @DET)
- Milwaukee (@PIT, vs. NYY)
- Minnesota (vs. CHW, @LAA)
- New York Yankees (vs. OAK, @MIL)
- Oakland (@NYY, @BAL)
- Philadelphia (@CIN, vs. @SDP)
- Pittsburgh (vs. MIL, @SF)
- San Diego (@COL, vs. PHI)
- Toronto (@KC, vs. LAD)
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros play only five games this week with off days on Monday and Friday. Two of those games are at Coors Field, however!
Park Factor Upgrades and Downgrades:
- Colorado plays all six games at home this week - UPGRADE
- Arizona plays @STL and @SEA - DOWNGRADE
Week 5 Fantasy Baseball Hitter Streamers
I'll recommend only players who are 40% rostered or lower and all roster percentages are from Yahoo!
Mitch Haniger, OF - SEA (35%)
He's not likely to face any left-handed starter this week, but that's alright because Haniger has all three of his home runs against RHP so far this season. The Mariners' clean-up hitter has been very good over the last two weeks after struggling for the first week and a half of the season. He can contribute across the board in offensive production with steals being the only stat we shouldn't expect any of from Mitch.
Jesse Winker, OF - WAS (29%)
He's back! Winker finally looks like the version of himself that was a fixture atop the Cincinnati Reds lineup before those down years in Seattle and Milwaukee. We almost forgot what a good hitter he can be, but he's reminded everyone lately with his renaissance in Washington.
JESSE WINKER. TIE GAME. 😉 pic.twitter.com/COf53AVceb
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 20, 2024
Winker is hitting .339 this season and while most of his value comes from runs and RBI, he does have two home runs and two steals already, too.
Bryan De La Cruz, OF - MIA (29%)
De La Cruz is perhaps the hottest hitter under 30% rostered as he has four home runs over his last six games. Miami's offense was asleep for the first several weeks of the season, but the Marlins are starting to pick it up and De La Cruz's production has been a big part of that.
Bryan De La Cruz has an extra-base hit and RBI in SEVEN straight games.
This time it was EXTRA-LARGE. pic.twitter.com/uvtzTgazux
— MLB (@MLB) April 20, 2024
It's notable that he's moved up to the second spot in the batting order for the last four games as he had been hitting third or fourth for most of the season. The Marlins have to go to Atlanta this week but do have a favorable matchup against Washington at home next weekend.
Blaze Alexander, 2B/SS - ARI (15%)
The rookie has come out of nowhere to establish himself as an important cog in what has been an impressive offensive machine so far in Arizona. Alexander is making the most of his opportunity that originally opened up because of an injury to Geraldo Perdomo. But he's quickly becoming a clubhouse favorite and his manager can't stop raving about him either. Grab him and ride his hot hitting while it lasts.
Blaze Alexander’s grand slam gives the Dbacks a 15-1 lead in San Francisco 😳 pic.twitter.com/R7xDnjlYyQ
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 20, 2024
Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF - TEX (13%)
Smith has seen his rostership rise since last week and continues to hit for this Rangers team as his average is holding steady at .298. He's a lot like Cavan Biggio in that he has a great lineup slot (usually fifth or sixth) behind a bunch of good hitters and so he is in line for RBI opportunities without hitting for much power. If you need some cheap runs and RBI, Smith has 20 combined on the season, which is impressive when you consider he didn't start the first week of games when Josh Jung was still healthy.
Masyn Winn, SS - STL (11%)
Winn isn't going to hit for much power, but has been making plenty of contact (just a 20% K%) and is getting on base, too (11% BB% and .410 OBP). He's hitting .321 and has been one of the few Cardinals who is hitting consistently to start the season. There is even some stolen base upside here as Winn has swiped three bags already this year.
Blake Perkins, OF - MIL (8%)
Is Perkins perhaps the best nine-hitter in baseball? Well, to be fair, he has been moving up the lineup lately and has hit as high as sixth last week. After riding the pine for the first two weeks of the season, Perkins has been making the most of his opportunity and is hitting everything of late.
Blake Perkins has two more hits today and is hitting .356 this season.
All while playing gold glove caliber center field.
— Dominic Cotroneo (@Dom_Cotroneo) April 20, 2024
He's a switch hitter with some pop in his bat and some speed on the basepaths; what else could you ask for? With Yelich on the IL, Perkins should continue to play every day. There's no reason he shouldn't be on more rosters than he is right now!
Deep League Hitter Streamers to Consider
Some widely available hitters (under 10% rostered) could be worth a look this week.
- LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF - SFG (8%)
- Harold Ramirez, OF - TB (7%)
- Patrick Bailey, C - SFG (5%)
- Connor Wong, C - BOS (5%)
- Luis Garcia Jr., 2B - WSH (5%)
- Tyler Freeman, 2B/3B/SS/OF - CLE (5%)
- Wilyer Abreu, OF - BOS (3%)
- Abraham Toro, 2B/3B - OAK (2%)
Good luck this week and choose those streaming options wisely!
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