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Every Sunday, we have to take stock of our fantasy teams and decide which needs we should address. Well, you should be doing that at least once a week if you play in a league with weekly rosters; if you have daily roster edits, then I suggest reviewing your team at least once or twice during the week, too (though pouring over your roster daily might be a bit extreme -- it's a long season and sometimes the best move to make is no move at all).
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 eight teams playing seven games between Monday, May 20, and Sunday, May 26:
- Atlanta (vs. SD, at CHC, at PIT)
- Baltimore (at STL, at CWS)
- Chicago White Sox (at TOR, vs. BAL)
- Detroit (at KC, vs. TOR)
- New York Yankees (vs. SEA, at SD)
- San Diego (at ATL, at CIN, vs. NYY)
- Seattle (at NYY, at WAS)
- Toronto (vs. CWS, at DET)
Park Factors and Matchups: Upgrades and Downgrades
- Philly plays Texas at home and Colorado in Coors -- UPGRADE
- Cincinnati plays all six games at home -- UPGRADE
- Washington faces Minnesota and Seattle (two top pitching staffs) -- DOWNGRADE
Week 9 Fantasy Baseball Hitter Streamers
I'll recommend only players who are 40% rostered or lower and all roster percentages are from Yahoo!
Connor Wong, C - BOS (33%)
I'm not sure anyone, including Wong himself, was expecting Connor to hit .350 over his first 31 games. The Red Sox backstop has been known more for his reliable defense than his bat in his career. He has already doubled up his home run total from all of 2023 (nine) with five dingers this season and has worked his way into the three hole in this Boston lineup.
Connor Wong amongst AL catchers (100ab)
.362 AVG (1st)
.389 OBP (2nd)
.552 SLG (2nd)
.941 OPS (2nd) pic.twitter.com/fnaZHgUHzO— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) May 18, 2024
Whether you believe he can sustain the hot start, he's well worth streaming while he's hitting. We simply don't get this type of production from that many catchers so ride the Wong hot streak as long as you can!
Lars Nootbaar, OF - STL (33%)
The Noot is loose! Wow, that's terrible, but then again, so is the Cardinals offense, am I right? Nootbaar is one of the few Red Birds who are hitting lately as he's collected five hits over his last three games while scoring three runs and driving in four more. He should continue to hit near the top of the lineup and we know what a solid roto contributor he can be when he's making solid contact consistently.
Joey Ortiz, 2B/3B - MIL (33%)
Ortiz is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now and thus has become one of the hottest commodities in fantasy baseball. He was just 18% rostered yesterday when I did my initial prep for this piece and is now 33% rostered a day later.
Joey Ortiz has been on fire over his last nine games...
33 PA, .367/.424/.867, 3 2B, 4 HR#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/O3dGpnhmnV
— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) May 18, 2024
Milwaukee has embraced the youth movement with its hitters this season and given its young guys opportunities to show what they can do. Ortiz clearly can hit for both average and power and should continue to play every day while he keeps hitting. The second-base eligibility is really nice, too, as he has more pop in his bat than most middle infielders.
Brendan Donovan, 1B/2B/OF - STL (31%)
Am I allowed to bash the Cardinals offense and then recommend two hitters from their team in a waiver wire piece? Why not? Donovan is back on a warm streak right now, collecting at least one hit in six straight games and scoring six runs in that stretch.
He has some unique position eligibility and leads off against RHP. He's a typical "jack-of-all-trades but master of none" as he can chip in across the board with offensive stats, but just don't expect any stolen bases.
Andrew Vaughn, 1B - CWS (23%)
How about another pretty good hitter on a bad offense -- because that's how I would describe Andrew Vaughn. While he tends to hit LHP much better, Vaughn is in the lineup every day for the Sox, even against righties. Like most of the White Sox offensive players, he labored through April but he has turned it on in May with three home runs and eight RBI over the last 10 games.
With seven games this week, he's worth a gamble and I think he should see at least a few lefties (Yusei Kikuchi from Toronto and John Means from Baltimore).
Mike Tauchman, OF - CHC (23%)
And once again I have to feature one of the most overlooked players in fantasy baseball -- Mr. Mike Tauchman of the Chicago Cubs!
Mike Tauchman rankings coming into today for qualified outfielders in all of baseball:
3rd in BB% (16.0%)
5th in OBP (.391)
8th in wRC+ (140)
8th in wOBA (.368)
13th in fWAR (1.2) pic.twitter.com/DM6tlVsEwX— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) May 16, 2024
I mentioned it in another article earlier this week, but Tauchman is in the top 10 in runs scored (28) and has been elite at getting on base this year with an OBP close to .400. He's been so steady that he has earned an everyday role in this offense after starting the season as a platoon player. Don't be surprised when he launches another home run sometime this week and turns in another solid week of production.
Davis Schneider, 2B/OF - TOR (22%)
Toronto is another offense that has slumped badly out of the gates, but Davis Schneider has been a nice surprise with five home runs from the second-base position. The team is desperate for production and has even been batting Schneider in the leadoff spot instead of the slumping George Springer. This kid can rake and gets at least three games this week against the White Sox, who have some hittable starting pitching.
Kevin Pillar, OF - LAA (19%)
The veteran is making the most out of his increased playing time of late. Check out his ridiculous stat line over the last 14 days.
.469 AVG, Three HR, 14 RBI, Nine R, Four SB
Those numbers were the fourth best of any hitter in baseball in 5x5 roto value! Obviously, he won't sustain that level of production for a full season, but he's getting more opportunities to play with the Angels as they are without Mike Trout. He will sit out occasionally against a righty, but right now he's on fire and going to be in the lineup daily as long as he continues to hit.
Fantasy Baseball Deep League Hitter Streamers to Consider
Some widely available hitters (under 10% rostered) could be worth a look this week.
- Tyler Freeman, 2B/3B/SS/OF - CLE (10%)
- Paul DeJong, SS - CHW (8%)
- Edmundo Sosa, 3B/SS - PHI (7%)
- Jake Bauers, 1B/OF - MIL (7%)
- Masyn Winn, SS - STL (7%)
- Wenceel Perez, 2B/OF - DET (7%)
- Nick Gonzales, 2B/SS - PIT (5%)
- Richie Palacios, 2B/OF - TB (4%)
Good luck this week and choose those streaming options wisely!
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