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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 an 8-game slate Thursday, starting earlier than usual. Fortunately, there are quite a few streamable players, with 16 teams taking the field. This article will use rostered percentages and position eligibility from Yahoo! leagues.
Hitter Streamers for 5/20 - Shallow Leagues
Austin Hays (OF, BAL) - 20% rostered
Matchup: vs. LHP Rich Hill
Austin Hays is a superb streamer for the small slate. First, the splits vs. LHP are extremely favorable. He touts a .676 SLG% and 1.035 OPS in just about 40 plate appearances. Second, on top of proficiency against LHP, Hays is barreling the ball more than ever. His 12.5% barrel rate is well above league-average, so let's hope Rich Hill hangs one of his curveballs and parks one in the bleachers at hitter-friendly Camden Yards.
Nico Hoerner (2B/3B/SS, CHC) - 31% rostered
Matchup: vs. RHP Joe Ross
This streamer gives us an option to compile numbers in a bevy of categories. Hoerner is a toolsy player that shows off the 91st percentile in sprint speed and has a rich 41% hard-hit rate. While the power has not shown itself off yet, the contact rates are helping boost his.345 batting average. I mentioned the sprint speed; this makes him a perfect option for any manager chasing stolen bases.
Kike Hernandez (2B/SS/OF, BOS) - 23% rostered
Matchup: @ LHP Steven Matz
Kike is back! After a brief IL stint, the BoSox leadoff hitter is showing no signs of rust. Since returning, Hernandez has a hit in both outings in the two games, with a couple of extra-base hits. Now, the missing link to today's success is the ballpark. Dunedin is producing all sorts of crazy scores. Additionally, Hernandez is not a big-time barrel hitter, so any extra power boost is very welcome.
Bobby Dalbec(1B, BOS) - 21% rostered
Matchup: @ LHP Steven Matz
A southpaw squares off against Dalbec today, which gives his value a massive uptick. In 43 at-bats vs. LHP, Dalbec is slugging .628, and his .984 OPS makes him one of the top streaming candidates to take one deep. On top of his destruction of southpaws in general, Dalbec profiles pretty well today. Steven Matz relies on a changeup to right-handed hitters as his putaway pitch. However, Dalbec .529 SLG% and .369 xwOBA against changeups. Lastly, Dunedin is a HR haven, and the temperatures are on the rise.
Hitter Streamers for 5/20 - Deep Leagues
Kevin Kiermaier (OF, TB) - 1% rostered
Matchup: @ RHP Dean Kremer
If we are looking to stream Keirmaier, there is a major reason for it-stolen bases. The category is a unicorn that we constantly keep trying to stream for. So today is a perfect spot for Keirmaier. The Rays OF has already swiped three bags, and his 93rd percentile sprint speed makes him a target any time he is on base. So plug him in any five OF leagues for the day and cross your fingers that he feels like running.
Corey Dickerson (OF, MIA) - 9% rostered
Matchup: @ RHP Vince Velasquez
One of my all-time favorite streamers is Corey Dickerson. Over his career, the Miami OF slays right-handed pitching. He is a career 123 wRC+ bat with above-average speed. So, parking one over the fences or swiping a bag is an entirely possible feat. Keep in mind, the matchup against Velasquez is a plus as well. Vince continues to have walk problems and is getting hit hard(47.2% hard-hit rate).
Willy Adames (SS, TB) - 9% rostered
Matchup: @ RHP Dean Kremer
First, Camden Yards is one of the smaller ballparks in the MLB. Let's add that little nugget to the fact Adames squares off against Dean Kremer. On his good days, Kremer is a league-average SP who has already given up eight HRs in 31 innings pitched. Adames has been barreling the ball on over 12% of his batted ball events. Does that mean we are chasing cheap HRs? You bet we are!
Pitcher Streamers for 5/20 - Shallow Leagues
Luis Garcia (SP, HOU) - 30% rostered
Matchup: @ OAK Cole Irvin
Luis Garcia has pitched very well on the 2021 season; however, the record doesn't seem to showcase this. Through 31 innings pitched, he is 1-3 with a 3.34 ERA. Additionally, backing up that ERA is a 3.79 SIERA. As far as streamers go, that is extremely effective. Adding to the high proficiency are the strikeouts. His 10.29 K/9 suggests an outstanding chance he racks up plenty of Ks to make him worth the start, so plug him in. Oakland strikes out at nearly a 25% rate vs. RHP as well.
Pitcher Streamers for 5/20 - Deep Leagues
Alex Cobb (SP, LAA) - 4% rostered
Matchup: vs. MIN Lewis Thorpe
Cobb has changed quite a bit in 2021. First, he stopped throwing his four-seam fastball completely. In exchange, he switched to the sinker. The switch to more offspeed pitches has resulted in a massive upswing in strikeout rate. Cobb has nearly doubled the K%-all the way up to 30%. Wow! A SP with a 30% strikeout rate that is available as a streamer? Please stop what you're doing and pick him up.
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