RADIO
Welcome back to my hitting streamers column for Week 11, taking a look at hitters to add or stream off the waiver wire for this week's scheduled games.
To keep things simple, I pick from players who are 50% owned or less and who play at least seven games in the week. If someone jumps off the page at me as a less than seven game player, I may make an exception, but otherwise the advantage in number of games dictates my choices.
Streaming can be a valuable tool, by allowing you to feast on favorable pitching matchups and simply have your hitters play more games than your opponents' hitters. If you have the roster space, streaming a hitter can be useful not only to fill a vacant lineup spot, but also to fill in for someone who has five games that week or faces tough matchups. In 5x5 leagues, four of the five hitting categories are counting stats, making the value of extra games significant. Streaming also can allow you to target a specific category of need. This week's pool of streamers has a handful of decent options, but then there are slim pickins. With that said, let’s dive right in.
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Bats to Stream and Start in Week 11
Justin Bour (1B, MIA) - 49% owned
Bour is no longer a platoon, even though some may still have that outdated view of him. Since stepping into his regular role, Bour has continued to hit. In just over a full season of games (169 games) between 2017 and 2018, Bour has a combined line of .274/35/75/110/1. Bour is not a streamer. He is a player you should snatch up and hold onto. Nevertheless, this week he faces favorable pitching matchups, making him Week 11's top "streaming" option.
Yonder Alonso (1B, CLE) - 38% owned
Alonso has been a regular in this column in 2018. In prior pieces, I pointed to Alonso's batted-ball profile being similar to 2017, but the batting average lagging due to poor luck. Since, Alonso's average has rebounded. Even though it is not fully where I'd expect, he has a line of .250/11/27/35/0 on the year. Most importantly, this week the righty-masher gets to face six righties, against whom he is batting .273 with a homer every 19 at bats on the season. Throughout his career, he has an OPS of .122 higher against righties, and the matchups he faces this week are also favorable independent of handedness. Expect a decent average with the likelihood of a homer and decent run production, making Alonso this week's number two streaming option.
Jason Kipnis (2B, CLE) - 34% owned
Kipnis had an abysmal start to the year. There is no disputing that. However, his May was better than March/April, and he is off to a hot start in June. In just six June games, he is batting .273 with a homer and two steals. Kipnis has a history of stealing double-digit bases to go with occasional double-digit home run power. He is a .264 career hitter, but has been wildly inconsistent in that category. Nonetheless, this week he faces good pitching matchups. Despite having worse numbers against righties in 2018 in a small sample, he has historically hit them better and will face six of them this week. Kipnis has a chance to provide all around production and is a great middle-infield streaming option.
Brian Anderson (3B/OF, MIA) - 24% owned
After getting a cup of coffee last year, the 25 year-old Anderson has been a regular in 2018. In 63 games, he has a line of .304/3/32/30/2. But don't let that line fool you into thinking he's a slap hitter. In 120 games between AA and AAA in 2017, he had 22 homers. This year, in addition to the three homers, he has 18 other extra base hits. Against favorable pitching matchups this week, he is a good bet to provide steady all around production, without wowing you in any one category.
Joe Panik (2B, SFG) - 9% owned
Panik has a remarkable career strikeout rate of just 9.4% to go with a walk rate of 8.2%. Watching him, you have to check the calendar to make sure it is still 2018 and that we are still playing in the age of the strikeout. Panik spreads the ball around the field, hits a variety of liners, grounders, and fly balls, and has a large dose of medium contact. He has a little bit of power (hitting 10 homers in two different seasons), can steal you a handful of bases, and hits for a decent average (.281 career). Basically, Panik is a bit of a throwback in that he puts the ball in play and is not a pure power hitter, but can provide a bit in each category. Facing decent pitching matchups this week, he is a good middle infield option for balanced production.
Jon Jay (OF, ARI) - 17% owned
In what was a bizarre 2017-2018 baseball offseason, Jon Jay was one of the players who waited a long time to find a home for much less than many predicted. He settled on a one-year $3 million contract with the Royals despite having a .374 OBP in 2017 and a .355 career OBP. This year, he has continued his high OBP ways (.360), but for 5x5 purposes has a line of .302/1/29/18/3. He was recently traded to the Diamondbacks. Despite the fact that their offense has disappointed this year, it has still scored at a higher rate than the Royals, and thus should be a slight boost to his fantasy value. If you want a decent average with runs and the chance for a steal, add Jay. If you need homers and RBIs, look elsewhere.
Derek Dietrich (1B/2B/3B/OF, MIA) - 28% owned
In 58 games this year, Dietrich has a line of .284/7/28/23/1. Throughout both 2018 and his career, he has hit better against righties. He will get to face five of them this week. While Dietrich can provide a serviceable average with some power and occasional run production, his real value is the ability to fill in at multiple positions. And facing good matchups this week, this is as good a week as any to use him. If the other options are off the board and you need a fill-in at one of his various positions, give him a shot.
Others to Consider
Manuel Margot (OF, SD) - 28% owned - Margot is a good stolen base option, with six on the year after posting 17 last year. He also hit 13 homers last year despite only having one in 2018. He started the year slowly, but has heated up lately and is worth a gamble.
Travis Jankowski (OF, SD) - 16% owned - Jankowski will not play every day, but if you are willing to take a hit in the other categories to gamble on stolen bases, he is not a bad bet.
