RADIO
Welcome back to my hitting streamers column for Week 21, 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 offers a decent streaming pool. Let's dive in.
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Bats to Stream and Start in Week 21
Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - 47% owned
Semien faces great pitching matchups this week. On the year, he has a line of .263/10/70/45/13. He has posted double digit steals and homers in four straight years now, and the Athletics’ offense has finally taken a step forward this year to add to run production. While he has exhibited more power versus lefties, and he faces seven righties this week, his splits are very minor. Start him with confidence.
Avisail Garcia (OF, CHW) - 34% owned
Avisail was a fantasy surprise last year, posting a .330/18/75/80/5 line. This year he has been limited to 60 games, but he has posted a line of .238/13/29/27/1 and is reportedly going to have offseason knee surgery. However, he faces favorable pitching matchups this week and should provide good production. Give him a shot.
Michael Conforto (OF, NYM) - 46% owned
While short-term trends are often more misleading than helpful, they can be useful when there is a reason you are viewing them. For Conforto, I earlier questioned whether the All-Star Break could provide him the rest he needed to get going again. Since the break, he has posted a line of .308/6/22/17/0 in 27 games. It looks like he may be rolling again. Even though he faces mostly lefties this week, that has not been a problem for him this year. When right, he has the ability to be a top-flight fantasy talent. Bet on him being right and give him a shot this week and hold onto him after.
Johan Camargo (2B/3B/SS, ATL) - 33% owned
Camargo continues to appear on this list as his ownership percentage creeps upward. If you have read prior entries, you’ve likely heard what I generally have to say about Camargo: he has shown respectable walk and strikeout rates while still exhibiting power. On the year, he has a line of .264/13/47/57/0. He faces good matchups this week and should be able to provide you good run production while not hurting you in the average or power departments.
Stephen Piscotty (OF, OAK) - 26% owned
Piscotty has done most of his damage against righties this year (.261 with 11 homers versus .226 with four homers against lefties), and he should face seven of them. He also has fared much better on the road, where he will have four of his seven games. And did I mention he faces favorable pitching matchups? His stat line is not going to blow you away, but he can produce a stomachable average with decent run production and slightly above average power. In the right week, he can be a very nice fantasy asset. This is a week to start him.
Willy Adames (2B/SS, TB) - 33% owned
The Rays have one of those weeks where the question is: do the really good matchups outweigh the really bad ones. They have four games against the Royals, but then have to face the heart of the Red Sox staff. In this situation, I think the answer is “yes” and have a few Rays on the list. First is Adames, who has a nice speed/power combination. In his first 49 MLB games, he is on a 162 game pace of .245/20/20/73/56/17. In 2016 and 2017 in the minors he totaled double digit homers and steals in both years. He is a highly rated prospect just days shy of his 23rd birthday, and given the matchups against the Royals this week, the idea is that he can compile enough production in those games to offset the tougher matchups at the end of the week.
Jake Bauers (1B/OF, TB) - 19% owned
Bauers is another Ray with speed and power. Through his first 62 MLB games, he is on a 162 game pace of .219/24/89/89/10. In the minors in 2016-2017, he combined for 27 homers and 30 steals. While he should not hit much in terms of average, he should beat the .219 rate which is based on a poor BABIP. An average closer to .250 or .260 should be expected. Just as his teammate Adames, this could be a week where he does enough early to offset the tougher matchups later in the week.
LESSER OWNED OPTIONS
Joey Wendle - (2B/3B/OF, TB) - 12% owned - Wendle has a .295/6/40/41/8 line on the year, with nearly all of that damage against righties. He should face six this week and faces six righties, worth a play. He may rank as high as Camargo on this list, but the back end of the list is tightly-clumped together
Daniel Palka (1B/OF, CHW) - 6% owned - Palka has a homer every 15.2 at bats this year vs RHP, and he should face a number of righties this week. If you need to gamble on a homer, he is a good bet.
Austin Jackson (OF, NYM) - 2% owned - He is not the base threat he used to be and doesn’t have a ton of power, but he can help you in batting average while sprinkling in some other production.
Adalberto Mondesi (2B/SS, KC) - 14% owned - Mondesi is a buy and hold; he has 15 steals in just 40 games this year to go with four homers. However, he faces tough pitching matchups which means I may sit him this week and start him later. However, he still is a decent bet for a stolen base this week.
