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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. This article, which began last season, runs seven days a week. Even with only a week and a half of the season in the books, we are always ready to stream.
For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories, and target players who may be available on your waiver wire.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Tuesday, April 17. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Bartold
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Bartold
I'm making "Bartold" a word while we still have a chance.
Yesterday, 45-year-old Bartolo Colon shoved against the best offense in baseball. He Bartold the Astros with seven perfect innings en route to a 3-1 Rangers victory. The bullpen took over after he allowed a walk and a double in the eighth inning. Unlike former old guy pitcher Jamie Moyer, Colon doesn't use a kitchen sink approach. He almost always throws a sub-90 mph fastball. Somehow, it works.
Brent Suter is another pitcher who excels at Bartelling opponents.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
New York could deal with some minor delays for passing showers. It's still damned cold in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Elsewhere, the weather is fine for baseball.
3. Streamer Picks - Tuesday, April 17
Pitchers to Use
I see two matchups worth trying. Cool weather in Pittsburgh should convert pitcher friendly PNC Park into the fascist capitol of run suppression. Trevor Williams has loved the chilly conditions in the early going. He's burned worms en route to three wins in three starts. His peripherals leave something to be desired including a two mph decline in velocity (cold can do that), and very few swinging strikes. He'll be opposed by Chad Bettis who also has plenty of experience pitching in frosty conditions.
In a much warmer venue, Nick Pivetta will face Mike Foltynewicz in an evenly matched contest. Both hurlers are about 35 percent owned on Yahoo. Pivetta has leaned on his plus curve ball to turn into a fantasy viable arm. He's easily worth owning in 12-team and deeper. I might still stream in 10-team and shallower. Through three starts, the two pitchers have very similar results and projections. Pivetta has the better peripherals and supporting cast.
Other Targets: Zack Wheeler
Pitchers to Exploit
Duffy looks busted. His velocity is a career low 91.6 mph, and he isn't inducing swinging strikes. Even his command has taken a step back. The result is a luck neutral 5.40 ERA. A visit to power friendly Rogers Centre isn't ideal, even if the Blue Jays are missing their top slugger. Right now, he looks like a homer prone fly ball pitcher. Yuck.
Other Targets: Jarlin Garcia, Andrew Cashner, Francisco Liriano, Danny Duffy, Matt Moore, Sal Romano, Miguel Gonzalez, Ariel Miranda, Bryan Mitchell
Homers on the Wire
Not everybody has noticed Yuli Gurriel on the waiver wire. The first baseman is finally healthy, and he's served his suspension for blatant public racism. He'll have the platoon advantage against Miranda - a pretty good situation for a power hitter. Beware, Gurriel's wrist injury tends to sap power for about half a year. He did show signs of a power breakout late last season.
Masahiro Tanaka has just one problem - he's kinda homer prone. While I'm convinced his home park is mostly to blame, he'll be pitching there tomorrow against the Marlins. Derek Dietrich, Brian Anderson, and even Miguel Rojas are worth a try. I have my eye on Rojas. He has a fluky-looking 38.5 percent hard contact rate this year after a career of high soft contact rates. Only time will tell if he's mid-breakout or due for a dose of regression.
Other Targets: Yangervis Solarte, Randal Grichuk, Devon Travis, Teoscar Hernandez, Neil Walker, Carlos Gomez, C.J. Cron, Dexter Fowler, Jedd Gyorko, Matt Joyce, Nick Delmonico, Dan Vogelbach, Chase Utley
Steals on the Wire
I struggled to find stolen base targets for tomorrow. Mallex Smith will face a fellow lefty. We're a long way from knowing if he's a platoon bat, but I'm modestly hopeful he can hit both hands reasonably well. I'm more concerned about his 2-for-5 success rate on the bases.
Other Targets: Jonathan Villar
Skill Positions
Wilson Ramos hasn't done much yet with his 2018 opportunities. He's in a good position to get back on track against Moore tomorrow.
