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Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Wednesday, August 23.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Food for Thought
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Food for Thought
We'll probably have a few opportunities to discuss Boog Powell between now and the end of the season. Here he is doing something relevant to fantasy owners and fans of coincidences.
Homers and barbecue
— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) August 22, 2017
2. Today's Weather and Updates
Keep a close eye on Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Cleveland tonight. The latter two venues are more likely to finish their games. New York and Atlanta could be in trouble tomorrow.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Wednesday, August 23
Pitchers to Use
Mike Montgomery, Luke Weaver, and Andrew Heaney belong in a basket. Why? Because they're all likely to throw five or fewer innings. Montgomery is visiting the Reds, a challenging matchup for a pitcher who isn't stretched out. Weaver finds himself opposite the pitiful Padres, and he's the most likely of the trio to throw a full 100 pitches. Heaney draws a solid Rangers offense. However, they're a bottom 10 unit versus southpaws. By order of preference, I'd roster Weaver, Monty, then Heaney.
Other Targets: Jhoulys Chacin, Andrew Cashner
Pitchers to Exploit
I remain a fan of Trevor Williams despite feeling the burn last week. However, I'm not such a fan of the poor man's Zach Godley that I'd use him against the Dodgers. With the way they're playing this year, there are few pitchers I'd use against them. (Godley happens to be one of them.)
Edwin Jackson is starting to reach the point when we have to pay attention to his 3.43 ERA. However, ERA estimators still think he's terrible (i.e. 5.30 FIP). The most obvious positive for Jackson is an increase to 94 mph velocity. He's only a tic below where he sat back during his incredibly inconsistent heyday. A start versus the Astros is not the time to try something crazy. If he survives this outing, then we might consider streaming him.
Other Targets: Justin Nicolino, Zach Eflin, Jordan Zimmermann, Asher Wojciechowski, Chris Flexen, Austin Pruitt, Erasmo Ramirez, James Shields, Antonio Senzatela, Ian Kennedy
Homers on the Wire
Although he's available in zero percent of my leagues, Rhys Hoskins remains on the wire in 68 percent of Yahoo leagues. Hoskins won't continue to hit a homer every 10 plate appearances, nor will he post a .154 BABIP. Expect a high average and OBP to go with run production. He has the makings of a fantasy monster. You'll soon miss your chance to buy low.
Stephen Piscotty is in the midst of his worst season as a major leaguer, mostly due to playing with some injuries. He's supposedly fully healthy and fresh off a hot stint in Triple-A. The Cardinals batted him second on Sunday.
Other Targets: Mike Napoli, Jose Pirela, Hunter Renfroe, Stephen Piscotty, Brandon Moss, Howie Kendrick, Adam Lind, Derek Fisher, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, Nick Delmonico, Mitch Haniger, Taylor Motter, Matt Adams, Brandon Phillips, Brandon Guyer, Curtis Granderson, Freddy Galvis, Keon Broxton, Jed Lowrie, Matt Chapman
Steals on the Wire
With Cameron Maybin slumping since well before he went on the disabled list with an asploded knee, Ben Revere is drawing a lot of starts as the Angels leadoff man. While his season stats are the fantasy equivalent of a leaky anus, he's gone 21-for-68 with eight steals over the last month. That's acceptable production if you're in need a few swipes.
Other Targets: Delino DeShields, Ben Revere, Manuel Margot, Byron Buxton, Leury Garcia, Jose Peraza, Cesar Hernandez
Skill Positions
Alex Avila remains the top streamable catcher. If he isn't available, Cameron Rupp is solid versus southpaws.
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