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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 Monday, July 24.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Meet the New Boss
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Meet the New Boss
You may have noticed that today's edition of Streaming Wars comes with a different byline attached. Brad is on vacation this week, so yours truly is filling in. Let me assure you that if these recommendations fail to pan out, I will definitely claim inexperience as an excuse.
I haven't devoted a lot of effort into the DFS realm to this point, which obviously helps for an exercise such as this one. Call me old-fashioned for preferring the season-long grind. Streaming is still part of that world, of course, so I'm optimistic that there won't be a noticeable drop-off in the quality of advice while I'm pinch-hitting here. If there is, well, get mad at the guy who abandoned his post.
RotoBaller: Where accountability matters!
2. Today's Weather and Updates
All systems go today, with no precipitation odds above 15 percent. Should be a beautiful day for a ballgame in most of the country.
Tomorrow, same story. Summer is the best season, and I feel even more strongly about that since moving to a place with low humidity.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Monday, July 24
Pitchers to Use
The pickings are rather slim today, though that just means the options for exploits will be plentiful. After an inauspicious start to his tenure with the Royals, Jason Hammel has resumed being the useful back-end fantasy starter he's been for the last few seasons. He's posted a 3.56 ERA and 1.19 WHIP since the end of May, with six quality starts in nine outings. The Tigers are a much less imposing matchup than they've been in the past, with Miguel Cabrera playing hurt and J.D. Martinez shipped off to Arizona.
Kevin Gausman has been dominant in three of his last five starts. In the other two, he more closely resembled the wreck he's been for the majority of 2017. One of those recent gems came against these Rays, though, and the Trop is a friendly venue.
Other Targets: It's rough out there today, boys.
Pitchers to Exploit
Good lord. Monday's slate is a veritable smorgasbord of Quad-A types. Miguel Gonzalez has to deal with the newly resurgent Cubs at Wrigley. Tim Adleman and Josh Tomlin face off in a battle of Ohio; take the over on whatever the line is set at for runs. Ditto for the matchup in Texas between Adam Conley and Martin Perez. Seems likely to be a big day for hitters around the game.
Other Targets: Matt Cain, Blake Snell, Vince Velasquez
Homers on the Wire
Mike Napoli was hot garbage at the beginning of the season, which has helped keep his ownership rate suppressed. Well, that and a batting average near the Mendoza line all year. But he's got seven homers and a healthy .275/.327/.745 slash line in July, and Joey Gallo cratering removes a potential impediment to playing time. Napoli usually hits near the middle of the order, and he'll get to take a few cracks at Adam Conley in Arlington.
While Andrew McCutchen's resurgence has gotten a lot of the attention, the Pirates' recent run isn't just to his credit. Teammate Josh Bell has bounced back from a prolonged slump in May, posting a .277/.353/.535 line with eight homers since June 2. He's only gone deep twice in July, but a matchup with Cain gives him a good opportunity to add to that tally.
Other Targets: Nick Castellanos, Maikel Franco, Matt Adams, Tommy Joseph, Trey Mancini, Paul DeJong
Steals on the Wire
Whit Merrifield has hit his way to the top of the Royals' lineup, and he's tied to the major league lead with nine stolen bases over the past month. He's up to 16 on the season in 17 tries. Justin Verlander isn't great at holding runners, so expect Merrifield to run if he reaches base.
One of the guy tied with Merrifield? Rajai Davis, who could see himself matched up against Miguel Montero on Monday pending lineup decisions.
Other Targets: Jarrod Dyson, Manuel Margot, Mallex Smith
Skill Positions
Tyler Clippard took the loss in his first game with the White Sox, but remains the first option for saves on the South Side.
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