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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire all season long. This article, now in its second year, runs seven days a week.
For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your weakest categories, and target players who may be available on your waiver wire.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Wednesday, June 27. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Overlooked Fish
- Weather Forecasts
- Wednesday's Picks
1. Overlooked Fish
While many fantasy owners probably try to have as little as possible to do with any players on the rebuilding Marlins, it's not usually a winning strategy if you're avoiding an entire team altogether.
That brings us to super-utility player Derek Dietrich, who is eligible at first base, second base, third base and the outfield in most fantasy setups. In NL-only and deeper mixed leagues, his positional versatility alone makes him intriguing.
But on top of that he's hitting over .300 on the year and is 18-for-49 (.367 average, 1.059 OPS) in recent weeks with three home runs, five RBI and nine runs scored. While his 4.5 percent walk rate and bloated .367 BABIP make him a prime candidate for regression (hint, hint: sell high), those in deeper leagues could do much worse right now.
Ride him while he's hot but beware he could cool off dramatically in the near future. Hey, at least you know he'll be playing mostly everyday on a bad club. Dietrich is still barely over 50 percent owned in fantasy leagues.
2. Weather Forecasts
The only games in danger of being postponed or delayed on Wednesday look to be Reds-Braves in Atlanta and Mariners-Orioles in Baltimore, with both locations in danger of experiencing thunderstorms. The game at Camden Yards is the likelier of the two to be delayed/canceled.
3. Streamer Picks - Wednesday, June 27
Pitchers to Use
The left-handed Brent Suter has been surprisingly good for the Brewers this year, pitching to an 8-4 record, 4.15 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He's also on a roll, throwing a season-high seven innings in each of his last two starts while giving up three runs in those two outings against the Phillies and Cardinals.
He's not the biggest strikeout artist (7.3 K/9), but he's also 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in three interleague outings (two starts), and the Royals offense ranks second to last in OPS (.669) on the season. The Royals also rank second to last in home runs as an offense with just 63 all season.
Kyle Gibson is finally putting it together for the Twinkies in 2018. Although his record sits at 2-5, he's sporting a sparkling 3.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and career-high 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings over 88 2/3 frames. However, he'll need to lower his career-high 4.0 BB/9 if he wants to keep the good times rolling.
The good times should keep rolling against an inept White Sox lineup Wednesday. Gibson hasn't allowed more than two runs in each of his last five starts with a 1.93 ERA over that span, which includes just two runs allowed to the potent Red Sox lineup his last time out.
The Pale Hose rank fourth in baseball with 727 strikeouts as a team and also sit with a lowly .694 OPS. They strike out the most of any team at their home ballpark, having fanned 377 times at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2018. Gibson is licking his chops.
Other Targets: Wade LeBlanc (@BAL), Ivan Nova (@NYM), Zack Wheeler (vs.PIT), Clayton Richard (@TEX), Mike Minor (vs.SD), James Shields (vs.MIN), Kyle Freeland (@SF)
Pitchers to Exploit
Marco Estrada has faced a gauntlet of great offenses in the month of June (Yankees, Nationals, Angels) but has somehow come out unscathed and has given up just five runs in 25 2/3 innings while striking out 26. The key has been limiting opponents to just two long balls over that span.
His good run of form of late will come to a halt on the road against Houston, a team that ranks eighth in baseball with 100 home runs on the season. Estrada has been worse on the road this year (4.91 ERA) than at home (4.15 ERA) and has allowed 1.49 homers per nine innings.
It's too easy to pick on Marlins hurler Wei-Yin Chen. The southpaw doesn't strike out many (career-low 6.5 K/9) and usually doesn't last long (he hasn't gone five innings in three of four starts this month). He allowed seven runs on nine hits in just four innings at Colorado last week.
While the Diamondbacks went through a rut in May offensively, they are back to hitting the ball hard. They rank both fifth in baseball in home runs (36) and OPS (.795) in the month of June. They shouldn't have too much trouble finding barrels and putting guys on base against Chen.
Other Targets: Danny Duffy (@MIL), Zach Eflin (vs.NYY), Alex Cobb (vs.SEA), Andrew Heaney (@BOS)
Homers on the Wire
Stephen Piscotty has mostly been a disappointment since landing with the A's, but he's hitting .341 (14-for-41) in the last two weeks and has four home runs and 10 RBI over that span.
He's been much better against righties this year (.296/.350/.475 with five homers and 27 RBI) than against lefties (.175/.267/.300 with two homers and six RBI) and on the road (.273, six homers) than at home (.242, one home run).
Piscotty will be on the road at Detroit against righty Mike Fiers, who has allowed almost two long balls per nine innings this season. Piscotty will be a cheap DFS play that could really pay off on Wednesday.
Other Targets: Kike Hernandez, Mark Trumbo, Aaron Hicks, Ryon Healy
Steals on the Wire
The Brewers placed Lorenzo Cain on the disabled list on Tuesday with a left groin strain and recalled speedster Keon Broxton from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Broxton is a power/speed guy that put up a 20-homer, 20-steal campaign in 2017 for the Brew Crew. He should be immediately added by owners looking for speed, power or both.
The 28-year-old was hitting .263/.336/.431 with 24 stolen bases and nine home runs in 72 games down on the farm before his call-up.
Other Targets: Michael A. Taylor, Rajai Davis, Jose Peraza, Delino DeShields, Hernan Perez, Wilmer Difo, Jose Iglesias
