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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 Thursday, June 29th.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Poll Results
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Poll Results
Yesterday, I asked if readers would watch a twitch stream of me going about my fantasy business - namely DFS and waiver streaming. The readership was split with 42 yes votes and 40 nays. I figure that may translate to 30 people who actually check in and a core of five or 10 who regularly view. While not a resounding expression of interest, I guess that's enough for me to investigate next steps...
2. Today's Weather and Updates
There's a small risk of passing storms in Chicago tonight. Detroit and Chicago may be stormy tomorrow.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Thursday, June 29th
With 13 games on the schedule, it ain't a Thin Thursday.
Pitchers to Use
Brad Peacock is back from paternity leave in time to face the Athletics. The righty has really amped up his slider usage, and the pitch is borderline elite. While his future is probably as a top reliever, he can continue to supply owners with eight strikeouts in about four to five innings. You probably won't get a win or quality start, but the other three categories should be helpful.
Seth Lugo at Jose Urena offers a couple options for desperate owners. Lugo has the right-handed version of the Rich Hill repertoire - a big curve and a decent fastball. He doesn't induce many strikeouts, making him inconsistent from start to start. Urena, for his part, throws a frequently used slider and a hard fastball. Both should be viewed as slightly below average pitchers.
The Padres have one of the worst offenses in baseball. It's a good day to Jaime Garcia. The lefty was hot for awhile, but he's allowed 12 runs in his last two starts (10 innings). His opponent, Dinelson Lamet, is the maximum volatility pick. At his best, he can record double digit strikeouts and a quality start. He's also homer prone and can lose command.
Other Targets: ---
Pitchers to Exploit
Jake Junis had great numbers at Triple-A, but they haven't translated to the majors. While he's inducing a decent whiff rate, his 7.14 K/9, 4.03 BB/9, and 1.86 HR/9 have led to bad results. There isn't much upside for better.
Andrew Cashner has a 3.50 ERA, 4.55 FIP, and 5.42 xFIP. What that means? He's been fortunate on multiple levels. Pitchers with 4.28 K/9 and 4.02 BB/9 don't post sub-5.00 ERAs in today's game.
Other Targets: Jharel Cotton, Pat Corbin, Joe Ross, Kyle Gibson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Homer Bailey, Luis Cessa, James Shields
Homers on the Wire
Mitch Moreland has a big juicy matchup versus Gibson. He's dealing with a toe injury, but it doesn't seem to be affecting his bat. Moreland has a long history of streakiness. Right now, he's running hot.
Robbie Grossman will face David Price. Grossman has a .447 OBP versus left-handed pitchers, and Price is having a hell of a time re-adapting to the big leagues. I bet they'll have some fun battles.
Lonnie Chisenhall is running red hot. He's already three home runs shy of his career best despite taking only 175 plate appearances. He went to the plate 533 times when he set his current record. The lefty "slugger" is making more hard contact. He's also hitting more fly balls at the expense of ground balls.
Other Targets: Chase Utley, Hunter Renfroe, Tyler Austin, Melky Cabrera, Ian Happ, Tommy Pham, Josh Reddick, Jed Lowrie, Franklin Barreto, Matt Chapman
Steals on the Wire
If you need speed, it's literally always a good day to pick up Mallex Smith.
The Yankees summoned Tyler Wade to fill in for Starlin Castro. He'll probably split time with Ronald Torreyes. Wade swiped 24 bases in 328 plate appearances at Triple-A, but he shouldn't be confused with a prolific base thief. In the majors, he's more of a 10 to 20 swipe guy over a full season. That said, Chris Taylor is sitting on 10 swipes in 234 plate appearances even though he's a full grade slower. Knowing when to pick your spots matters. In that regard, I have no information about Wade.
Other Targets: Jose Pirela, Eric Sogard, Kevin Pillar, Mallex Smith, Michael Taylor
Skill Positions
Not that he's widely available (41 percent owned), but Wilson Ramos is back in action and has a solid matchup tomorrow versus Jameson Taillon.
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