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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. We're coming up on the halfway point of the season, but there's still plenty of options on the waiver wire to aid your championship quest.
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 Friday, June 29. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Bringing In A Reliever
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Bringing In A Reliever
I'm filling in for my colleague Brad Johnson today and tomorrow. Since this is technically his day, any bad advice should be blamed on him. However, I will gladly take credit for all of the winning picks below.
2. Today's Weather and Updates - Thursday, June 28
All of the games should play today, but a couple might be delayed. There are thunderstorms in the Boston area, but the 47% precipitation chance for first pitch declines to 19% an hour later and 10% at 9 local time. Likewise, Philadelphia has a 24 percent precipitation chance for first pitch that should clear in an hour or so.
3. Streamer Picks - Friday, June 29
Pitchers to Use
Joe Musgrove is roughly a league average pitcher. His 4.59 ERA might not suggest it, but his 4.18 xFIP is better and he strikes out an average number of opposing batters (21%). He's up against the listless Padres offense (84 wRC+ this year) in pitcher-friendly San Diego, making him a solid bet for a W and reasonable ratios.
You can replace "Joe Musgrove" with "Marco Gonzales" and the Padres with the Royals (81 wRC+ this year) and simply reread the above paragraph. Gonzales's 4.04 ERA, 3.49 xFIP, and 21.1% K% should be more than enough to earn the W opposite Ian Kennedy.
Other Targets: Dylan Covey @ TEX
Pitchers to Exploit
Sandy Alcantara is slated to make his first MLB start for Miami against the Mets. He has an impressive prospect pedigree, but he didn't strike anybody out at Double-A last year (19.1% K% in 125 1/3 IP) or Triple-A this year (18% K% in 85 IP). Scouts say that he may lack the command to stick as a starter, and I say that he probably won't best Jacob deGrom in his first start.
Erick Fedde heads to Philadelphia to try to earn his first W. His 5.32 ERA is bad, but his 3.72 xFIP suggests that there's some hope. Unfortunately, Fedde is a classic sinkerballer who offers minimal K upside (17.4% K%) and gets punished for every mistake (17.6% HR/FB). The Phils can swing it, especially in their homer-happy home park. It's not a good day to start Fedde.
Other Targets: Sal Romano vs. MIL, Yovani Gallardo vs. CWS, Paul Blackburn vs. CLE, Ian Kennedy @ SEA, Mike Montgomery vs. MIN
Homers on the Wire
In general, you need to either mitigate airborne contact or control its quality to succeed as an MLB starter. Yovani Gallardo is doing neither, as the combination of a 29.2% GB% and 21.1% HR/FB has produced a ghastly 12.08 ERA. He's probably not that bad, but his 6.25 xFIP and even K/BB ratio (13.6% each) suggests that he's far from good. Arlington inflates power numbers, so the White Sox are probably the day's best power play. Daniel Palka, Matt Davidson, Avisail Garcia, and Yolmer Sanchez are all worth looking into.
Other Targets: Yonder Alonso, Yan Gomes, Yuli Gurriel, Josh Reddick, Albert Pujols, Kike Hernandez, Eric Thames, Max Kepler, Logan Morrison, Greg Bird, Nick Williams, Mark Trumbo, Trey Mancini, Danny Valencia, Luis Valbuena, Colin Moran, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk, Curtis Granderson, Kendrys Morales
Steals on the Wire
Gallardo's elevated BB% and his team's complete inability to halt the running game make him a nice exploit in this section too. Yolmer Sanchez and Leury Garcia are the names you might want.
Other Targets: Michael A. Taylor, Jose Peraza, Niko Goodrum, Jonathan Villar, Dustin Fowler, Eduardo Nunez, Keon Broxton, Ehire Adrianza, Aaron Hicks, Scott Kingery, Delino DeShields Jr., Jarrod Dyson, Austin Meadows
