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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. This article, which began last season, runs seven days a week. We are always ready to stream.
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 6. Let's get to it.
Agenda
- Flying Under the Radar in the Bronx
- Weather and Updates for Wednesday
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Flying Under the Radar in the Bronx
Somehow, Yankees rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar is still owned in slightly less than half of leagues. How is that possible? Perhaps it's because fellow rookie phenom Gleyber Torres is getting most of the headlines in the Bronx.
Or it could be because Andujar hasn't hit higher than sixth in a stacked lineup with big names like Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Whatever the case, the 23-year-old Dominican is criminally under-owned based on his numbers.
In 187 at-bats, he has a slash line of .299/.321/.524 with six home runs, 22 RBI, one steal and 28 runs scored. That includes going 14-for-40 (.350) with two homers, six RBI and a 1.084 OPS in the last two weeks.
He doesn't walk a lot (3.6 percent walk rate), but he also doesn't strike out much (18.9 percent K rate). His .342 BABIP means his average could come down some, but Andujar makes enough contact (81.2 percent) and squares the ball up enough (38.2 percent) to sustain this the rest of the way. He's the real deal.
2. Weather and Updates for Wednesday
There's a slight chance of rain in Texas for the A's-Rangers and in Minnesota for the White Sox and Twins, but we should be in the clear as far as any delays and cancellations go.
3. Streamer Picks
Pitchers to Use
Zack Wheeler got off to a good start in June on Friday with two earned runs allowed in six innings against the Cubs. He only struck out four but walked just two. The young right-hander hasn't allowed more than three free passes in any of his 10 starts this year and is also fanning a solid 9.2 hitters per nine innings.
He's been worse at home (6.43 ERA) than on the road (3.86), but he'll be facing an Orioles team that has just a .682 overall OPS this year. They also sport a putrid .231 overall average and have struck out 535 times, ranking seventh most in baseball.
If you're feeling bold, consider either of the starters from the Giants-Diamondbacks tilt at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Clay Buchholz is a blast from the past, but he's allowed just one run in each of his three starts with Arizona. He's also gone deeper each time out, reaching seven innings against the Marlins last Friday.
Chris Stratton has won his last four outings and is coming off six scoreless innings against the Phillies. He'll be facing a D-backs team that had the lowest OPS (.580) in baseball in the month of May. The right-hander has also fanned 13 hitters in his last 11 innings of work.
Other Targets: Hector Santiago
Pitchers to Exploit
Sam Gaviglio has held his own in three starts for the Blue Jays and sports a respectable 3.32 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. However, he's been fortunate with a .250 BABIP against and an 86.2 percent strand rate. The 28-year-old allowed four runs in six innings to Boston his last time out, and the Yankees boast similar offensive firepower.
The Tigers are converting Blaine Hardy from a reliever to a starter, and he's made them look good so far. He's allowed three runs and six hits while striking out nine over 13 innings in his last two starts against the White Sox and Blue Jays. The southpaw only has a 6.92 K/9, though, and is likely to give up a lot of hard contact to Boston.
Other Targets: Trevor Williams, Sal Romano, Bartolo Colon, Wade LeBlanc, Wei-Yin Chen
Homers on the Wire
Franmil Reyes, a big and burly bopper that stands at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, has a lot of power, as you'd imagine. While the rookie outfielder packs a major punch, he also swings and misses with the best of them (35.6 percent strikeout rate), which has kept his average low (.236).
Four of his five homers on the season have come in the last 14 days, and he's also sporting a .286 average and .971 OPS in that time. Reyes has shown more pop, surprisingly, at Petco Park (four homers) than on the road, and he's also hitting .281 in San Diego. He'll be at home against Mike Foltynewicz on Wednesday.
Other Targets: John Ryan Murphy, Jeimer Candelario, Max Muncy, Ronald Guzman, Nick Williams, Michael Conforto, Jose Rondon, Austin Romine, Derek Dietrich
Steals on the Wire
With Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia going back on the disabled list over the weekend, that means utility man Brock Holt will see semi-regular playing time. The soon-to-be 30-year-old is hitting .319/.388/.473 in 91 at-bats for Boston this year and has stolen three bags in the last two weeks. He also qualifies at second base, third base, shortstop and left field in some formats.
Other Targets: Michael Taylor, Greg Allen, Ben Gamel, Travis Jankowski, Amed Rosario, Jon Jay, Harrison Bader, Joey Wendle, Yuli Gurriel, Jose Iglesias
