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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. Even at this relatively early juncture, there's plenty of value in streaming.
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 Thursday, May 31. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Two Months
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Two Months
We're roughly a third of the way through the season, which marks a shift from preaching patience to advocating aggressive moves if the situation calls for them. In rotisserie leagues, it's time to take stock of the standings, make an honest appraisal of your roster, and determine your approach moving forward. If you're especially lacking in a particular category, punting could be the answer. That can be a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes it's the way to go.
2. Today's Weather and Updates - Wednesday, May 30
Storm systems in the eastern half of the country will threaten several games on the Wednesday slate. White Sox-Indians, Cardinals-Brewers, Nationals-Orioles, Cubs-Pirates, Angels-Tigers, and Mets-Braves all have at least a 30% chance of rain, and most of them are comfortably above that threshold. Expect multiple delays and postponements.
3. Streamer Picks - Thursday, May 31
Pitchers to Use
Back-to-back disappointing efforts have taken a bit of the sheen off of Jordan Lyles' hot start, but the Padres' latest reclamation project is still a solid play at home against the pitiful Marlins lineup. Miami is the only team in MLB that hasn't yet crossed the 200 runs scored threshold.
Cleveland will call up Shane Bieber to make his major league debut in Minnesota. Bieber is a control specialist with spotless numbers (1.10 ERA, 61:3 K/BB) in his 10 starts across Double- and Triple-A this year. The Twins have scored fewer runs than any other team besides the aforementioned Marlins.
Other Targets: Andrew Heaney, Trevor Williams
Pitchers to Exploit
Andrew Cashner vs. Sonny Gray at Camden Yards should prove a feast for those looking to stream hitters. By several measures, each pitcher has been among the worst qualified starters in baseball thus far. That's even more impressive (?) when you consider that Cashner's strikeout rate has bounced back and Gray hasn't been quite as vulnerable to the long ball as expected.
Other Targets: Drew Pomeranz, Seth Lugo, Mike Minor
Homers on the Wire
Ronald Guzman has been red-hot of late, hitting .414/.485/.966 with four homers and 12 RBI over his past nine games. He'll face journeyman Wade LeBlanc and his career 1.3 HR/9.
Other Targets: Albert Pujols, Pedro Alvarez, Mark Canha, Daniel Robertson, Michael Conforto, Mark Trumbo, Aaron Hicks, Miguel Andujar, Christian Villanueva, Brandon Nimmo, Devin Mesoraco, Ryon Healy
Steals on the Wire
Rather than stump for Mallex Smith yet again (but seriously guys, he should be more than 30% owned!), I'll point out that Ben Gamel has swiped three bags in four attempts over his last six games, and the Rangers are among the worst teams in baseball at controlling the running game.
Other Targets: Travis Jankowski, Aaron Hicks, Manuel Margot, Dustin Fowler, Mallex Smith, Denard Span, Delino DeShields
