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Hitters to add from the waiver wire and stream in Week 4 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season. Jon Mathisen analyzes the top batter streamers to pick up.
Welcome to the top hitter streamers column for Week 4 of the MLB season (4/19 through 4/25). This weekly piece should be helpful for anyone looking to gain an edge in their league. If you need a fill-in for an injured player or want to exploit some plus matchups to gain an edge on your opponent then you're in the right place. I'm here to help you make some informed decisions to remain competitive in your league. The aim of this column is to help you stay ahead of the game and get an early jump on those waiver claims before your league mates.
Remember that this piece is forward-looking and a lot can change over the course of a week. Potential pitching opponents, batting orders, and projected number of at-bats are all subject to change so make sure you're following @RotoBallerMLB on Twitter to stay up to date!
Disclaimer: I am only highlighting players who are currently rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues, meaning you should have a decent chance of picking these guys up on the waiver wire. These recommendations should apply to most league settings and formats as I'm looking for players who can help you across a variety of scoring categories. If the following names aren't available, feel free to read our waiver wire pickups articles that drop every Sunday for more ideas. Alright, let's get after it.
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Bats to Stream and Start in Week 4
Seven Game Weeks:
BOS, LAA, SD, SF
Stream of the Week
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B/SS, MIA): 29% Rostered
It's a little crazy that Chisholm Jr. is rostered in just 29% of leagues. As of Friday, he ranks in the 88th percentile or better in average exit velocity, max exit velocity, sprint speed, xSLG, and xwOBA. To top that off, he's in the 95th percentile in walk rate (20%) and the 100th percentile in barrel rate (27.8%). His .258/.385/.613 slash line with two home runs, five RBI, and three stolen bases over 31 at-bats is stellar as well. The Marlins start their week off with a two-game series against the Orioles followed by a four-game set in San Francisco. The sample size is small but Chisholm Jr. is slashing .364/.533/1.533 over 15 plate appearances on the road.
He possesses the rare power/speed combination that fantasy managers covet and there's a good chance he's still available in your league. He does strike out a fair amount (28.6% K rate) but he's also walked seven times compared to 11 strikeouts this year. The Fish will face four right-handers next week, including Matt Harvey (5.59 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) and Logan Webb (4.76 ERA, 1.76 WHIP), and Chisholm Jr. has a 1.107 OPS vs. righties this year (27 PA's). While he's never hit above sixth in the lineup this year, he's currently working on a four-game hit streak and it wouldn't be a surprise if he kept moving up the batting order. It feels like the fantasy community is still sleeping on him, but he could be the type of player who you pick up to stream but end up rostering the rest of the season. Go out and get him before someone else does.
Catcher
Carson Kelly (C, ARI): 21% Rostered
Carson Kelly is quietly having an amazing start to the year, but is receiving little fanfare. The D-Backs are only playing six games this upcoming week, as most teams are. They have Monday (4/19) off before beginning their week with a three-game set vs. the Reds. After that, they head to Atlanta for a weekend series with the Braves. Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati and Truist Park in Cumberland, GA are two of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball and that should be a boost to Kelly and company.
Entering Friday (4/16), Kelly is slashing a robust .440/.545/.760 with two home runs and five RBI over 25 at-bats. He's ranked in the 91st percentile in hard-hit rate at 58.8% and his average exit velocity (91.1 mph) is the highest mark of his career. He also ranks in the 97th percentile in wOBA (.490) and 93rd percentile in walk rate (18.5%). His xwOBA of .424 is stellar as well. He should be facing some lackluster pitching next week with Luis Castillo struggling with consistency, Jeff Hoffman (3 ER, 3 BB over 4 1/3 IP vs. ARI on 4/10), and Sonny Gray, who will be making just his second start of the year. There is some downside here as Kelly has been locked into a near 50/50 timeshare with Stephen Vogt, even though he's massively outperformed Vogt up to this point.
Also Consider: Tucker Barnhart (C, CIN): 11% Rostered
Corner Infield
Tommy La Stella (1B/2B/3B, SF): 13% Rostered
The Giants are just one of four teams to play a full seven-game schedule next week with a three-game series in Philadelphia (4/19-4/21) before heading back to the Bay Area to host the Marlins for a four-game set (4/22-4/25). La Stella started the season with a back issue that caused him to miss 6-of-7 games out the gate but he's fully recovered now. He's hit leadoff in 4-of-5 games and is rocking a .350/.409/.500 batting line over 22 at-bats thus far. The sample size is admittedly small due to the missed games but La Stella has been an underrated player for quite some time. He's a career .278 hitter with a .771 OPS against right-handed pitching and is slated to face six righties next week, including some underwhelming and inexperienced arms like Chase Anderson, Daniel Castano, and Nick Neidert. The seven games with leadoff at-bats should give the 32-year-old veteran plenty of opportunity to succeed and his triple-eligibility allows you to slot him anywhere in the infield minus shortstop.
Asdrubal Cabrera (1B/2B/3B, ARI): 16% Rostered
Cabrera should be looked to for streamer consideration for the same reason as Carson Kelly was above. The D-Backs are hitting the road in two of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in the league and Cabrera has been off to a solid start with a .231/.354/.462 batting line with three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI over 39 at-bats. He's hit no lower than fifth in the lineup this season and has batted third or fourth over his last three games. While his batting average is nothing special, he's been getting on base at a steady clip and capitalizing on his RBI opportunities all season. He has a 5:8 K/BB ratio, 9.5% strikeout rate (96th percentile), and 19% walk rate (94th percentile) but is also hitting in a prominent spot in a surging D-Backs offense that has scored 41 runs over their last six games. He's also enjoyed some limited career success against probable starters Tyler Mahle (1.000 OPS in five at-bats), Jeff Hoffman (.286 batting average, 1.000 OPS in seven at-bats), and Drew Smyly (.313 BA, .750 OPS over 16 at-bats). He'll have a shot to reach base consistently and knock in a lot of runs while hitting cleanup.
Also Consider: Jesus Aguilar (1B, MIA): 17% Rostered; Marwin Gonzalez (1B/2B/3B/OF, BOS): 4% Rostered
Middle Infield
Kike Hernandez (2B/SS/OF, BOS): 20% Rostered
The start of Hernandez's Red Sox career has not gone according to plan. Entering Friday, he was slashing a subpar .216/.255/.314 with a 13:2 K/BB ratio over 51 at-bats, which is not great. But his expected stats tell a different story with a .270 xBA, .379 xwOBA, and .606 xSLG. Despite Hernandez's struggles, he's hit out of the leadoff spot in every game he's started (9-of-10) this year and his average launch angle of 20.4 degrees is the highest mark of his career. He's a volume streamer next week with the Red Sox playing seven games, all at home. They start the week with a tough matchup against Carlos Rodon, coming off a no-hitter, but it gets easier with a two-game set vs. the Blue Jays then a four-game series against the Mariners. The Sox are slated to face five left-handed starters and two righties. T.J. Zeuch, Chris Flexen, Marco Gonzales, and Justus Sheffield have all started slowly. The week has the potential to get easier as it goes along and Hernandez has a good opportunity to jump-start his season.
Christian Arroyo (2B/3B, BOS): 1% Rostered
Arroyo has been a doubles machine this year, smacking six of them over his 32 at-bats. He's currently batting .313/.333/.500 on the year and has slowly worked his way up the Boston batting order over the last 10 days. He most recently hit sixth in the lineup, which should create more RBI opportunities going forward. He's swinging a hot bat so he should continue to hit in a prominent spot and will see a fair amount of at-bats next week as Boston plays seven games. It's still early in the season, obviously, so smaller samples have to be expected but Arroyo has fared well against left-handed pitching, hitting .385 with a .923 OPS over 13 plate appearances. Also, he's been crushing fastballs with a .571 slugging percentage (.414 xSLG) and is facing quite a few lefties who rely on their fastball offerings (four-seam, cutter, sinker) such as Steven Matz (50.3% sinker), Marco Gonzales (43.2% sinker), Yusei Kikuchi (39.3% cutter, 36.6% 4-seam fastball), and Justus Sheffield (49.7% sinker). Like Hernandez mentioned above him, the volume is appealing with Arroyo and his pitching matchups are favorable on paper.
Also Consider: Adam Frazier (2B/OF, PIT): 7% Rostered; Brandon Crawford (SS, SF): 4% Rostered
Outfield
Tim Locastro (OF, ARI): 11% Rostered
Update: After this article was written, Locastro injured his hand and has been placed on the IL
Locastro has led off for the D-Backs in seven straight games and is hitting .261 with a .346 on-base percentage over his 46 at-bats. He ranks in the 100th percentile in sprint speed and is a perfect 29-for-29 in stolen base attempts in his career. The D-Backs only play six games next week as has been established, but Locastro seems entrenched in the leadoff spot and is a worthwhile stream, especially in OBP leagues. Arizona is projected to face four right-handers and Locastro holds a career .287/.389/.356 batting line with a .342 BABIP against righties. You're not going to get much power with him but he should excel in getting on base, stealing bases, and scoring runs. He'll get plenty of opportunities to do all three as long as he's hitting atop the Arizona offense, which has been heating up.
Alex Dickerson (OF, SF): 17% Rostered
On the surface, Dickerson's numbers are pretty ugly (.148/.258/.370 batting line with two home runs and four RBI) but this recommendation is based on the projected pitching matchups that San Francisco will see next week. The Giants are one of just four teams to play seven games and they're slated to face a right-handed starter in six of them. Dickerson is a platoon player. He's a liability against left-handed pitching, but he mashes righties. For his career, he's got a .272 batting average and .851 OPS against right-handers. He won't play every game next week and there's always the chance he gets pinch-hit for later in the game once a lefty reliever is brought in, but he should get plenty of at-bats to make the stream worth it.
Also Consider: Austin Slater (1B/OF, SF): 4% Rostered; Zach McKinstry (OF, LAD): 15% Rostered
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