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Welcome to the top hitter streamers column for Week 26 of the MLB season (9/20 through 9/26). 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 matchups in order to gain an edge on your opponent, then you're in the right place. This article aims to keep you informed while helping you stay ahead of the competition so you can get an early jump on those waiver claims before your competitors.
There are a whopping 15 teams playing seven games next week, which is what we like to see. We also have three teams, the Braves, the White Sox, and the Cardinals, playing eight. We even have one team, Cleveland, playing nine! So we have a myriad of high-volume streaming options on the slate. We're in the midst of the fantasy playoffs with most leagues finishing off their semi-finals matchups this week. Streaming has been more important than ever this season given the crazy amount of injuries that we've had to deal with, especially to high-profile players. Streaming can help mitigate that poor luck and offset some of those injuries, which can end up being the difference between making the playoffs, advancing, and eventually winning a title. So it's time to buckle up, get focused, and find some high-performing hitter streamers for Week 26.
Disclaimer: I am only highlighting players that are currently rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues, meaning you should have a decent chance of picking them 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 piece that drops every Monday for more ideas. Best of luck to all of you who are still in the playoffs! Alright, let's get after it.
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Bats to Stream and Start in Week 26
Remember that this piece is forward-looking and a lot can happen over the course of a week. Potential pitching opponents, lineups, 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!
Seven-Game Weeks:
ARI, ATL*, BAL, CWS*, CIN, CLE**, HOU, KC, LAA, MIL, OAK, PHI, PIT, SD, SEA, STL*, TEX, TOR, WSH
*plays eight games
**plays nine games
Stream of the Week
Luis Urias (2B/3B/SS, MIL): 39% Rostered
The week sets up nicely for Luis Urias and the Brewers. The 24-year-old infielder is putting together the best year of his career for the Brew Crew and should continue to put up even more production over the final full week of the regular season. Milwaukee hosts the Cardinals for four games before the Mets come to town for a three-game weekend series. Urias putting up career-highs across the board this year with a .249/.339/.443 batting line to go along with 20 home runs, 65 RBI, and five stolen bases over 449 at-bats. In addition to that, he's posting career bests in Hard Hit Rate (41.6%), Barrel Rate (9.5%), Average Launch Angle (13.5 degrees), Walk Rate (10.4%), xwOBAcon (.372), and xSLG (.426).
The Brewers will face five right-handed starters and just two southpaws, which bodes well for Urias who's performed much better against the former. He's got a .251/.345/.445 slash line against right-handers this season with 20 doubles, 15 homers, and 49 RBI. The toughest pitcher he'll face all week is Adam Wainwright but the rest of the arms don't pose too much of a threat. Urias and company should all be favored against the likes of Jake Woodford, Miles Mikolas, Taijuan Walker, and Carlos Carrasco. The two southpaws they'll face are Jon Lester and Rich Hill, who don't scare anyone at this stage in their respective careers. We like Urias next week not only for the pitching matchups but because he's been hot lately. He's slashing a rock-solid .296/.381/.519 with three home runs and eight RBI over the last 15 contests. He'll look to keep it rolling against the stable of aforementioned hurlers.
Luis Urias - Milwaukee Brewers (20) pic.twitter.com/dW3PyXFrbG
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) September 11, 2021
Catcher
Travis d'Arnaud (C/1B, ATL): 45% Rostered
Atlanta is one of three teams to play eight games next week so d'Arnaud checks the volume box for us. He's scuffled a bit lately, so his numbers don't look that impressive, but he's somewhat salvaged what would have been a lost year after he tore a ligament in his thumb back in early May. He slashed an ugly .220/.253/.341 with two home runs and 11 RBI over his first 23 games of the year before injuring his thumb. He was activated from the IL back on August 11 and has posted an improved .235/.326/.457 batting line with four home runs and 11 RBI over an identical sample size, 23 games. Overall, he's posted a .227/.291/.399 batting line with six homers and 22 RBI over 163 at-bats. His stats are a far cry from the numbers he put up during his breakout 2020 season but we should be able to squeeze a little production out of him next week.
Atlanta's week starts off with a tasty four-game set against the Diamondbacks on the road. It gets a little tougher after that with another four-game series vs. the Padres at Petco Park. They're slated to face seven right-handed starters and one southpaw in Madison Bumgarner. Even though d'Arnaud has generally struggled against righties this season (.635 OPS), he'll be facing some lackluster pitching that should get him off the schneide. The Diamondbacks' pitching staff ranks second to last in batting average allowed (.267), wOBA (.343), and xwOBAcon (.393). They rank in the bottom five in xBA (.251), xwOBA (.331), and xSLG (.441) as well. Luke Weaver, Merrill Kelly, Bumgarner, and Humberto Castellanos are all plus matchups for d'Arnaud, who has been better than he's performed per his expected stats (.248 xBA, .312 xwOBA, and .398 xSLG). He'll also face Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, which won't be easy, but Jake Arrieta should help balance out the difficulty of the matchups in San Diego.
Also Consider: Tyler Stephenson (C/1B, CIN): 21% Rostered; Sean Murphy (C, OAK): 50% Rostered
Corner Infield
Evan Longoria (3B, SF): 27% Rostered
Longoria was putting together an excellent season before spraining his shoulder in early June, an injury that sidelined him for over two months. He was activated on August 14 and played in just five games before injuring a finger on his right hand, which sent him back to the IL. He was activated on September 3 and is slashing a cool .310/.421/.621 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 11 games since then. Overall, the veteran third baseman has a rock-solid .296/.390/.558 batting line with 13 homers, 46 RBI, and a stolen base over 206 at-bats. It's been a resurgent season for "Longo" despite all of the missed time caused by his injuries. The 35-year-old is posting career-bests in Hard Hit Rate (54.5%), Barrel Rate (13.6%), Walk Rate (13.5%), and Max Exit Velocity (113.2 mph).
He's demolished left-handed pitching with a .351/.486/.719 batting line (56 at-bats) but has fared well against righties as well with a .275/.349/.497 triple-slash (149 at-bats). The Giants are visiting the Padres for three games before heading to the friendly confines of Coors Field for another three-game set with the Rockies. They're only facing one left-hander, Kyle Freeland, but the rest of the arms outside of Joe Musgrove shouldn't worry the Giants. Chris Paddack, Vince Velasquez, Ryan Feltner, and Jon Gray will have their work cut out for them against first-place San Francisco. Simply put, Longoria has been one of the better hitters in baseball this season but due to the lengthy IL stints, it's largely gone under the radar. He'll look to finish his regular season on a high note before the Giants move into postseason play.
Evan Longoria still doing it. pic.twitter.com/wqI45c6hlB
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) September 14, 2021
Also Consider: Miguel Sano (1B/3B, MIN): 47% Rostered; Jeimer Candelario (1B/3B, DET): 35% Rostered
Middle Infield
Leury Garcia (2B/3B/SS/OF, CWS): 13% Rostered
It's all about volume next week and Garcia will see plenty of at-bats as the White Sox play eight games. They begin the week with a three-game series against the Tigers in Detroit before heading to Cleveland for a five-game set, which includes a doubleheader, against the Indians. Garcia, who's working on a mini five-game hitting streak, has been raking over the last 17 contests. He's slashing .365/.400/.556 with six doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, and three stolen bases over that span and should continue to build on that against Detroit and Cleveland. Overall, the 30-year-old utilityman is slashing .262/.333/.373 with five home runs, 50 RBI, six stolen bases, and 54 runs scored across 362 at-bats this season.
The switch-hitting Garcia will see six right-handed starting pitchers and two lefties. While he's performed much better against southpaws this season with a .295/.333/.402 batting line with one home run and 20 RBI, he's fully capable of hitting righties as well. He's slashing .248/.333/.360 with four home runs and 30 RBI vs. right-handers with 14 extra-base hits (12 doubles, two triples). Casey Mize, Triston McKenzie, and potentially Shane Bieber will be the toughest arms that the White Sox will face but they'll see plenty of easier matchups as well. Matt Manning, Tyler Alexander, Eli Morgan, and Sam Hentges could all struggle against the first place ChiSox. Another factor working in Garcia's favor is his home/road splits. He's performed much better on the road (.293/.355/.420) than he has at home (.227/.308/.320) this season. He doesn't possess a ton of upside but his floor is higher than your average streamer and his position flexibility makes him easy to roster as you can slide him into four different positions.
Leury Garcia sends the fans home happy! #walkoff pic.twitter.com/wIHFK5kNBP
— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2021
Also Consider: Josh Rojas (2B/SS/OF, ARI): 30% Rostered; Enrique Hernandez (2B/SS/OF, BOS): 46% Rostered
Outfield
Anthony Santander (OF, BAL): 38% Rostered
On the surface, it's been an underwhelming 2021 season for Santander. The 26-year-old slugger showed a lot of promise last year, smashing 13 doubles and 11 home runs in just 37 games before an oblique strain cut his season short. Fantasy managers came into this season with tempered expectations but were still hoping for better than what he's displayed up to this point. He got off to a poor start in April, batting just .196 with a .551 OPS over the first 16 games of the year before hitting the IL with an ankle sprain. He was sidelined for a month and picked things in May before sputtering again in June and July. He's played better recently but is still slashing a mediocre .247/.292/.441 with 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 47 RBI over 381 at-bats. He's underperformed on paper but his expected stats say otherwise. He's got a .265 xBA, .329 xwOBA, and .445 xSLG to go along with a career-best 43.7% Hard Hit Rate, 8.7% Barrel Rate, an Average Exit Velocity of 90.9 mph (77th percentile), and a Max Exit Velocity of 112.8 mph (87th percentile).
The Orioles visit the Phillies for a three-game set before hosting the Rangers for a four-game series at Camden Yards. They'll face five right-handers and two lefties, which benefits the switch-hitting Santander, who hits most of his home runs while batting lefty. He'll likely struggle against Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler, who are the two best pitchers he'll face next week but Taylor Hearn, Kohei Arihara, Jordan Lyles, and Spencer Howard don't strike much fear. Santander has also been raking over the last seven games, slashing .333/.385/.750 with three home runs, six RBI, and six runs scored. He'll have a great chance to stay hot next week and should serve as a nice power boost if you're in need of home runs.
Anthony Santander - Baltimore Orioles (15) pic.twitter.com/Ols1LKSyHQ
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) September 11, 2021
Also Consider: Raimel Tapia (OF, COL): 46% Rostered; Max Kepler (OF, MIN): 36% Rostered
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