RADIO
Jason Katz identifies fantasy baseball category streamers for week 15 of 2018. Waiver wire pickups, adds, and streamers for weekly head-to-head (H2H) leagues.
I like to consider myself a pioneer of the streaming approach. I won a league about seven years ago completely ignoring saves and just stacking up the starts each week. While streaming is undoubtedly more directly associated with pitching, there's plenty of value in streaming for offense as well.
Maybe you have a stacked roster and you can't drop anyone. But for those of us with a couple of guys on the roster fringes, it's never too early to look into targeting a specific player or two to gain an edge in a particular category. This season, I will be making weekly recommendations for extreme short term category specialists every week in three offensive areas: speed, power, and average; and three pitching areas: strikeouts, wins, and ratios (ERA/WHIP).
Below are my Week 15 category streamers for fantasy baseball. All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.
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Head-to-Head Category Streamers to Consider
Speed
Delino DeShields (OF, TEX) - 33% Owned
It is really difficult to find speed this season, which is why you tend to see the same handful of names here each week. Delino Deshields is top 10 in the league in stolen bases and an everyday player. The Rangers face the Orioles in the second half of next week and the Orioles have allowed the fifth most stolen bases to opposing teams.
Michael A. Taylor (OF, WAS) - 40% Owned
The Nationals have a bit of a logjam in the outfield with Bryce Harper, Adam Eaton, Juan Soto, and Michael A. Taylor, but they've been finding ways to get everyone consistent at-bats. Taylor hasn't been running recently, but a series against the Mets next week, who allow the most stolen bases in baseball, should have him back stealing regularly.
Power
Ryon Healy (1B/3B, SEA) - 38% Owned
Ryon Healy has 16 home runs already this season. He's been heating up lately and next week, he gets the Angels, who have allowed the third most home runs this season, and the Rockies at Coors field, which is always favorable to batters.
Matt Davidson (1B/3B, CWS) - 24% Owned
All Matt Davidson can do is offer power. He certainly doesn't contribute anywhere else. And while his early week series against the Cardinals is less than ideal, his second series against the Royals is a prime spot for a power surge as they lead the league in home runs allowed.
Average
Matt Duffy (2B/3B, TB) - 20% Owned
Matt Duffy is hitting .315 on the season and .327 over the past month. His two opponents next week, the Tigers and Twins, are in the bottom third of the league in batting average against. Duffy should be on base early and often next week.
Albert Almora Jr. (OF, CHC) - 16% Owned
Similar to Duffy, Albert Almora is an over .300 hitter and his two opponents next week, the Padres and Giants, are also in the bottom third of the league in batting average against. All Almora does is get one base.
Strikeouts
Nick Kingham (SP, PIT) - 10% Owned
Things haven't been too great since Nick Kingham almost pitched a perfect game in his MLB debut. But that doesn't mean Kingham isn't a legitimate prospect. He's talented, strikes out just under a batter an inning, and next week, he'll face a Brewers team that strikes out the sixth most times in the league.
Tyler Anderson (SP, COL) - 14% Owned
This isn't the ideal stream, but there just weren't many options I liked for next week. Tyler Anderson has a K/9 a little over 8.00 and will face the Diamondbacks on Monday. Arizona has struck out the fifth most times this season. Anderson may not pitch particularly well, but he should be good for about as many strikeout as innings he makes it into the game.
Wins
John Gant (SP, STL) - 5% Owned
The Cardinals are slightly better than .500. Next week, John Gant will have a start against either the White Sox or Reds, both of which are well under .500. In either matchup, the Cardinals will be favored, giving Gant a great shot at picking up a win.
Jeremy Hellickson (SP, WAS) - 32% Owned
The Nationals may only be one spot ahead of the Mets in the standings, but they are about 10 wins better. Jeremy Hellickson should have a road start against the Mets late next week. The Mets have one of the worst offenses in baseball and Hellickson is good enough to shut them down for a victory.
ERA/WHIP
Nathan Eovaldi (SP, MIA) - 23% Owned
After missing the entire 2017 season, Nathan Eovaldi has returned and looked pretty good. He has a sub 4.00 ERA, which should only improve as his home run rate comes down. He doesn't walk anyone. And next week, he should start against either the Twins or the Tigers, who are next to each other in runs scored and both in the bottom third. Eovaldi should be able to secure a quality start next week.
Jhoulys Chacin (SP, MIL) - 29% Owned
Jhoulys Chacin will face the Marlins next week, the third lowest scoring team in the league. Chacin carries a respectable 3.71 ERA and will be just fine against the light-hitting Marlins.
