RADIO
Jason Katz identifies fantasy baseball category streamers for week 18 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 18 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
Amed Rosario (SS, NYM) - 7% Owned
Recommending a Met offensive player is never my intention, but Amed Rosario warrants consideration now that he's been moved to the top of the lineup. The Mets need to do whatever they can to manufacture runs. They are going to let Rosario loose on the basepaths and he's hitting over .300 the past two weeks with four stolen bases.
Cameron Maybin (OF, MIA) - 4% Owned
Somehow, Cameron Maybin is only 31 years old. He's still really fast. He stole 33 bases in just 114 games last year. He's now up to eight this season and is playing every day.
Power
Yonder Alonso (1B, CLE) - 32% Owned
After hitting 28 home runs in just 142 games in 2017, Yonder Alonso has 15 in his first 90 games of 2018. He recently had a two homer game and is heating up at the plate, hitting .300 over the past two weeks. Give him a look while he's hot.
Matt Adams (1B, OF, WAS) - 35% Owned
With a four game slate against the Reds next week, who lead baseball in home runs allowed, Matt Adams is a great streaming option. He has 16 home runs on the season and three in the past two weeks.
Average
Matt Duffy (2B, 3B, TB) - 16% Owned
Matt Duffy is hitting over .300 on the season and over .320 in the past two weeks. The Rays' two opponents next week are the White Sox and Angels. The White Sox are 20th in batting average against, while the Angels of 14th. That's a good combination of average-below average opposing pitching to exploit.
Albert Almora Jr. (OF, CHC) - 15% Owned
I have to keep recommending Albert Almora because he keeps hitting. At well over .300 and incredibly consistent, Almora might as well be a mainstay on this list for those in need of some batting average help. Next week, the Cubs face the Pirates and Padres, who rank 19th and 22nd respectively in batting average against.
Strikeouts
Derek Holland (SP, SF) - 7% Owned
Streaming for strikeouts against the Padres is always a smart move. Derek Holland has a K/9 over 9.00 and no offense strikes out more than the Padres.
Trevor Richards (SP, MIA) - 2% Owned
You may not get a great outing, but Trevor Richards has a respectable 8.18 K/9 this season and will start against the Phillies next week. Only two teams strike out more than the Phillies.
Wins
Mike Montgomery (SP, CHC) - 13% Owned
The Cubs currently have 16 more wins than the Padres, Mike Montgomery's opponent next week. The game is in Chicago and the Cubs will be a significant favorite. Montgomery may not do much for your team, but he should get the win.
Luis Cessa (SP, NYY) - 5% Owned
Luis Cessa is not a great pitcher, but the Orioles are a very, very bad team. The Yankees, on the other hand, are one of the best teams in baseball. Cessa gets a home start against the Orioles next week. If he gets through five, the Yankees should score enough to win.
ERA/WHIP
Vince Velasquez (SP, PHI) - 42% Owned
The ERA/WHIP streamers next week are tough, so unfortunately we have to go with a more heavier owned guy. Vince Velasquez will have a late week start against the Marlins, who currently have the fifth fewest runs scored this season.
Tanner Roark (SP, WAS) - 34% Owned
Somehow with fewer runs scored than the Marlins, the Mets are an ideal opponent to stream against. Tanner Roark will get the benefit of facing the Mets next week. He's got a below average high 4s ERA, but that's nothing the Mets can't help fix.
