X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Week 20 Waiver Wire: H2H Category Streamers

Jason Katz identifies fantasy baseball category streamers for week 20 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 by 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 20 category streamers for fantasy baseball. All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Head-to-Head Category Streamers to Consider

Speed

Harrison Bader (OF, STL) - 7% Owned

The Tommy Pham trade opened the door for Harrison Bader to see regular playing time. He has just 11 stolen bases on the season, but he's also only started about two-thirds of the games. Bader has 30+ steal upside over the course of a full season and he is now an everyday starter.

Adalberto Mondesi (2B/SS, KC) - 9% Owned

It makes me feel really old to talk about the son of a player I used to draft. Adalberto Mondesi has a two stolen base game on his resume and has displayed strong speed throughout his minor league career. He's stolen six bases in his last nine games played. The speed is real and he deserves to be here for a second straight week.

 

Power

Hunter Renfroe (OF, SD) - 2% Owned

Once a trendy sleeper, Hunter Renfroe has failed to live up to the hype. He still has pop, though. He's got three homers in the past two weeks and faces the Angels and Diamondbacks next week. The Angels allow the fifth most homers while the Diamondbacks are 15th.

Josh Reddick (OF, HOU) - 30% Owned

Oakland and Colorado give up slightly fewer home runs than the league average, but Josh Reddick needs to be the power in the Astros lineup with George Springer, Jose Altuve, and Brian McCann all out. Carlos Correa is supposed to return to the lineup, but he hasn't played in over a month. Reddick still has 25-30 home run power in him and I sense a surge coming next week.

Average

Manuel Margot (OF, SD) - 30% Owned

Manuel Margot moves from the speed department to the average department simply because he's so hot right now. He was a popular breakout candidate before the season started and had a disappointing first half. But wow has he turned it on as of late. Margot is hitting .314 over the past two weeks with five multi-hit games.

Jeff McNeil (2B, 3B, NYM) - 15% Owned

The Mets' rookie is off to a blazing start at the plate, hitting well over .300. And it looks mostly legitimately. His .357 BABIP is not outrageous and he's making a ton of medium-hard contact. Bank on him keeping it up another week.

 

Strikeouts

Brian Johnson (SP, BOS) - 9% Owned

I can't guarantee Brian Johnson will pitch very well, but he strikes out about a batter per inning and will face the Phillies on Tuesday. The Phillies lead the league in offensive strikeouts.

Clay Buchholz (SP, ARI) - 48% Owned

The Padres are striking out the fourth most of all teams in baseball. Clay Buchholz will make a trip to PETCO Park next week with the hopes of continuing that trend. Given that he strikes out just under a batter per inning, I suspect he will.

Wins

Drew Pomeranz (SP, BOS) - 19% Owned

The Red Sox have the best offense in baseball. The Rays have a bottom 10 offense. The Red Sox will be heavy favorites when Drew Pomeranz takes the mound against the Rays next week in Boston.

Shane Bieber (SP, CLE) - 33% Owned

Shane Bieber has won six of his past nine starts, largely due to the quality run support he gets from the Indians offense. Not much should change in his road start against the hapless Reds next week. The Indians will be heavy favorites, giving Bieber a great shot to pick up a win.

 

ERA/WHIP

Ryan Borucki (SP, TOR) - 9% Owned

Ryan Borucki pitches well in favorable matchups. Avoid him against Boston, but when he's got a road date with the Royals, stream away. Borucki will bring a fully legitimate sub 3.00 ERA into Kansas City to face the league's worst offense.

Andrew Cashner (SP, BAL) - 3% Owned

If you can't stream against the worst offense in baseball, why not the second worst offense? That's who Andrew Cashner will face off against next week - the Mets. Cashner's 5.05 ERA is a bit deceiving as it is largely due to his dreadful outing in Texas last week. Otherwise, he's been serviceable. Against the Mets, he should be dominant.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF