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Whether it’s because of an injury or poor performance, there are always opportunities to stream players off the waiver wire. The best players to stream are those who are under-owned and face appealing match-ups for the upcoming week.
Here are five players who are available in more than half of Fleaflicker leagues and have attractive match-ups during the fifth week of the season.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple & Android Stores.
Top Hitter Streamers for Week 5
Angel Pagan (SF, OF)- 54% Fleaflicker
Pagan is not the 30-base stealer he was back in the day, but he can still hit. Through 23 games, he holds a .325/.375/450 slash line with one home run, two stolen bases, 15 R and 11 RBI. He has been serving as a second leadoff hitter for the Giants, batting behind the pitcher, and has helped them score the fourth most runs in baseball as of Friday morning. With Pagan being a switch hitter, fantasy owners don’t have to worry about a poor match-up or any kind of platoon.
The Giants go on the road to face the Reds and then host the Rockies in Week 5. Brandon Finnegan, Jon Moscot, Dan Straily, Chris Rusin, Chad Bettis, Jon Gray and Eddie Butler will pitch against the Giants over that span. All four of the Rockies’ pitchers have a career ERA above 5.00, and the Reds’ pitchers are all very inexperienced. Pagan is a professional hitter and should have no trouble maintaining his high average at least over the next seven days.
Aledmys Diaz (STL, SS)- 52% Fleaflicker
Diaz is the hottest hitter on the planet. He currently leads the Majors in OPS (1.263) and strikeout rate (4.3%), both by a decent margin. His overall stat line shows an absurd .446/.478/.785 slash line, four homers, one stolen base, 18 R and 13 RBI. It would be impossible for Diaz to maintain this pace, and his rate stats will inevitably plummet to a human level — especially considering his .431 BABIP — but fantasy owners should continue to ride the wave while he’s swinging the bat this way.
Diaz and the Cardinals begin the week at home against the Phillies, with Jeremy Hellickson, Aaron Nola, Adam Morgan and Jared Eickhoff taking the mound— which means no Vince Velasquez. Diaz has hit both righties and lefties this year, but as a right-handed hitter, he should feast on an inexperienced lefty like Morgan. Then, the Cardinals host the Pirates and draw Francisco Liriano, Jeff Locke and Gerrit Cole. Even though Liriano can be a dominant starter, he has shown vulnerability against righties this year— as has Locke.
Until Diaz hits a slump — which could come at any point, of course — he needs to be in every fantasy owner’s starting lineup, especially with three impending match-ups with left-handers.
Michael Conforto (NYM, OF)- 35% Fleaflicker
Conforto will continue to be one of the best streaming options every week until his ownership accurately correlates to his production. He is slashing .338/.429/.615 with three home runs, 11 R and 13 RBI, and has gone 3-for-10 against left-handed pitchers. His 1.044 OPS in eighth in all of baseball, and his preposterous 50% hard hit rate is second (J.D. Martinez led the Majors in 2015 with 42.8%). Conforto was originally considered to be in a platoon with Juan Lagares, but the 23-year-old left fielder has played in all but one game this season. He has reached base in 15 consecutive games, and is a strong bet to continue to do so this week.
Starting on Monday, the Mets host the Braves for three games and then travel to San Diego for four. On the bump for those teams will be Bud Norris, Jhoulys Chacin, Aaron Blair, Colin Rea, Drew Pomeranz, James Shields and Andrew Cashner. Of that group, only Pomeranz is a lefty, and only Shields (3.91) had an ERA below 4.00 with at least 100 innings pitched last season. Honestly, unless he’s facing Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale and David Price in the same week, Conforto is deserving of a roster spot.
Kevin Pillar (TOR, OF)- 31% Fleaflicker
Pillar has recovered from a slow start by picking up eight hits in his last 18 AB. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .271/.303/.341 with two stolen bases and nine runs scored in 85 AB. He remained in the starting lineup during his early-season struggles, and now with Chris Colabello’s recent suspension, Pillar’s playing time is essentially guaranteed.
Pillar has crushed lefties throughout his career, and will face three of them this week — not including Clayton Kershaw — as the Blue Jays endure a seven-game home stand against the Rangers and Dodgers. While both of those teams have strong pitching staffs, the Jays miss Cole Hamels and Kenta Maeda. The first six games of the week come against A.J. Griffin, Martin Perez, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling. Griffin, Perez and Holland have all failed to toss 100 innings in a season since 2013, Lewis and Wood are wildly inconsistent, and Stripling has just 22.1 innings of work under his belt.
Pillar has eight multi-hit games this year, and could be in for a couple more this week— just feel free to bench him on Sunday against Kershaw.
Navarro became the everyday catcher when Alex Avila went down with an injury, and he has caught fire, collecting six hits in his last 14 AB. His slash line is just .186/.234/.395, but he is trending upwards. He has 10-15 HR power, and should get on base at a decent rate.
Navarro has struggled against lefties this year — one hit in 13 AB — but he has always had success against them, and will face two particularly hittable lefties this week: Henry Owens (8.10 ERA) and Tommy Milone (5.40 ERA). A switch hitter, the 32-year-old backstop has proven able to hit righties, as well. Five righties — Steven Wright, Clay Buchholz, Tyler Duffey, Ricky Nolasco and Jose Berrios — will take the hill against Navarro’s White Sox this week.
For owners who just lost Miguel Montero, Navarro could fill the void— at least for the next week.
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