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The season is starting to hit its stride with most teams closing in on completing ten percent of their schedule already. Early season injuries are opening up playing time for backups and platoon players, while young prospects are already making noise in the minor leagues and could be forcing their way onto big league rosters soon!
Our hitter streamers fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column will identify hitters with good matchups and can be considered waiver wire streamers ahead of the Sunday night waiver wire runs for leagues with weekly transactions.
In this piece, every week I'll look to find hitters playing in most games and who have the most favorable matchups to help you plug those gaps and fill those holes in your roster. You can also check out the rest of our fantasy baseball streamer content here at RotoBaller.
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What Teams Offer The Most Streaming Value?
This week we have ten teams playing 7 games between Monday, April 15, and Sunday, April 21:
- Arizona (vs. CHC, @SF)
- Boston (vs. CLE, vs. @PIT)
- Chicago Cubs (@ARI, vs. MIA)
- Cleveland (@BOS, vs. OAK)
- Detroit (vs. TEX, @MIN)
- LA Angels (@TB, @CIN)
- Miami (vs. SF, @CHC)
- San Francisco (@MIA, vs. ARI)
- Tampa Bay (vs. LAA, @NYY)
- Texas (@DET, @ATL)
Park Factor Upgrades and Downgrades:
- Philadelphia plays COL and CWS at home (two very bad rotations, home ballpark is already top-10 in park factor) -UPGRADE
- Seattle plays CIN at home and @COL - UPGRADE
- Cincinnati plays @SEA and at home vs. LAA - SLIGHT DOWNGRADE
Week 3 Fantasy Baseball Hitter Streamers
I'll recommend only players who are 40% rostered or lower and all roster percentages are from Yahoo!
Brandon Marsh, OF - PHI (36% )
I highlighted the Phillies schedule in the first section and therefore Marsh is my top streaming option as the Phils should feast on some Rockies (30th in team SIERA) and White Sox (26th in team SIERA) this week. Marsh might sit against a lefty occasionally, but he's coming off a huge week in which he went 7-17 with two home runs, four runs scored, and four RBI.
Michael Busch, 1B/3B - CHC (35%)
I hope you picked up Busch last week when I recommended him in this piece and he was only 13% rostered. The Cubs' third baseman hit his fourth home run of the season last night and has now gone deep three games in a row.
Make that 3⃣ straight games with a HR for Michael Busch! pic.twitter.com/2JtwaLVdhj
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 14, 2024
If he keeps hitting this week, there's a good chance that we see him over 50% rostered by next week, and your chance at grabbing a very useful corner infielder with dual eligibility will be gone!
Sal Frelick, OF - MIL (21%)
After another productive week, Sal stays on the list this week. I still think he could end up being on 50-60% of rosters sooner rather than later. All this kid does is hit and he's now up to a .319 batting average and 11 runs scored.
Sal's turn to get in on the action pic.twitter.com/693EjYMJGG
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 13, 2024
Milwaukee's offense has been surprisingly good here to start the season as they have a bunch of young hitters who are making contact and beating down opposing pitchers with dozens of singles and doubles. Sal has the speed to steal bases, too, I think he's a great long-term pickup in addition to being a streamer.
Alex Kirilloff, 1B/OF - MIN (19%)
One more repeat from last week, and it's the lefty first baseman Kirilloff. He finally got on the board with his first dinger this week and has settled into the three-hole in the lineup against RHP. He's the strong side of the platoon, so he should be in the lineup against righties every day and he's mashing the baseball here in the first month of the season.
Nelson Velazquez, OF - KCR (18%)
Don't look now, but the KC offense has come alive and is looking as potent as it has in years. Velazquez is providing some power from the sixth spot in the lineup with two home runs already, eight runs scored, and seven RBI. He's started the last nine games in a row, so it looks more like he's going to be an everyday player than stuck in a platoon.
Son 7 juegos consecutivos conectando hit para Nelson Velázquez. pic.twitter.com/hymitj6pxO
— MLB Puerto Rico (@MLBPuertoRico) April 13, 2024
Jurickson Profar, OF - SDP (15%)
The former top prospect is off to a good start in 2024, hitting .321 over the first three weeks of the season. Profar is hitting sixth in a San Diego lineup that has started out hot, and he's getting a lot of RBI opportunities as a result (he has 10 already). He should hit for average—he always has—but also has some pop in his bat as he has two long balls already. He's way too lightly rostered for a player of his talent and he's making the most of the opportunity he's getting to hit behind a solid top five in San Diego.
Cavan Biggio, 1B/2B/3B/OF - TOR (14%)
Biggio has a nice little eight-game hitting streak going right now as he's hitting .310 to start the season for Toronto as their ultra-utility man. He's going to be in the lineup against RHP every day and has already slid up as high as the five-hole. He won't hit many long balls or swipe many bases, but he's going to help out with AVG and is a nice pickup in leagues that count OBP, too.
Deep League Hitter Streamers to Consider
Last week I had Colton Cowser here at 8% and he's now 65% rostered in Yahoo leagues! What an incredible start for him to the season. It just shows that getting out in front of the hottest pickups can make all the difference - working the wire wins leagues!
- Blaze Alexander, 2B/SS - ARI (8%)
- Mark Canha, 1B/OF - DET (7%)
- Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF - TEX (7%)
- Masyn Winn, SS - STL (6%)
- Jesse Winker, OF - WSH (3%)
- LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF - SFG (3%)
Good luck this week and choose those streaming options wisely!
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