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Below are my top MLB hitter streamer options for Week 18 of fantasy baseball. All players listed here are 50% owned or less in Yahoo leagues and play seven games this week.
Streaming hitters is a great way to increase production and fantasy stats off the waiver wire for your head-to-head matchups. It can also help to mitigate the damage done by underperformers. Check back weekly for my favorite hitter streamers for the upcoming week.
Editor’s Note: RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups list is updated every single day. Our awesome writers bring you analysis on hot or emerging starting pitchers, and also all other fantasy positions. You can also download our waiver wire iPhone app for free, and easily stay updated.
Top Hitter Streamers for Week 18
1. Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins
(4 @ TOR, 3 @ CLE) – 49% owned
One of the best rookie power hitters? Check. Leaving a cavernous home park for seven road games, including four in homer friendly Rogers Centre? Check. This week's top streaming option? Yes. Through his first 23 games in the majors, Sano is sporting a ridiculous .972 OPS, 4 homers, a .299 average, 14 RBI and 12 Runs. Sano's major league power should not come as a surprise, after he clubbed 105 homers in just 445 minor league games. While his average is likely to dip and you should not expect steals, Sano should be a good source of homers and run production this week.
2. David Peralta, OF, Diamondbacks
(4 @ WAS, 3 vs CIN) 19% owned
Flying under the radar, Peralta sported an absurd 1.043 OPS in July. For the year, he has a shiny .851 OPS, with an .877 OPS versus righties. This week, the Diamondbacks will face either five or six righties, Peralta's home and road splits have been nearly identical, so that should not factor in this week. For the year he is hitting .283 with 9 homers, 40 runs, and 48 RBI. Despite the logjam in Arizona's outfield and the fact that the Diamondbacks face the almighty Max Scherzer, Peralta still is this week's number two streaming option.
3. Yunel Escobar, 3B/SS, Nationals
(4 vs AZ, 3 vs COL) – 46% owned
Because these rankings are for standard 5x5 leagues, I typically avoid players without much in the way of either homers or steals. However, Yunel is an exception this week. Despite having career highs of 14 homers and 6 steals, to go with 5 homers and 1 steal this year, the Nationals have very favorable matchups this week. Hitting near the top of a lineup that just returned Zimmerman and Werth, to go with the best hitter in the world in 2015, Yunel should see some scoring opportunities. He is hitting .314 on the year with 48 runs and 31 RBI in 91 games. Due to the potential for the Nationals to score a lot of runs this week, Yunel provides a good option for average and runs, with the potential to sneak in a homer and some RBIs.
4. Jayson Werth, OF, Nationals
(4 vs AZ, 3 vs COL) – 41% owned
Just as I did above for Yunel, I am making another exception here. I typically do not recommend players returning from injury until they have shown they are back on track. Since returning, Werth has gone 3-17 with just one extra base hit and no steals. On the year, he is hitting .203 with 2 homers and no steals in 32 games. This sounds like a great salespitch, huh? Well as they say, buy low. If he were hitting .300 with 30 homers, he wouldn't be available. While there's a large risk he will take a while to round into form, I'm willing to take a risk on a player with favorable matchups who, over his last two seasons with the Nationals, hit over .300 with 41 homers and 19 steals in only 276 games.
(3 @ ATL, 4 @ CHC) – 34% owned
After a long layoff with a fractured right fibula, Aoki is back. Despite coming out of the gate slowly, Aoki is 3 for his last 8. While the sample size is miniscule, it provides enough hope to rank him as my last streaming recommendation of the week. Aoki has 7 road games this week, and on the season he has an OPS .345 higher at home (.938) than on the road (.593). He is also hitting .312 with 12 steals in 71 games. In his career, he's never hit below .285 in a season or stolen fewer than 17 bases. He should provide good average, and I am hoping this is the week he starts running again on the basepaths. His potential average, stolen bases, and runs upside, paired with his seven road games, are enough to make him a streaming recommendation this week despite the recent return from injury.
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