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 second 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 Hitting Streamers for Week 2

Denard Span (SF, OF) - 41% Fleaflicker

The Giants are on a roll offensively, having scored 12 runs in two of their first four games. In his first year with the club, Span has already cemented himself as a key member of this offense. This week, the Giants take a trip to the Mile-High City to play three games against the Rockies. As a result, just about every hitter on the Giants’ lineup is worth rostering in mixed leagues.

Span is the streaming option to focus on though, given the fact that Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are so highly owned that you probably cannot stream any of them. Span is only owned in 41% of Fleaflicker leagues. Additionally, Span is a notorious righty killer. Since the start of the 2013 season, he ranks fifth among qualifying hitters in batting average vs. RHP (.312). Lucky for Span, he gets to start the week against two young, unproven righties in Tyler Chatwood and Jordan Lyles.

Despite playing three games later in the week against the red-hot Dodgers and their seemingly indomitable trio of Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda, Span is worth streaming, even if it’s just for two days.

Michael Taylor (WAS, OF) - 20% Fleaflicker

The Nationals placed Ben Revere on the DL on Wednesday, allowing Taylor to slide into the everyday center field role. Taylor is struggling mightily to start the year — 0-11 with four strikeouts through three games — but he should be owned in deep leagues, at the very least for the upcoming week. The Nationals host the winless Braves, who could still be winless after this three-game series with the Cardinals. Then they travel to Philadelphia to play the currently winless Phillies. As a result, the Nats should expect to score a ton of runs. Taylor will face all righties, but his splits were pretty even last year— .240 vs. LHP, .226 vs. RHP. He will presumably begin to hit as he plays more, and could be in for a breakout week against weak pitching.

Yunel Escobar (LAA, 3B/SS) - 25% Fleaflicker

Escobar is probably in the best position of his career, hitting at the top of an Angels lineup that includes the power bats of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Kole Calhoun and C.J. Cron. The Angels began the season having to face Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester, but it gets easier as they move into the second week of the season. After a tough match-up with Sonny Gray on Monday, the Angels will draw match-ups against Kendall Graveman (4.01 career ERA), Eric Surkamp (6.47), Ricky Nolasco (4.54), Ervin Santana (4.16) and Kyle Gibson (4.46). Surkamp is the only lefty of the group, but the right-handed Escobar hit exactly .314 against both LHP and RHP last year. Escobar could be a really appealing streaming candidate this week, especially for owners looking for a stopgap at the hot corner until Jung Ho Kang returns.

Miguel Montero (CHC, C) - 13% Fleaflicker

Montero has long been under-appreciated as a fantasy player, at least in OBP leagues. He has 10-15 HR power and has a history of thrashing right-handed pitchers (33 HR in 991 AB over three seasons).

Montero will likely not play on Sunday or Monday as David Ross typically catches Jon Lester. The Cubs have such an easy home-stand, however, that he’s worth streaming for the middle four games. Alfredo Simon, rookie Raisel Iglesias, Chad Bettis and a yet-to-be-determined Rockies pitcher will take the mound against the Cubbies on those days. All three of those pitchers are right-handed, and Montero should have no trouble stringing together a solid week. Even without Kyle Schwarber in the mix, the Cubs have a formidable lineup that should provide Montero with ample run-scoring and run-producing opportunities against sub-par teams. For owners who just lost Schwarber, Montero is a strong replacement, whether temporary or permanent.

John Jaso (PIT, 1B/OF) - 3% Fleaflicker

Jaso is the Pirates’ first baseman, and that means he is valuable, regardless of how little appeal his name holds. The 32-year-old Jaso is leading off for a team that won won 98 games last year and just posted 15 runs over a three-game sweep of the Cardinals. With some combination of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and David Freese (soon to be Kang) behind him, Jaso is sure to see a ton of run-scoring opportunities.

Jaso is a lefty, and gets to face six righties this week, starting with Shane Greene — who is no stranger to getting lit up — on Monday. Anibal Sanchez and Jordan Zimmermann are tough matchups, but Mike Pelfrey, Jimmy Nelson and Taylor Jungmann round out the week. Jaso is currently owned in just 3% of Fleaflicker leagues! He will make a very intriguing stream this week for fantasy owners willing to take a chance.

MLB & Fantasy Baseball Chat Room

[iflychat_embed id="c-12" hide_user_list="yes" hide_popup_chat="no" height="400px"]