August 1, 2016

Harris Yudin analyzes fantasy baseball hitter streamers on the waiver wire, to consider adding and streaming in week 18 of the 2016 MLB season.

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 readily available in Fleaflicker leagues and have attractive match-ups during the first week of August.

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Top Hitter Streamers for Week 18

Corey Dickerson (TB, OF/DH) - 33% Fleaflicker

Dickerson was outed as Coors-dependent this year, as evidenced by his .235/.281/.453 slash line. He entered July with a .214 batting average, but has been hot of late. Even though six of his 22 hits this month came in a three-game series at Coors Field, Dickerson’s July line of .297/338/.459 is still encouraging considering he hadn’t hit over .236 in a single month beforehand.

Another one of Dickerson’s fatal flaws is his inability to hit left-handed pitching— all 14 of his homers have come in 249 AB against righties. In the upcoming week, ignoring lefty Danny Duffy, the Rays are scheduled to face Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Ian Kennedy, Ervin Santana, Tyler Duffey and Kyle Gibson— six righties who have combined to allow 40 home runs to left-handed hitters this year. If Volquez, Kennedy and Santana are still with their current teams, that is.

Dickerson is a home-run hitter who could be in for a power surge as he gets set to face a string of righties prone to giving up the long ball. He could be worth a stream in deep leagues.

Michael Conforto (NYM, OF) - 32% Fleaflicker

Conforto was recalled on July 18, and has gone 5-for-18 over that span but has yet to record an RBI. He is now slashing .226/.300/.423 with 10 HR, 30 R and 30 RBI on the season. Even with his struggles throughout May and June, he has still managed to slash a respectable .259/.340/.503 against right-handed pitching this year.

Conforto is not a regular against lefties, but that shouldn’t be an issue in the immediate future. Over the final six days of Week 18, the Mets will see six righties— Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi, Justin Verlander, Mike Pelfrey and Michael Fulmer. Admittedly a formidable group, but Conforto has proven that, at his best, there is no right arm in baseball too dominant for the 23-year-old.

Especially with Juan Lagares and Yoenis Cespedes battling injuries, Conforto could see consistent playing time and turn in a productive week.

Sandy Leon (BOS, CA) - 27% Fleaflicker

Leon is a switch-hitter who is producing from both sides of the plate— .484 with two homers in 31 AB vs. LHP, .333 with one homer in 57 AB vs. RHP. He owns an absurd .386/.432/.625 slash line with three homers in the first stretch of consistent playing time he has seen in his career.

This upcoming week, the Red Sox will see at least three righties  — Hisashi Iwakuma (4.34 home ERA, .787 OPS vs. LHH), Bud Norris (.894 OPS vs. LHH) and Brandon McCarthy (.734 career OPS vs. LHH) —  and three lefties — James Paxton (4.82 home ERA, .787 OPS vs. RHH), Wade LeBlanc (.833 OPS vs. RHH) and Wade Miley (4.94 home ERA, .848 OPS vs. RHH) —  with a Dodgers pitcher yet to be determined.

If Leon can continue to rake over the next week, he should serve as a strong streamer for owners in deep leagues who are perhaps looking to replace Yan Gomes.

Ryan Schimpf (SD, 2B/3B) - 24% Fleaflicker

A mere 119 plate appearances into his big-league career, Schimpf has posted a .230/.345/.590 line with a 28.6% strikeout rate. However, the 28-year-old rookie is hitting .282 with nine homers so far in July. He hit 15 HR in just 166 AB in Triple-A this year, so the power is real. Eight of his nine home runs — as well as a .964 OPS — have come against righties.

In the coming week, the Padres will draw Jimmy Nelson (4.50 ERA since June 1, 4.69 road ERA), Zach Davies (.786 OPS vs. LHH), Junior Guerra, Jeremy Hellickson (7.87 OPS, nine homers vs. LHH), Jerad Eickhoff (4.98 road ERA, .780 OPS vs. LHH) and Zach Eflin (5.19 road ERA, .778 OPS vs. LHH)-- all right-handed.

Schimpf is not likely to maintain a pace even close to this one going forward, but why not ride the wave? While he’s hot, he should continue to pump out homers at a rate that is incredibly appealing for a middle infielder, especially against some weaker righties.

Yunel Escobar (LAA, 3B) - 17% Fleaflicker

Escobar was here last week, but he keeps hitting and his ownership is not changing, so why not? He hasn’t homered since April 27, but has made up for it by batting .366 in July — including 8-for-19 over the first four days this week. Escobar is still crushing lefties to the tune of a .352/.400/.534 slash line while managing a solid .315/.363/.376 line against righties.

The Angels are scheduled to face three more lefties this week in Sean Manaea, James Paxton and Wade LeBlanc. Among the other pitchers, Sonny Gray and Felix Hernandez are proven aces who have struggled at times throughout this year, and Kendall Graveman has managed a .843 OPS to opposing lefties.

Even if Escobar slows down a little bit, he should manage to string together some hits this week, and owners in deep leagues should take advantage.

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