May 24, 2017

Brad Johnson's fantasy baseball daily streaming picks for May 25th. Pitcher and hitter streamers for MLB DFS games, and head-to-head (H2H) waiver wire targets.

Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop resource for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories.

Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Thursday, May 25th.

Let's get to it.

Agenda

1. Forsythe Returns
2. Today's Weather and Updates
3. Tomorrow's Picks

1. Forsythe Returns

Logan Forsythe returned to the Dodgers lineup yesterday. And he walked it off (non-homer variety). While Forsythe doesn't have the same name appeal as the many power hitters scattered throughout the league, he offers a consistent approach and a valuable role within a potent lineup. In the short term, Forsythe's return comes at the expense of Chris Taylor. The club will look to get him regular starts at third base and in the corner outfield. Taylor is slashing an unbenchable .326/.437/.570 (.411 BABIP).

Forsythe is only 40 percent owned, nudge-nudge.

2. Today's Weather and Updates

Rain could cancel the proceedings in Cleveland. The Reds and Indians are battling for the right to leave Ohio. Chicago is also a risk, although it looks like they'll play.

Although we have 12 games on the schedule tomorrow, New York (both), Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, and Washington D.C. are all have rain in the forecast. That's half the slate. If you're hemming and hawing between two guys on the wire, pick the one with a dry venue.

3. Tomorrow's Picks - Thursday, May 25th

Pitchers to Use

The Royals are calling upon Double-A star Miguel Almonte for a spot start. In the past, the hard throwing prospect has lost his command upon promotions to Triple-A and the majors. To this point, he has a 1.86 ERA with 10.86 K/9 and 1.86 BB/9. Using Almonte at Yankee Stadium is massively risky. The most recent scouting reports I have are from prior to this season. They note that his stuff and velocity were down in the Arizona Fall League. He was already viewed as a reliever due to shaky command. It's entirely unclear if his 1.86 BB/9 is a result of improved command or a symptom of overpowering Double-A hitters. I'm stashing him in very deep formats just in case there's a breakout in the works.

Over his last three starts, Tyler Anderson has limited hard contact while inducing ground balls. These are the exact traits he needs in order to replicate his successful 2016 season. Over those three outings, Anderson has 25 strikeouts, five walks, 15 hits, and six runs allowed in 17.2 innings. A sea level game versus volatile Vince Velasquez is a perfect time to jump back on the Anderson bandwagon.

I like Matt Andriese the reliever. He's sort of a poor man's Chris Devenski. As a starter, he finds himself overexposed when facing hitters multiple times. Despite that, he's a serviceable back-end guy with a 3.75 ERA, 8.40 K/9, and 3.40 BB/9. He tends to be homer prone as a starter. As long as he avoids Mike Trout's bat, he should do alright against the Angels. Speaking of Trout, how long until he's intentionally walked three times per game.

Other Targets: No

Pitchers to Exploit

Scouting reports seem to view Dinelson Lamet as a future setup reliever. The pitching starved Padres will give him a chance to stick in the rotation. He'll make his major league debut tomorrow. He's said to have a deceptive over-the-top delivery of a low-to-mid 90s fastball. His upper-80s slider is considered a plus pitch. No other pitches are mentioned as viable. His command is considered to be firmly minus - the main reason he's seen by scouts as a reliever. He'll face the Mets.

Speaking of craptastic command, Eddie Butler has walked eight batters in nine innings. On the plus side, he's been effectively wild, leading to a 2.00 ERA (5.06 xFIP). His 56.5 percent ground ball rate far exceeds what he accomplished in the minors. Butler is overdue for a good old fashioned drubbing.

Meanwhile, Vince Velasquez is overdue for a phantom DL stint. And if he flops again tomorrow versus the Rockies, we'll be increasing likely to see it happen. Velasquez has suffered from a high hard contact rate coupled with 1.85 HR/9. It's hard to survive so many home runs when you also walk 4.12 BB/9.

Other Targets: Bartolo Colon, Alex Meyer, Ariel Miranda, Tim Adleman, Nick Martinez, Zach Davies, Mike Fiers

Homers on the Wire

The Angels keep saying they believe in Meyer, but his 96 mph fastball is just too easy to hammer. And while he does turn to a curve ball 30 percent of the time, his iffy command of the pitch leads to a sky high walk rate. The one thing Meyer doesn't do is allow many home runs. Even so, Colby Rasmus and Logan Morrison are among my favorite bets for a waiver wire donger.

I've got my eye on a trio of Giants versus Butler, especially if the wind is blowing out at Wrigley Field. The best of the bunch is Brandon Crawford. He's slipped to 49 percent owned. He has a 38 percent hard contact rate, although he is a little too geared for grounders. Joe Panik and Christian Arroyo suffer from the same drawback.

For a second straight day, I'm all in on Lucas Duda versus a fastball pitcher. While the reports I've read have said nothing to this effect, pitchers with Lamet's profile often live in the upper quadrants of the strike zone (i.e. Chris Young and Josh Collmenter). If that's true of Lamet, then Duda's matchup gets a downgrade.

Other Targets: Chris Taylor, Logan Forsythe, David Peralta, Brandon Drury, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Mitch Moreland, Scott Schebler, Lonnie Chisenhall, Taylor Motter, Danny Valencia, Ian Happ, Luis Valbuena, Josh Bell, Josh Harrison

Steals on the Wire

To this point, the Nationals haven't suffered from Michael Taylor replacing Adam Eaton. A .424 BABIP has saved Taylor from his 36.5 percent strikeout rate. Going forward, there will be pain. Taylor is opposed by a hittable southpaw. In 225 career plate appearances versus lefties, Taylor has a near 30 percent line drive rate.

Other Targets: Kolten Wong, Jose Reyes, Freddy Galvis

Skill Positions

Cameron Rupp is a classic lefty masher - career .303/.361/.566 versus southpaws. He's opposed by Anderson.

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