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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. We are back at it again this year, publishing this article seven days a week. It's still just the first week of MLB games, but we are always ready to stream.
For those who are new - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories and target players who may be available on your waiver wire.
With that being said, below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Saturday, April 7. Let's get to it.
Agenda
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Today's Picks
1. Weather and Updates
It appears it will be a rain (and snow) free Saturday with several weather-influenced situations to note. There will be wind blowing out to the short porch in right field; the heavy-hitting Yankees could take advantage. The Pesky Pole in Fenway will have strong winds blowing in its direction, so any Boston Red Sox or Tampa Bay Rays power hitters it would be advisable to start them today. The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers will have wind gusts around 15 MPH directed to center field in AT&T Park.
2. Today's Picks - Saturday, April 7
Pitchers to Use
Yu Darvish at Milwaukee- .216 BAA/.278 BABIP. Be wary of walks as Darvish issues free passes to this Brewers' lineup at 15%. In 51 plate appearances, Darvish has allowed just one home run current Brewers hitters.
Steven Matz at Washington- .143 BAA/.184 BABIP. 49 at-bats for the Nationals' hitters against Matz, who has yet to surrender a home run and posts a 2.84 FIP under the small sample.
Trevor Bauer vs. Kansas City- Bauer induces a lot of grounders that end up as double plays, so despite allowing baserunners, he'll keep the Indians in the game. His .250 BAA and three home runs in 96 at-bats allow you to comfortably start Bauer if you've got him.
Pitchers to Exploit
Both starters for the Orioles vs. Yankees game at Yankee Stadium. Sonny Gray has a .300 BAA and a .400 BABIP vs the current Orioles lineup. He won't walk a lot of hitters but if he gives up a lot of contact, expect a lot of production from any Baltimore hitters you have on your team. Same for Orioles starter Chris Tillman; the current Yankees team is 26 for 75 against him. One bright spot is Tillman has surrendered just one home run. This game is in the Bronx, and with the middle of the Yankees order getting hot, get your Yankee hitters into your lineup.
Also, consider starting any hitters you have for The Cubs (versus Zach Davies- .300 BAA, five home runs allowed) and Indians (versus Ian Kennedy- .300 BAA, 7 HRs allowed)
Wire Watch for Saturday's Games
Preston Tucker, Atlanta Braves- Tucker is hitting .429/.455/.810 with two home runs and eight RBI. Coors Field will be welcoming to Tucker.
Eduardo Escobar, Minnesota Twins- Escobar has yet to end up an oh-fer in any of the games he's started in 2018. In fact, three of his last four starts have been multi-hit games. Mike Leake of the Seattle Mariners could be exploited big time.
Chris Owings, Arizona Diamondbacks- A multi-use hitter who is tearing up the league with at least one hit in every start. He'll face Michael Wacha on Saturday, who has a 5.15 FIP versus current Dbacks hitters.
Let 'em Go
Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles- Davis looks lost at the plate thus far with a sub-.600 OPS. Yes, he'll be in Yankee Stadium this weekend but he shows no signs of breaking out anytime soon.
Corey Knebel, Milwaukee Brewers- He's injured, so depending on your DL situation you might want to let him go. That hamstring injury looked bad and he may be out of commission for some time.
Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays- Outfielders this early can be swapped around pretty easily and Kiermaier is an easy drop. Hitting just .071 with no extra-base hits and a TON of strikeouts. Known more for his defense, if you optimistically grabbed him in your draft, its time to look elsewhere.
