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Top daily fantasy baseball streamers and waiver wire adds for 5/22/21. Mike Marteny identifies MLB hitters and starting pitchers to stream based on matchups.
Welcome to another edition of our daily fantasy baseball streamers! Are you playing in leagues with daily moves and looking to beef up those rosters? We here at RotoBaller are there for you and all of your streaming needs. Whether you are just trying to get that elusive category win or you are trying to give your pitching staff a lift because Gerrit Cole got smoked earlier this week, we can help. Each day, RotoBaller will provide you with some of the best streaming options to consider in both shallow and deep fantasy baseball daily leagues. Streaming hitters and pitchers to exploit matchups are important to help you win your league.
It is important to know your league if you're going to stream. I'm not just talking about which teams your leaguemates root for. I'm talking about whether strikeouts count against you for hitters or if fielding stats are included. Most importantly, you need to know how many transactions you have per week. You don't want to blow your allotment within a couple of days. You can also use these recommendations to help build your DFS lineups. This article will use rostered percentages and position eligibility from ESPN leagues.
A little more than half of the pitchers are owned in less than 50% of leagues, so we have the larger pool to fish from. Larger doesn't always mean better. The 16 pitchers that we have to choose from are all owned in less than 25% of leagues. Still, there are some matchups out there we can take advantage of. Let's go find them!
Hitter Streamers for 5/22 - Shallow Leagues
Joc Pederson (OF, LHB, CHC) - 44.6% Rostered
Matchup: at STL RHP Miles Mikolas
See? I told you the power would come! Pederson's homer last night was just his second of the season, but he now has 8 RBI to go with that slick .412 average since May 5. Mikolas is making his return from the IL with a shoulder issue. This will be his first major league start since the 2019 playoffs. I don't expect Mikolas to go deep in this game, nor to I expect him to be all that effective. The Cardinals bullpen is nothing to write home about either. We don't have Ian Happ out there on waivers anymore, but pluck all the Cubs you can. It's just a gift that the leadoff guy is still available in most leagues.
Manuel Margot (OF, RHB, TB) - 35.4% Rostered
Matchup: at TOR LHP Robbie Ray
Ray has allowed 11 homers in seven starts this year and is pitching in the most friendly hitters park this side of Coors Field. The park factor and humidity are real, folks. The ball is flying in Dunedin right now. Margot has been relegated to the short side of a platoon thanks to the hot streak of Brett Phillips and Kevin Kiermaier returning from the IL, but the results he gets against lefties are promising. Margot has a homer and five RBI in his last five starts to go with a six-game hitting streak. Platoons don't bother us streamers. This is a nice spot for Margot.
Josh Fuentes (1B/3B, RHB, COL) - 27.2% Rostered
Matchup: vs. ARI LHP Madison Bumgarner
Fuentes was pushed to the bench by the return of Brendan Rodgers last night. While this may or may not be the new trend, I expect the hot hand of Fuentes to be in the lineup against a lefty. Fuentes is hitting .391 over the last week and has two homers and 14 RBI in the last nine games. Fuentes hits well at home. He's worth running out there with a lefty on the hill.
Brian Anderson (3B, RHB, MIA) - 26% Rostered
Matchup: vs. NYM RHP Jordan Yamamoto
Anderson had some rust when he returned to the lineup on May 8, but he has finally shaken it off. He has a modest five-game hit streak going on with a homer and two steals in those games. Yamamoto, who started his career with the Marlins, has a career ERA near 7. Yes, he has potential, but he hasn't tapped into it yet. Anderson's combination of speed and power to go along with a good average is a solid waiver find here.
Hitter Streamers for 5/22 - Deep Leagues
William Contreras (C, RHB, ATL) - 19.1% Rostered
Matchup: vs. PIT RHP Mitch Keller
Don't look now, but the kid is starting to hit again. He has three homers and seven RBI in the last seven games. Keller has not pitched well this year with that gaudy 7.16 ERA. Yes, that's after he held the Giants to two runs in five innings last week. The Braves put up 20 runs in the series opener last night. What will they do for an encore?
Michael Taylor (OF, RHB, KC) - 18.2% Rostered
Matchup: vs. DET LHP Matthew Boyd
Boyd has always struggled with the Royals. Enter the red-hot Michael Taylor who has homered in back-to-back games and hits lefties better than righties. Most of his power comes against southpaws as well with a homer every 28.3 at bats against lefties. Taylor has a nice power-speed combo that could never stick in Washington because he never hit for a decent average. The Royals' patience is paying off right now, so let's jump in on this hot streak.
Mike Zunino (C, RHB, TB) - 15.4% Rostered
Matchup: vs. TOR LHP Robbie Ray at Dunedin
It's not so much the opponent as the park right now. Zunino has three homers in the last week, and only Coors Field is more hitter-friendly as far as ballparks go right now. We've only got 10 more days until the Blue Jays fly north for the summer. Not to Toronto, but to Buffalo where they played last year. I plan on taking full advantage of the games the Jays (and their opponents) have left in Dunedin. Zunino is seeing the ball well right now. Put him in a very homer-friendly environment and we should see one or two more leave the yard before the Rays leave town, especially with a guy like Ray on the mound.
Yandy Diaz (1B/3B, RHB, TB) - 15.3% Rostered
Matchup: vs. TOR LHP Robbie Ray at Dunedin
Diaz is hitting in the middle of the Rays order and comes in hitting a robust .429 in the last week. He hasn't homered during this heater yet, but the four RBI and six runs scored are still helping us out. I don't think Toronto can trot a pitcher out there that I'm scared of going against in a park like this. There are some really good stack spots across baseball tonight, but Tampa might be the only one where you can pluck the cleanup hitter off of waivers, even in leagues as deep as 15 teams.
Pitcher Streamer for 5/22 - Shallow Leagues
Adbert Alzolay (RHP, CHC) - 19% rostered
Matchup: at St. Louis
Alzolay has struck out at least six batters in five of his seven starts and has only allowed more than three runs once. That's a safer floor than say, Brady Singer. Alzolay also boasts more than a strikeout per inning this year and a 0.89 WHIP. He has walked just seven batters in seven starts. That's what I want to see from a streamer. Alzolay throws a lot of strikes which sometimes gets him in trouble, but the damage is limited because he doesn't allow unnecessary base runners. If you're telling me 80% of starting pitchers in the majors are better than Alzolay, you're nuts. This must just means that fantasy baseball players are. Be a sage among nuts and go pick this guy up already!
Pitcher Streamer for 5/22 - Deep Leagues
Ryan Weathers (LHP, SD) - 17.8% Rostered
Matchup: vs. Seattle
The issue with Weathers is that he likely wont go deep enough for the win. The Padres have Weathers on a pitch count and he hasn't gone more than four innings since April 22. He does a good job of limiting baserunners for the most and doesn't issue a lot of walks. Weathers is here to help your ratios. It's only a bonus that he's playing against a team that can't hit lefties at all. In fact, they have been no-hit twice by lefties this season alone. Overall, the Mariners are hitting .179 against southpaws. Weathers is going to pitch well while he's in there. It just might not be for very long.
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