RADIO
Top daily fantasy baseball streamers and waiver wire adds for 5/2/21. Mike Marteny identifies MLB hitters and starting pitchers to stream based on matchups.
Welcome to the 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 Max Scherzer got blown up at a minor league park, 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.
Half of today's pitchers are owned in 72% or more of leagues. The other half are owned in 11% or less. There is a huge split between the haves and have nots today. It's a tough streaming slate for those of us looking to snipe a couple of categories on Sunday.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:- Fantasy baseball trade analyzer
- BvP matchups data (Batter vs. Pitcher)
- PvB matchups data (Pitcher vs. Batter)
- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball comparisons
- Daily MLB starting lineups
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
- Fantasy Baseball live scoreboard
- Fantasy baseball injury reports
Hitter Streamers for 5/2 - Shallow Leagues
Austin Hays (OF, RHB, BAL) - 48% Rostered
Matchup: at OAK LHP Sean Manaea
We streamed Hays yesterday, and even though he didn't homer off of Jesus Luzardo, he still got us a pair of RBI. Hays gets another lefty here, and despite nasty reverse splits in his career, he is finally starting to hit lefties this year. Two of his three homers are against lefties and seven of his nine RBI have come against southpaws. This is a streamer's dream.
Joey Votto (1B, LHB, CIN) - 39.6% Rostered
Matchup: vs. CHC RHP Trevor Williams
Fantasy owners have been known to hold grudges. That's the only reason why Votto is still available in so many leagues. I highlighted Votto's superb numbers over the last couple of weeks. In lieu of that today, I'm not going to point out that Votto has destroyed Williams in his career. He is hitting .387 with a .922 OPS against Williams in 31 career at bats. So what if he hasn't homered off of Williams? Votto's other numbers are off the charts against Williams.
Sean Murphy (C, RHB, OAK) - 28.6% Rostered
Matchup: vs. BAL LHP Bruce Zimmerman
Stream a catcher? Damn right! We're trying to win, aren't we? Murphy got yesterday off, so he should be in the lineup today. Murphy hits in the middle of this order and has slugged three homers in his last five games. Zimmerman has shown flashes of brilliance, but his ERA is still 5.68 for a reason. Streaming is about riding the hot hand. Murphy's would burn you right now.
Alex Kirilloff (OF, LHB, MIN) - 24.6% Rostered
Matchup: vs. KC RHP Brad Keller
That's three homers in the last two days for Kiriloff. The buy-low window is closed. Jump out there immediately and pick him up. He wont be going down to the minors anytime soon and he's not leaving this lineup either. The Twins thought enough of Kiriloff to let Eddie Rosario go. We are now seeing why and this is just scratching the surface.
Hitter Streamers for 5/2 - Deep Leagues
Tyler O'Neill (OF, RHB, STL) - 16.3% Rostered
Matchup: at PIT RHP Wil Crowe
O'Neill started slow, but he is hitting .407 with four homers, seven RBI, and two steals in the last week. Those of you who streamed him yesterday got a pair of RBI for your trouble. Don't drop O'Neill just yet. Crowe has pitched well enough to start this year, but every offering heading towards O'Neill must look like a beach ball right now. He's hitting everything. O'Neill has three multi-hit games in his last four outings.
Kyle Higashioka (C, RHB, NYY) - 9.8% Rostered
Matchup: vs. DET RHP Jose Urena
We have more catcher streaming! It is Sunday, after all. Higashioka is only a guy you want to use if you can take the hit to your batting average. However, he does have two homers in his last five starts. Yankee Stadium is friendly to any sort of power, but Urena has only allowed one homer so far this year. However, when you're digging in the muck of a deeper league, beggars can't be choosers.
Christian Pache (OF, RHB, ATL) - 5.8% Rostered
Matchup: at Dunedin/Toronto bullpen crap
Christian Pache's first career (regular season) home run was a grand slam. What will he do for the encore? I'm picking him up to find out. Atlanta has to leave this hitter's haven after today's game, but something tells me they make a lot of noise before they leave.
Gregory Polanco (OF, LHB, PIT) - 5% Rostered
Matchup: vs. STL RHP Carlos Martinez
Polanco can contribute in both homers and steals, but he might hurt your average. At least, that's what I thought until I looked at his opposing pitcher. Polanco is a staggering 14-29(.483) with four doubles, a triple, a homer, two steals, three RBI, and eight walks in his career against Carlos Martinez. Pick him up for today. Polanco is getting on base at the very least.
Pitcher Streamer for 5/2 - Shallow Leagues
Garrett Richards (RHP, BOS) - 5.9% Rostered
Matchup: at Texas
There is a 100% chance that Richards pitched out of his ass last week against the Mets. Richards recorded double digit strikeouts in a game for the first time since April 14 of 2018. There is reason for optimism after a start like that, especially in a Texas ballpark that has proven to be friendly to pitchers even with the roof open. There is significant risk here considering Richards allowed 13 walks in 16.2 innings over his first four starts. Streaming against Texas yesterday wasn't the best idea, but I told you pickings were slim. I'm not sure Richards has figured it out at 32 years old, but on the off chance that he has, I'll roll the dice.
Pitcher Streamer for 5/2 - Deep Leagues
Brad Keller (RHP, KC) - 4.5% Rostered
Matchup: at Minnesota
There's no way to sugar coat this. Keller has been absurdly awful this year. The xERA admits that he has been a little unlucky, but it's still nothing to write home about at 7.72. So in the face of all of this, why use Keller? Well, he's a Twin killer. In five career starts against the Twins, Keller has a 2.70 ERA. In two starts at Target Field, it drops all the way to 1.29. Keller isn't as bad as he has looked so far. If he's going to turn this around, it likely starts here.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
More Fantasy Baseball Advice
