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Fantasy baseball hitter streamers and starts for Week 18 of the 2024 season. Thunder Dan Palyo analyzes the top batter streamers to pick up in Week 18.
The offenses are finally picking up steam here as the weather gets hot across the country. And some bad teams (yes, we are talking about you, Oakland) are pounding out big run totals, leaving us with plenty of solid streaming options for the upcoming week.
Our hitter streamers fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column will identify hitters with good matchups that can be considered waiver wire streamers ahead of the Sunday night waiver wire runs for leagues with weekly transactions.
In this piece, every week I'll look to find hitters playing in the most games and who have the most favorable matchups to help you plug those gaps and fill those holes in your roster. You can also check out the rest of our fantasy baseball streamer content here at RotoBaller.
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What Teams Offer The Most Streaming Value?
We have one team that plays EIGHT (8!) games this week: the San Francisco Giants.
Teams that play seven games: ATL, CWS, CLE, COL, DET, LAA, LAD, MIA, NYM, OAK, TBR, TEX
All other teams play six games.
Park Factors and Matchups: Upgrades and Downgrades
- The Red Sox play in Coors -- UPGRADE
- The Reds play all six games on the road -- DOWNGRADE
- The Blue Jays play all six games at home -- DOWNGRADE
Week 18 Fantasy Baseball Hitter Streamers
I'll recommend only players who are 40% rostered or lower and all roster percentages are from Yahoo!
Zach Neto, SS - LAA (37%)
Neto has been a top-50 fantasy player over the last two weeks, slugging two home runs and stealing two bases while hitting .400 at the plate. He's come out red hot after the break, going 4-7 in the first two games against Oakland.
Zach Neto over his last 7 games:
.478 AVG
2 HR
4 RBI
6 Runspic.twitter.com/xWcrgo41C9— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) July 20, 2024
Neto is quietly having a really solid season and is a guy with more than just weekly fantasy appeal. He should be on more rosters than he is currently and that's likely going to change quickly so snag him where you can.
Lawrence Butler, OF - OAK (31%)
The Oakland youngster might be officially the hottest hitter in baseball and his rostership is rising quickly as a result. Just last week, I had him in the last section of this piece reserved for deep league adds under 10% and here we are now Butler being one of the most added players off waivers.
Lawrence Butler in the month of July:
.367 AVG
7 HR
22 RBI
11 Runs
2 SB— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) July 20, 2024
He finished the first half with a three-homer game against the Phillies but has come out of the break with an impressive 5-8 performance in his first two games with five RBI. He's hitting over .400 over the last two weeks and has raised his average from under .200 to .230. This is a talented young kid who might be finally breaking out, add him in all formats.
Keibert Ruiz, C - WAS (28%)
I am usually on the lookout for a backup catcher who can hit in daily leagues as very few backstops will play all six or seven of their team's games each week. Ruiz fits the bill quite nicely as a switch hitter who can offer production across the board. He's been very solid in July, and most recently has two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored over the last two weeks.
Tyler Stephenson, C - CIN (26%)
I had Stephenson on here last week and sure enough, he homered yesterday for his fifth dinger in the last two weeks and should be rostered in more than just 26% of leagues right now with his recent power surge.
Spencer Horwitz, 1B/2B - TOR (23%)
Horwitz has become a staple of this column, and I am continually surprised at how under-rostered he is across leagues. I guess chicks dig the long ball, but I happen to have an appreciation for a due who rarely goes O-fer and is constantly on base.
Michael Toglia, 1B/OF - COL (22%)
Toglia hit three bombs on the last day before break, just like Butler, and has been added in a lot of leagues in a hurry. He is certainly a liability in batting average, sporting just a .201 mark on the season, but his power upside is substantial as he's now clubbed 16 long balls this season.
Max Schuemann, 2B/SS/OF - OAK (21%)
I mentioned we had a theme going this week with bad teams getting hot at the plate, right? Well, another Oakland bat that is well worth you attention is Schuemann, who happens to be hitting .400 with a ridiculous 12 runs scored over the last two weeks.
Max Schuemann is batting .351 with 10 runs, seven walks and four stolen bases in 12 games in July … that ranks 10th in the majors in batting this month.
— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) July 19, 2024
You can start him in the middle infield or an outfield slot, but there's no reason not to jump on the Schuemann train while he's in such great form.
Juan Yepez, 1B/OF - WAS (15%)
The 26-year-old Yepez has found new life with the Nationals after struggling to latch on as a platoon player for the Cardinals the last few years.
Juan Yepez since his call-up on July 5th:
11 games (11 game hit streak)
.390 AVG
1 HR
6 RBI
8 Runs
1 SBpic.twitter.com/HWLC7lQUwo— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) July 20, 2024
He's never profiled as a power guy, but Yepez is making a lot of great contact and the Nationals have been rewarding him with playing time and have slowly moved him up in the order to where he's hit in the three or four spot the last few games.
Xavier Edwards, 2B/SS - MIA (10%)
Finding productive middle infielders can be a challenge and they are often some of the first guys scooped up off the wire as they are in such high demand. So if you aren't able to add someone like Zach Neto, then Edwards might be a decent consolation prize.
He's shown the ability to make quality contact and get on base so far in the 17 games he's played for Miami, with a .328 average, seven runs scored, and three stolen bases.
Fantasy Baseball Deep League Hitter Streamers to Consider
Some widely available hitters (under 10% rostered) could be worth a look this week.
- Leody Taveras, OF - TEX (9%)
- Nolan Schanuel, 1B - LAA (6%)
- Gio Urshela, 1B/3B/SS - DET (5%)
- Wenceel Perez, 2B/OF - DET (5%)
- Michael Massey, 2B - KC (4%)
Good luck this week and choose those streaming options wisely!
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