Hitter Streamers (Week 10) - Head-to-Head Leagues

June 2, 2018

Jeff Kahntroff analyzes hitter streamers and starts for Week 10. These bats are potential fantasy baseball waiver wire adds to stream for head-to-head leagues.

Welcome back to my hitting streamers column for Week 10, taking a look at hitters to add or stream off the waiver wire for this week's scheduled games.

To keep things simple, I pick from players who are 50% owned or less and who play at least seven games in the week.  If someone jumps off the page at me as a less than seven game player, I may make an exception, but otherwise the advantage in number of games dictates my choices.

This week there are exceptions, as the only team with eight games (Detroit Tigers) faces terrible pitching matchups. Moreover, there are few teams with seven games, and there are not enough serviceable streaming options on those teams to warrant excluding players with six games. As you will see below, I separated the players with only six games. However, note that Carlos Gonzalez would slot in as one of the top options this week despite only having six games.

Streaming can be a valuable tool, by allowing you to feast on favorable pitching matchups and simply have your hitters play more games than your opponents' hitters. If you have the roster space, streaming a hitter can be useful not only to fill a vacant lineup spot, but also to fill in for someone who has five games that week or faces tough matchups. In 5x5 leagues, four of the five hitting categories are counting stats, making the value of extra games significant. Streaming also can allow you to target a specific category of need. Even though this week's pool of streaming options is not as strong as usual, there is still value to be had. With that said, let’s dive right in.

Bats to Stream and Start in Week 10

Aaron Hicks (OF, NYY) - 41% owned

In just 128 games over the last two seasons, Hicks has swatted 20 homers, stole 15 bases, and provided valuable run production (73 RBIs and 75 runs). Batting in MLB’s highest scoring offense and facing favorable pitching matchups this week, there is no reason to expect this production to stop. He will not produce much in the way of batting average, but given the other production, you should stream him with confidence.

Logan Morrison (1B, MIN) - 15% owned

#99 comes in at number two on this week’s list. Despite his struggles this year, he warmed up a bit in May with a .244/4/12/12/0 line. Consistent with his career trend of showing significantly more power against righties, all of his homers this year have come against righties. Even though his tremendous walk rate will do nothing for you in 5x5, LoMo still should provide good production this week. He faces five righties and favorable matchups, and thus is a good bet for a home run to go along with decent run production.  If your goal is steals and average, however, he is not your guy.

Miguel Andujar (3B, NYY) - 43% owned

The 23 year-old rookie whose name was in trade rumors this offseason has been a decent fantasy asset to start the year. In 45 games, he has a line of .290/5/23/18/1. Even though he rarely walks, that will not hurt you in 5x5 formats. This week he faces favorable pitching matchups. While a stolen base would be a surprise, he should provide a good average with the chance for a homer and decent run production. He is not the most exciting option, but he should provide steady production.

Alex Gordon (OF, KC) - 4% owned

After falling off the face of the fantasy earth the past couple of seasons, Gordon rebounded nicely this May. He posted a line of .289/4/13/9/2. This year, he has hit all of his homers against righties and is batting .307 against them. He should face five righties this week in decent pitching matchups, and thus is a good bet for across the board production.

Max Kepler (OF, MIN) - 28% owned

Kepler has provided some fairly ho-hum production this year, with a line of .243/7/25/23/0 in 53 games. Those numbers are remarkably close to Kepler’s pace of the prior seasons. Thus, we should have a good idea what we would generally get with Kepler. And what is Kepler from a fantasy perspective? He is someone who belongs on the waiver wire in most leagues to be employed as an occasional streamer. This week, he faces good pitching matchups and thus is a good streaming option. If you are seeking decent run production with the chance for a homer, add him to your lineup.

Jorge Soler (OF, KC) - 40% owned

Soler is finally starting to show some of the success that excited fantasy owners years ago and led the Royals to trade Wade Davis for him. To start the year, he has a line of .272/8/26/25/3. However, he has done most of his damage against lefties (1.092 OPS as opposed to .739 OPS against righties). Because he will only face two lefties this week, he is farther down than his overall skill would dictate. Nevertheless, he is still a good streaming option, and he has upside.

Yolmer Sanchez (2B/3B, CHW) - 16% owned

Sanchez is a middle of the road fantasy player facing middle of the road pitching matchups in his seven games this week. What does that mean? It means he finds himself as a streaming option, but not an exciting one. He is the type of fantasy player who will flirt with double digit stolen bases and homers while hitting around .270 with mediocre (or slightly below) run production. He will not win you any category, but he could produce in any without killing you in the others. If you are looking for a little fluff across the board, take a shot on Sanchez this week.

Jeimer Candelario (3B, DET) - 26% owned

The Tigers have eight games this week and thus typically would have players higher on the list. However, they face some of the best pitchers in baseball. In that regard, they often would not be on the list at all. As a result, I am putting them at the end of the list and "recommending" them only at your own risk. If you want to gamble on quantity over quality, be my guest. Candelario is a good hitter, and he has shown that only somewhat so far with a line of .274/8/27/23/0. If you look under the hood, he has 16 additional extra base hits and walks at a high rate. While these on their face do not add value in 5x5, they could support his run production as sustainable and be a metric of future success. If you want to gamble, he is the best Tiger this week.

Jose Iglesias (SS, DET) - 5% owned

In a week of players lacking stolen base threats, Iglesias joins the list as one of your best bets to steal a base. He is hardly Rickey Henderson, but he has already stolen eight bases this year after averaging eight per season in the prior three. He has consistently posted an average around .255 with below average run production, but he will not kill you in those categories. If you want to take a gamble on a stolen base without killing your other categories, he is worth a shot. However, beware of the tough pitching matchups and related potential for him laying an egg.

Those with Six Games

Carlos Gonzalez (OF, COL) - 29% owned - Gonzalez’s production has been inconsistent over the past few years, but when he gets hot he can carry your team. One thing that has been consistent is that he hits better against righties and at Coors. This week he faces six righties and has three games at Coors. He is arguably as good an option as anyone on this list this week despite only having six games.

Gerardo Parra (OF, COL) - 4% owned - Parra faces decent pitching matchups this week, and is a good bet for a good batting average with the possibility of production in all of the four other categories. He has a .273/3/21/16/5 line on the year.

Dexter Fowler (OF, STL) - 28% owned - Fowler has had a terrible fantasy year, but he is heating up lately and faces good pitching matchups this week. When he is right, he can produce in any of the five categories and is a great option.

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