Hitter Streamers (Week 17) - Head-to-Head Leagues

July 21, 2018

Jeff Kahntroff analyzes hitter streamers and starts for Week 17. 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 17, 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.

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. This week there are a number of teams with seven games, making it a deep streaming pool with a lot of viable options. With that said, let’s dive right in.

Bats to Stream and Start in Week 17

Marcus Semien (SS, OAK) - 41% owned

Semien has three stolen bases in his last five games, giving him 10 on the year. Given the scarcity of stolen bases in MLB recently, stolen bases are more valuable than ever in 5x5 leagues. Many who have been playing fantasy baseball for years have not properly adjusted for this change (i.e. as home runs increase and stolen bases decrease, each stolen base becomes more valuable relative to each home run). Thus, Semien’s stolen base ability should not be ignored. But he also has power. Over his last two seasons (180 games total), Semien has 17 homers, 104 runs, 73 RBIs and 22 steals. In 2016, he had 27 homers and 10 steals. He is a fantasy producer. Facing good pitching matchups this week and getting to play three games in Coors Field, he is a great streaming choice.

Maikel Franco (3B, PHI) - 46% owned

Among the seemingly infinite Manny Machado trade rumors were some mentioning Maikel Franco. When his name was mentioned, many pointed out his recent success. In 15 July games, he is batting .320 with three homers and a .902 OPS. Over the past two years, Franco posted lines of: .255/25/67/88/1 and .230/24/66/76/0. This year, in 86 games, he has a line of .269/13/32/47/0. In other words, batting average aside, he has been a remarkably consistent producer over the past three years. While the overall numbers aren’t exciting, the 25 year old’s recent performance and this week’s matchups make him a good option this week.

Mitch Moreland (1B, BOS) - 48% owned

Moreland has cooled off after his hot start. Since June 1, he is batting just .244 with three homers. On the season, however, he is hitting .280 against righties with a homer every 21 at bats. This week, he should face at least six righties in favorable matchups. I expect him to get back on track and to provide good power and run production, with a decent average.

Stephen Piscotty (OF, OAK) - 41% owned

In the last two months, Piscotty has hit .303 and .315 respectively. In just those 40 games, he has nine homers, 23 runs and 27 RBIs. He’s rolling. However, he is not higher on this list due to his uncharacteristic struggles against lefties this year. In 91 at bats, he is hitting just .187 with only two homers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his line drive and hard hit rates are much lower against lefties this year too. That is clearly a small sample, but it is worth mentioning because he will face at least four lefty pitchers this week. He is not exactly facing Randy Johnson, but rather Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Martin Perez and Kyle Freeland. On paper, these are good matchups, and he gets three games at Coors Field. Moreover, he is a solid hitter having a productive year: .263/12/43/46/1 in 89 games. He would be higher on the list were it not for his struggles against lefties this year, but the fact that his career numbers do not show those struggles allows him to remain at this spot on this week’s streaming options.

Jake Bauers (1B, TB) - 17% owned

In 2017 in AAA, Bauers hit 13 homers and stole 20 bases. In 52 games at AAA this year, he stole another 10 bases to go with five homers. In his first 37 MLB games, he has posted a line of .250/5/25/18/2. Thus, you are looking at a player who can provide stolen bases and run production, with some occasional pop. Even though the 22 year old does have to face Severino this week, he faces otherwise favorable pitching matchups and is a good bet to help your fantasy lineup.

Matt Chapman (3B, OAK) - 32% owned

After swatting 14 homers in 84 games last year as a rookie, Chapman looked up to his old tricks again with six homers through April. However, he has just four since then. Fortunately for him, Coors Field has been known to cure the occasional home run drought, and he gets three games there. He faces good pitching matchups in an under the radar offense (10^th in MLB in runs per game). This week, he could be a source of power and run production.

Michael Conforto (OF, NYM) - 31% owned

Conforto has underwhelmed fantasy owners this year. Actually, that is an understatement. He surprised owners early on by returning from injury sooner than expected, and while it is unknown if it has played a role in his performance, he has disappointed since. If it has, the all-star break could have provided a brief rest to get him going in the second half. Even in his down year, he is showing some power (11 homers) and run production. Facing decent pitching matchups this week, combined with his potential to be an elite fantasy performer overall, he is a worthy lottery ticket this week if the other options are off the board.

Others to Consider

In some leagues, many or all of the above options may be unavailable. Thus, here are some lesser-owned options to consider.

Jorge Polanco (SS, MIN) - 11% owned - Polanco was red hot in the second half last year (.293/10/31/43/7), and he already has three stolen bases in his 15 games after returning from suspension. He is a good bet for stolen bases with some potential for production in each of the other four categories.

Willie Calhoun (OF, TEX) - 19% owned - Calhoun is a prospect known for his bat, and he ripped the cover off the ball lately in AAA earning him a promotion to the big club (to go with a Mazara injury). He is a gamble but has the potential to produce in each category (other than stolen bases).

Amed Rosario (SS, NYM) - 7% owned - Rosario faces decent pitching matchups, and he has the ability to steal you a base. I won’t sugarcoat it: he’s not my favorite option. However, if the others are unavailable, he is worth a shot.

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