August 12, 2017

Jeff Kahntroff analyzes hitter streamers and starts for Week 20. These bats are potential fantasy baseball waiver wire adds to stream for head-to-head leagues.

Welcome back, RotoBallers! As a reminder, in this piece we're looking for weekly streamers in head-to-head leagues, which means players who are 50% owned or less in Yahoo! leagues and who have seven games in the week. These players could provide great value off the waiver wire, particularly in head-to-head leagues, for week 20 of the 2017 baseball season.

To catch my streamers column each and every week, add me on Twitter @rotonails and always check the RotoBaller MLB page.

With that said, let’s dive into the stream(ers).

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Bats to Stream and Start in Week 20

Shin Soo Choo (OF, TEX) - 24% owned

Choo has significant splits. He hits much better at home (.825 OPS vs .723 OPS) and better versus righties (.784 OPS vs .719 OPS). Thirteen of his 14 homers have come against righties. This week, he plays all seven games at home and faces six righties. On the season as a whole, he has a line of .256/14/65/51/9. Stream him if available and reap the rewards.

Gerardo Parra (OF, COL) - 41% owned

Speaking of splits, Parra is hitting a ridiculous .413 at home with a 1.067 OPS versus a .283 average on the road with a .714 OPS. Wow. On the season as a whole, he has a .351/8/38/50/0 line. With seven games at Coors Field this week, he is a must start if available despite facing only average pitching matchups.

David Peralta (OF, ARZ) – 49% owned

The theme of split stats continues, as the Diamondbacks face seven righty starters this week. That’s important for Peralta, who is hitting .310 with eight homers against righties as compared to .256 with two homers against lefties. His career splits are even more significant: .310 with 35 homers against righties compared to .232 with four homers against lefties. Peralta does not have significant home/away splits, so the fact that Arizona plays all seven games on the road should not affect his performance. Against pitching matchups that are just average after accounting for handedness, Peralta, who is sporting a .299/10/61/36/6 line on the year, is this week’s third ranked streaming option.

Matt Adams (1B/OF, ATL) - 23% owned

Did someone say splits? Adams is sporting a .275/16/37/50 line on the year in 96 games. However, against righties he is hitting .301 with 13 homers. These massive splits match his career trends. With six or seven starts against righties, great pitching matchups, and getting to play in Coors Field, Adams is worth a stream despite being cold for the past month and a half.

Jason Heyward (OF, CHC) - 13% owned

Heyward wishes he’d only been cold for a month and a half. His numbers for the past year and a half don’t match what the Cubs and many others expected when he left the Cardinals for their rival. He has posted a mere .258/8/38/39/2 line on the year, after a .230/7/61/49/11 line in 2016. However, he hits righties better and will face six of them, and the pitching matchups are favorable aside from just handedness. Heyward has been known to go on hot streaks, and I’m willing to roll the dice in hopes of landing one this week.

Tommy Joseph (1B, PHI) - 17% owned

Joseph probably seems like an odd name on this list given the recent call-up of Rhys Hoskins, and that definitely is a situation to monitor. However, Hoskins tried left field in the minors and played left field in his MLB debut while Joseph played first base. There is room for both of them, especially with Aaron Altherr on the DL. Joseph has put up similar numbers to last year with a .244/16/41/54/1 line. However, in his career, Joseph has 14 homers in just 184 at bats off of lefties. That’s a homer every 13.1 at bats. Facing five lefties, and good matchups, he is a great bet for homers this week.

Rhys Hoskins (1B, PHI) - 24% owned

Speaking of Hoskins, here he is. Hoskins hit .281 with 38 homers and eight steals in AA in 2016, and many questioned whether it was the friendly confines. He answered those questions this year when he moved to AAA and still pounded 29 homers with a .284 average in 115 games. Amazingly, he exhibited that much power with a walk rate (13.5%) that was nearly identical to a low strikeout rate (15.8%). Players who show that power while striking out that little and walking that much often succeed, so I would buy and hold Hoskins rather than stream him. Nevertheless, he is worth an add.

Also worth monitoring

Aaron Hicks (OF, NYY) – Hicks was off to a sizzling hot start before going down with an injury, but he is back and boasts a .290/10/40/37/7 line in just 60 games.

Bradley Zimmer (OF, CLE) – Zimmer has a .263/8/32/37/13 line in just 73 games.

Ozzie Albies (2B/SS, ATL) – The top prospect is off to a slow start in the majors, but he can steal bases, has a little power, the ability to hit for average, and he faces great matchups.

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