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Jeff Kahntroff analyzes hitter streamers and starts for Week 9. 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, which means players who are 50% owned or less in Yahoo! leagues and who have seven games in the week. This week the options are aplenty.
These players could be hitters worth starting and streaming in Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season.
With that said, let’s dive into the stream(ers).
Editor's Note: Our friends at Fantrax have even more fantasy baseball advice columns and videos to help improve your teams. Be sure to also check them out!
Bats to Stream and Start in Week 9
David Peralta (OF, ARZ) - 45% owned
Peralta was third in last week’s rankings, but this week he ascends to the top slot. Why? Because he faces oh so juicy pitching matchups. And not only is he facing less than stellar pitching, but he gets to face six or seven righty starters. The Diamondbacks have the top wOBA versus righty pitchers in baseball, so Peralta should get a lot of opportunities to produce. And that he will do: he has a .313 career average versus righties with a homer every 29 at bats. Mix in the speed and great lineup, and you have yourself a true five category performer this week.
Lucas Duda (1B, NYM) - 7% owned
Duda does not hit for average and won’t steal you bases, but he should provide power and run production this week. The Mets face seven righty starters, and Duda is a career .253 hitter with a homer every 18.4 at bats versus righties. The pitching matchups are favorable beyond the mere handedness, which should lead to good run production opportunities. Finally healthy, for now at least, the widely available Duda is a nice option this week.
Justin Bour (1B, MIA) - 46% owned
Unlike Duda, there is a good chance that Bour isn’t available in your league. And that's for good reason. Bour hit 23 homers in just 129 games in 2015, and he has followed that up with 27 homers in the 135 games since. He has also hit a stomachable .265 over that time frame. If he’s available, it’s only due to his slow start, as he’s hitting a robust .342 with eight homers in May. He is behind Duda due to the pitching matchups, but he should still be streamed with confidence.
Max Kepler (OF, MIN) - 27% owned
The Twins face seven righty starters this week, and relatively favorable matchups at that. Kepler has 389 career at bats versus righties, in which he has hit .262 with 20 homers and eight steals. Moreover, he has a .270/5/22/21/3 line on the year as a whole. Put the 24 year-old in your lineup with confidence.
Devon Travis (2B, TOR) - 40% owned
Travis’s young career has been riddled with injuries. However, when he’s healthy, he has one of the most impressive spray charts in baseball. In 204 career games, he has a .289/22/109/100/11 line. When he’s fully healthy, he’s even better than that. This month, he is hitting .351 with a ridiculous 14 doubles. He also has posted two homers and two steals. With Donaldson and Tulowitzki returning to boost the lineup, Travis is a great option this week and beyond.
Byron Buxton (OF, MIN) - 26% owned
Buxton, baseball’s former number one prospect, has broken a lot of fantasy hearts. However, he’s only 23 years old, so there’s plenty of time for his game to come around. In 549 career at bats, he has 14 homers and 18 steals. The problem has been the strikeouts (34.4%), which have led to a poor batting average (.213). This week, I’m gambling on the favorable pitching matchups leading to a combination of speed and power, with enough contact to post a respectable average.
Neil Walker (2B, NYM) - 23% owned
In the past, Neil Walker facing seven righties would have put him at the top of the list. However, he has learned how to hit lefties, and his splits have almost reversed themselves. I’m banking on that being partially due to learning how to hit lefties, and partially due to sample size. Nevertheless, the Mets face good pitching lineups this week. Moreover, Walker has a good track record of a serviceable batting average with decent power. In the past two seasons, the power has increased, although this is likely due to an unsustainable HR/FB ratio. Nevertheless, a hitter who always hovers around .270 and who has 27 homers, 90 runs and 89 RBIs in his last 157 games makes for a good streaming option this week.
Also worth monitoring
Didi Gregorius (SS, NYY) – Didi broke out last year, going .276/20/68/70/7. After an injury suffered during the WBC, he has a .330/3/13/17/3 line in 24 games to start the year. He’d be higher up if he faced better pitching matchups.
Domingo Santana (OF, MIL) – A regular on these lists, Santana has a .262/6/23/22/4 line on the year but faces some tough pitchers this week (Kershaw, deGrom).
Brandon Drury (2B, 3B, OF, ARZ) – Drury faces at least six righties this week, and has a .284/13/59/55/1 line against them in 489 at bats.
Justin Smoak (1B, TOR) – Smoak has trimmed his K-rate to 19%, leading to a .277/10/24/29 line to start the year.
Asdrubal Cabrera (SS, NYM) – Cabrera just returned from the DL, so monitor his health. But he hit .280 with 23 homers and five steals last year, and is hitting .254 with three of each this year. He faces plus pitching matchups.
Jose Reyes (SS/3B, MIL) – Reyes is hitting .208 due to a BABIP 81 points below his career rate. That will rebound. He has three homers and five steals to start the year, a good track record, and should provide good production this week against favorable matchups.
Jed Lowrie (2B, OAK) – Lowrie is a dart throw if the others are taken. I included him as someone who is widely available.
More Streamers and Head-to-Head League Columns
