Harris Yudin analyzes fantasy baseball hitter streamers on the waiver wire, to consider adding and streaming in week 3 of the 2016 MLB season.

Whether it’s because of an injury or poor performance, there are always opportunities to stream players off the waiver wire. The best players to stream are those who are under-owned and face appealing match-ups for the upcoming week.

Here are five players who are available in more than half of Fleaflicker leagues and have attractive match-ups during the third week of the season.

Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple & Android Stores.

Top Hitting Streamers for Week 3

Josh Harrison (PIT, 2B/3B/OF) - 41% Fleaflicker

Harrison has struggled to reach base over the first two weeks of this season — he holds a .268/.279/.293 slash line in 41 AB — but his .347 OBP in 2014 and .327 OBP in 2015 indicate that he will improve on his rate stats. He is not much of a power hitter, but he has a career .283 average. In that deep Pirates lineup, he should have no problem breaking out of his slump.

In Week 3, the Pirates will face Colin Rea, Drew Pomeranz, James Shields, Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray. This means they will tee off against the Padres and Diamondbacks but not see Tyson Ross (who is injured), Zack Greinke or Shelby Miller— the three best pitchers on two clubs with a team ERA above 5.00. This week is an excellent opportunity for Harrison to get back on track.

Michael Conforto (NYM, OF) - 31% Fleaflicker

The Mets are currently last in the league in team batting average and 29th in runs, but they have a lineup full of talented hitters and should turn it around soon. Conforto, who owns a .250/.423/.350 slash line over 20 AB, hit in the three hole on Friday for the first time this season and belted his first home run of the season in the first inning. If he is there to stay, at least against right-handers, his value will skyrocket.

Conforto and the Mets travel to Philadelphia and Atlanta this week, and will face Jerad Eickhoff, Vince “has to give up a run eventually” Velasquez, Jeremy Hellickson, Bud Norris, Jhoulys Chacin and Matt Wisler. All six of those pitchers are right-handed, meaning the left-handed Conforto should start every game. He is hitting .293/.556/.910 with all 10 of his career home runs against righties. This could be the week Conforto really gets going. If your league is shallow enough where you wouldn’t consider owning him full-time, at least consider him as a streaming option this week.

Yasmani Grandal (LAD, C) - 18% Fleaflicker

Grandal made his season debut on April 12 and has gone hitless in just four at-bats, as of Friday afternoon. As long as he is healthy though, he should see the bulk of the playing time at catcher going forward.

The Dodgers travel to Atlanta to begin the week, and will see Matt Wisler, Julio Teheran and Williams Perez. They follow that up with a trip to Coors to face Tyler Chatwood, Jon Gray and Jordan Lyles. A bunch of struggling pitchers and three games in Coors Field is a recipe for success for a talented, young hitter.

Grandal may be a little too injury prone to trust long-term in mixed leagues, but he has solid power for a catcher, especially against RHP. He has also shown the ability to go on tears and hit homers in bunches. He went deep in back-to-back games three times last year. This upcoming week has the potential to hold one of his power surges.

Ryan Howard (PHI, 1B) - 15% Fleaflicker

After starting the season 0-4, the Phillies have won five of six and currently sit in second place in the National League East. This is mostly due to the success of the starting pitchers, but Ryan Howard has led the way for the offense. He has just seven hits in 24 at-bats, but he leads the team with four home runs and seven runs batted in. He has absolutely killed righties throughout his entire career.

This upcoming week, after Noah Syndergaard, Howard gets to face Logan Verrett, Bartolo Colon (off of whom he has already hit a homer this season), Zach Davies, Chase Anderson and Wily Peralta— all righties. Howard could be in for some big performances during the latter part of the week. The Phillies’ slugger is not all that appealing in a deep pool of first basemen, but for owners in deep leagues, he can be a solid CI option.

Michael Saunders (TOR, OF) - 8% Fleaflicker

Despite a slow start to the season, the Blue Jays still have the most explosive offense in baseball. A healthy Saunders is one of the keys to taking it to the next level. So far in 2016, Saunders is hitting .310/.375/.552 with one home run and three runs batted in over 29 at-bats. Batting behind Troy Tulowitzki, Saunders should have ample run-producing opportunities.

Starting on Tuesday, the Jays travel to Baltimore for a three-game series. On the bump for the Orioles will be Ubaldo Jimenez (4.11 ERA in 2015), Chris Tillman (4.99) and Vance Worley (4.02). All three are righties, whom Saunders has made a living against — 36 of his 52 home runs have come against them. Additionally, Camden Yards has a short, 318-foot porch in right field, which is paradise for a lefty. Even with tougher match-ups looming later in the week (Chris Bassitt, Sonny Gray, Kendall Graveman), the series against the Orioles should be enough to make Saunders a candidate for streaming in deep leagues.

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