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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your daily source of waiver wire and streaming advice. Use this column to plug lineup holes, stream H2H pitchers, or target categories of need. DFS lineups can be built using the information here as well.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Friday, April 14th. We'll have a full 15 games with which to work.
Let's get to it.
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- Fantasy baseball injury reports
Agenda
- Twitter Poll Results
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Twitter Poll Results
Yesterday, I asked Twitter to help manage my roster. I was looking to cut one of Steven Matz or Drew Smyly. It's a keeper league in which Smyly can be locked down for $8. Matz will be too expensive. I'm also contending this year. Priority number one is 2017 stats.
I came to my own answer after much hemming and hawing. It was made doubly difficult because I intentionally overpaid to keep Matz. I also traded Matt Harvey (technically Adam Wainwright, it was a pseudo-three team swap) and Kevin Gausman to get Smyly and Tony Watson. Those steep prices made it a little harder for me to cut bait.
Anyway, here's what twitter had to say. I only ran the poll two hours so there aren't many votes.
I have this scenario to consider in one league. Soliciting opinions.
Which should I cut in a keeper league. I'm contending.
— Brad Johnson (@BaseballATeam) April 12, 2017
Well, at least I feel justified in considering this a hard decision. Because I have Smyly and Matz projected to perform similarly, and they're recovering from comparable injuries, Smyly's keeper potential was the tie breaker. Byebye Matz.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
The Cubs game may be slightly delayed. In Detroit, there is potential for in-game dampness. Both games will be played. Tomorrow, there may be rain in Chicago and Minneapolis per this largely unhelpful weather map.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Thursday, April 14th
Pitchers to Use
It's a terrible day for streaming starters. Either you have access to Daniel Norris (13 percent owned), or you'll be targeting something flaky. Despite a disappointing debut, Norris remains a quality sleeper this season. By virtue of improved velocity and command, Norris pitched to a 3.38 ERA with 9.22 K/9, 2.86 BB/9, and a 10.5 percent swinging strike rate. His stuff remains intact. The biggest question relates to his command - specifically if it can remain above average. Even if it declines, he's should post between a 3.50 and 4.00 ERA with a healthy strikeout rate. That's useful off the wire.
Tyler Anderson is the other starter I "trust" tomorrow. In reviewing his 2016 success, I came away confused. He throws barely average quality fastballs, a changeup that flashes plus, and no useful breaking balls. He made plenty of mistakes with the changeup too. Anderson has been hit hard through two starts. His MO last season was a high ground ball rate and soft contact. This year, his hard contact, line drive, and fly ball rates reign supreme through two starts. There's one encouraging sign - he still has a 25 percent soft contact rate. Anderson is visiting the Giants AT&T Park.
I suppose if you're the self-hating type, you could try veterans Wade Miley, Trevor Bauer, or Martin Perez. Mostly because they're sometimes not bad. Adam Conley is also an option opposite Noah Syndergaard. I have all four listed as exploits too.
Other Targets: nope
Pitchers to Exploit
Conley's command vanished this spring, and it remained absent in his first start of the season. While fantasy owners will gladly accept one run, six strikeouts, and a win, Conley got away with three walks and no hits allowed on balls in play (home runs don't count in the BIP part of BABIP). His velocity was down nearly three mph too, and he showed no feel for his changeup. It's like a magician tied together 20 red flags.
Prepare to impersonate an owl. Only the most diligent baseball fan will know the names of Adalberto Mejia and Dylan Covey. They face each other tomorrow. Mejia posted healthy strikeout rates in the minors. His four pitch mix lacks a plus offering. It's good enough to dominate weaker competition, but major leagues should feel comfortable at the dish. The White Sox do have a Quad-A lineup. Covey is a Rule 5 pick who spent most of the 2016 on the disabled list. He's a stout righty with four average pitches.
Other Targets: Wade Miley, Trevor Bauer, Tommy Milone, Scott Feldman, Jhoulys Chacin, Martin Perez
Homers on the Wire
Hopefully you didn't miss your chance to roster Mitch Haniger. He's over 50 percent rostered now. Danny Valencia remains available. A classic platoon masher, he'll have the advantage versus Martin Perez.
As for other missed chances, Aaron Judge surged from 10 to over 40 percent owned in the last couple days. He has massive power, and he's making enough contact to use it. He'll face Michael Wacha. I also recommend investing in Domingo Santana - another purveyor of big power and just enough contact. He and teammate Travis Shaw have a favorable matchup against Feldman.
If you need a shortstop, Zack Cozart is a reliably aggressive hitter. With Great American Ballpark on his side, he's a decent bet for a home run or multiple hits. The Brewers are tossing mediocre southpaw Milone.
The Mets stack of Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, and (maybe) Wilmer Flores have a favorable pairing against Conley. As noted above, the red flags are plentiful.
Other Targets: Joey Gallo, Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss, Max Kepler, Nick Markakis, Brandon Guyer
Steals on the Wire
Davis draws another southpaw. This time, it's former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel. He's looked good through two starts.
If Raul Mondesi or Alcides Escobar can reach base, there's a good chance they'll take off against Matt Shoemaker. He leans heavily on a splitter. It's a tough pitch to catch and throw. The two KC slappists will rely on a ground ball or two squeaking through a hole.
Ender Inciarte's ownership has declined due to a slow start. He won't light the world afire, but he should supply a decent average, runs, and stolen bases. He'll face scrubmuffin Chacin.
Other Targets: Gorkys Hernandez, Andrew Toles, Leonys Martin, Delino DeShields, Tyler Saladino, Jose Reyes, JaCoby Jones
Skill Positions
A trio of catchers - Mike Zunino, Geovany Soto, and Jett Bandy - all have high quality matchups with home run potential. Bandy is my favorite of that group.
