🖥 TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE THANKS
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Streaming Wars: Waiver Wire Targets for April 21

Brad Johnson's fantasy baseball daily streaming picks for April 21th. Pitcher and hitter streamers for MLB DFS games, and head-to-head (H2H) waiver wire targets.

Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your daily source of waiver wire and streaming advice. This is your one stop guide to address lineup holes, stream pitchers, or target categories of need.

Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Friday, April 21st.

Let's get to it.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Agenda

  1. Judging Stanton
  2. Today's Weather and Updates
  3. Tomorrow's Picks

 

1. Judging Stanton

Let's talk about this statcast video of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge hitting mammoth home runs. This is nothing new for Stanton. However, I'm very encouraged by what I've seen from Judge. Not that Dylan Covey is a quality opponent, but it's reassuring to see Judge recognize and turn on a hanging curve ball. As a minor leaguer, he had a reputation as somebody who struggled to identify pitches. That wasn't the case yesterday.

I'm buying Judge wherever he's available, which, by now, is almost nowhere.

 

2. Today's Weather and Updates

Cincinnati is looking like a storm risk tonight. The game will start, but will it finish? Monitor accordingly. Denver, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York may be at risk tomorrow  per my not-so-handy weather map.

 

3. Tomorrow's Picks - Friday, April 21th

Pitchers to Use

A trio of very veteran pitchers are the top streaming options. My preferred target is crafty Bartolo Colon versus the Phillies. The use case for Colon is straightforward. He's a good bet for a quality start and a chance for a win. Sometimes he'll hand you positive ratios. Sometimes they're negative. Such is the way with known quantities on the waiver wire. Colon is evenly matched against Jeremy Hellickson.

CC Sabathia is not back, but he does look a little better. At least to my eye. He's improved as a pitcher over the last few seasons - necessitated by losing his elite stuff. He's done a great job keeping hitters off balance through three starts. Like Bartolo (in both size and usage), Sabathia is best targeted for his chance at a victory. He may receive a ton of run support.

The other veteran, Hector Santiago, is the riskiest of the bunch. He has a history of posting solid numbers over long stretches. He also melts down with all too much frequency. Although Santiago has strong numbers through three starts, the peripherals point to at least a 4.00 ERA going forward. He has a rough matchup against Justin Verlander.

I'm a big fan of Alex Wood as a pitcher. In his first start of the season, he exited with a perfect game intact. Did I mention he only threw 3.1 innings? Wood is working his way back up to a starter's workload. Expect another start of five or fewer innings.

Other Targets: Adam Conley

 

Pitchers to Exploit

There are a lot of pitchers like Alec Asher around the league. They walk few because they work in the strike zone. They also strike out few because they're predictably over the plate. Given time an opportunity, they might learn to become a Brandon McCarthy or a Scott Feldman. The Orioles picked up Asher off the Phillies scrap heap. The Red Sox should feast.

Tyler Glasnow is obviously a promising prospect. Everybody says as much. The command just isn't there. He's walked seven batters in 6.2 innings. If the Yankees do one thing well, it's take pitches. Keep betting against Glasnow until it backfires a few times.

I was bullish about an Adam Wainwright rebound entering the season. There was talk of a rediscovery of his curve ball. The curve does look improved, but his fastball no longer plays. He allows too much loud contact. And the Brewers are known for hitting it hard or whiffing.

Other TargetsTim Adleman, Mike Fiers, Nate Karns, Wily Peralta, Mat Latos, Alex Meyer, Trevor Cahill

 

Homers on the Wire

I keep saying Matt Joyce will be fine. His plate discipline is normal, he just isn't making good contact. It's easy to see in his .167 BABIP and .105 ISO. His hard contact rate remains a robust 38.7 percent. The top sluggers settle around 40 percent hard contact. Keep using Joyce, and he'll eventually reward you. His teammate Yonder Alonso is already reaping the benefits of his freshly updated swing path. They face Hisashi Iwakuma.

Travis Shaw still bats third or fourth for the Brewers, and he's still available in 55 percent of Yahoo leagues. Shaw has four home runs. He'll have a chance for another versus Wainwright. Keon Broxton's ownership has fallen below 50 percent, and for good reason. He's been a disaster. The upside remains tantalizing in sufficiently deep leagues. Domingo Santana is the better pick off the wire. He's more widely available too. Santana does have some trouble with right-handed pitching.

If you can afford to take a risk on a player who might sit, Aaron Hicks is about due for a spot start. He already has four home runs and a ridiculous walk rate, making him a smart matchup for Glasnow. Greg Bird is pressing at the plate. He's less desirable versus Glasnow. The game is at notoriously pitcher friendly PNC Park.

Other Targets: Justin Smoak, Danny Valencia, Brandon Guyer, Josh Reddick, Logan Morrison, Corey Dickerson, Aaron Hicks, Greg Bird, Aaron Altherr, Pablo Sandoval

 

Steals on the Wire

I feel like a Kevin Kiermaier truther even though I valued him well-below consensus during draft season. Kiermaier has speed and just enough punch to be a viable four category threat. His batting average is the lone weak category. The Astros have been picked on for stolen bases in the early going.

Brett Gardner should take advantage of Glasnow's erratic command and the Pirates inability to hold base runners. Gardner may swipe a couple bags.

Other Targets: Cameron Maybin, Andrew Toles, JaCoby Jones, Ender Inciarte

 

Skill Positions

Austin Hedges has shown some signs of life. He'll face a southpaw with poor command tomorrow. The Brewers catchers are a better bet for production, but it's hard to tell which will start. See who plays tonight of Manny Pina or Jett Bandy then claim the other one.

 

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Caris LeVert

Upgraded to Available Tuesday
Ron Holland II

Remains Out Against Kings
Robert Williams III

Sits Out Tuesday's Game
Jonathan Isaac

Active Tuesday Night
Javon Small

Returns to Grizzlies Lineup Tuesday
Tristan da Silva

Remains Sidelined Against Portland
Goga Bitadze

Out Against Portland
Vince Williams Jr.

Misses Third Consecutive Game
Cedric Coward

Unavailable on Tuesday Night
Aaron Wiggins

Will Play Against Spurs
Grayson Allen

Absent for Third Consecutive Game
Zach LaVine

to Miss at Least One More Week
Victor Wembanyama

Ready to Take on Thunder
Dwight Powell

Misses Tuesday's Game Due to Illness
Jaden Hardy

Starting on Tuesday Night
DK Metcalf

has Two-Game Suspension Upheld
Klay Thompson

Sits Out Tuesday's Action
Jonas Valančiūnas

Jonas Valanciunas Active Against Mavericks
Peyton Watson

Ready to Face Mavericks
Jaden McDaniels

Out on Tuesday Evening
Jordan Poole

Herbert Jones Out Tuesday
Max Christie

Still Out on Tuesday Night
Viktor Arvidsson

a Game-Time Decision Tuesday
Ryan Leonard

Available Tuesday
Tom Wilson

in Danger of Missing First Game of the Season
Phillip Danault

Makes Second Canadiens Debut Tuesday
Collin Graf

Available Against Golden Knights
Jack Eichel

Misses Fourth Straight Game
Vince Dunn

Won't Play Tuesday
Deshaun Watson

Will Not be Activated Off PUP List, 2025 Season is Over
J.J. McCarthy

Ruled Out for Week 17
Rome Odunze

Expected to Return This Season
Christian McCaffrey

Another Monster Game for Christian McCaffrey in Week 16
Brock Purdy

Throws for Five Touchdowns in Week 16
TreVeyon Henderson

in Concussion Protocol, Week 17 Status Unclear
George Kittle

Week 17 Availability in Question?
CFB

Jeff Brohm, Eli Drinkwitz "Names of Interest" for Michigan Head Coach
Timothy Liljegren

to Miss Second Straight Game Tuesday
Will Smith

Out Week-to-Week
Jaccob Slavin

Placed on Injured Reserve, Out Week-to-Week
Seth Jarvis

Considered Week-to-Week
Darren Raddysh

Totals Three Points in Monday's Win
Mason Marchment

Scores Twice Monday
Vince Dunn

Injured in Monday's Win
Rashee Rice

Still in Concussion Protocol, Estimated as Non-Participant on Monday
J.J. McCarthy

Listed as DNP on Monday Ahead of Week 17
Ilya Sorokin

to Miss Tuesday's Game
DK Metcalf

Suspended for Two Games Following Confrontation with Fan
Christian Dvorak

Returns to Flyers Lineup
Elias Pettersson

Still Out Monday
Brandon Montour

to Miss Four Weeks After Hand Surgery
Miles Wood

Available Against Kings
Zach Werenski

Ruled Out Monday
Leo Carlsson

Won't Play Monday
CFB

Byrum Brown Entering Transfer Portal
CFB

Bobby Petrino Joining Bill Belichick as North Carolina's Offensive Coordinator
TreVeyon Henderson

Exits Week 16 Victory with Head Injury
Lamar Jackson

Questionable to Return in Week 16 with Back Injury
Willson Contreras

Shipped to the Red Sox
Quinshon Judkins

Done for the Season with Broken Leg
Nick Chubb

Officially Active Against Raiders in Week 16
Gardner Minshew

Won't Return in Week 16
Woody Marks

Officially Inactive for Week 16
Quinshon Judkins

Carted Off in Week 16, Ruled Out with Apparent Leg Injury
Tua Tagovailoa

Dolphins Hope to Trade Tua Tagovailoa in the Offseason
Woody Marks

Not Expected to Play in Week 16
Washington Commanders

Commanders to Retain Dan Quinn, Fire Joe Whitt?
Brandon Lowe

Pirates Acquire Brandon Lowe in Three-Team Trade
Shane Baz

Orioles Acquire Shane Baz From the Rays
CFB

Darian Mensah Returning to Duke Next Season
CFB

Josh Hoover Linked to Indiana in Transfer Portal
CFB

Arch Manning Agrees to Reduced Compensation for 2026 Season
Michael King

Padres Bring Michael King Back on Three-Year Deal
Logan Webb

Will Pitch for Team USA in World Baseball Classic
Tarik Skubal

Joins Team USA for World Baseball Classic
CFB

Will Muschamp Becoming Next Texas Defensive Coordinator
CFB

Beau Pribula Set to Enter Transfer Portal

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP