July 2, 2017

Brad Johnson's fantasy baseball daily streaming picks for July 4. Pitcher and hitter streamers for MLB DFS games, and head-to-head (H2H) waiver wire targets.

Welcome to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. Use this column to improve upon your neediest categories.

Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Tuesday, July 4th.

Let's get to it.

Agenda

1. Are You Mad?
2. Today's Weather and Updates
3. Tomorrow's Picks

1. Are You Mad?

Justin Turner was left off the All Star roster despite outperforming all National League third baseman over the last three and six months (the commonly accepted time periods for assessing All Star eligibility). To be fair, Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant are really friggin' good too.

Oh, here's Mookie Betts having a day. I hope you didn't lose faith and sell low!

2. Today's Weather and Updates

Well, the forecast for today is superb. Unfortunately, storms could put a damper on the festivities tomorrow in Washington D.C. and Minnesota. The Nationals have a weird 11:05am start time - presumably because travelling in the capitol is completely untenable on the Fourth.

3. Tomorrow's Picks - Tuesday, July 4th

Pitchers to Use

Trevor Cahill is back from the disabled list, and he's still available in 82 percent of leagues. Cahill began 2017 on a hot streak before he succumbed to injury. The righty was inducing a high strikeout rate combined with an equally high ground ball rate. Mix those together and you have the makings of an ace. Cahill's greatest weakness is below average command. When your sinker tumbles as much as Cahill's, you'll have trouble dotting the strike zone. Unfortunately, he's opposed by Corey Kluber and the Indians. It's probably best to stash him for this start.

Sean Newcomb has a challenging start lined up against the Astros. The rookie southpaw has a shiny 1.48 ERA through four starts. Multi-faceted regression is waiting to strike. If he continues to post 7.77 K/9 and 2.96 BB/9, his ERA will naturally climb into the 3.00 to 4.00 range. However, his swinging strike rates can support a higher strikeout rate. And he has a long track record of below average command. In other words, more walks are coming. The projection systems peg him for around 9.50 K/9 and 5.50 BB/9 with a low 4's ERA.

Daniel Gossett has been kissed by home runs, allowing five in just 21 innings. Otherwise, he's pitched relatively well for a spot starter. He has the stuff to deliver around 6.00 K/9 with fewer than 2.00 BB/9. He predictably works in the strike zone and lacks a true weapon - hence the home runs. An outing against the righty-prone White Sox could help fuel his numbers.

Other Targets: Seth Lugo, Joe Ross, CC Sabathia, J.C. Ramirez, Jose Urena

Pitchers to Exploit

Since returning from the disabled list, James Shields has been rather crappy in a wily veteran kind of way. In 15 innings, he has 10 strikeouts, seven walks, and four home runs allowed. He's yet another reason to consider using Gossett. Prior to the injury, Shields had survived three very lucky-looking outings.

Homer Bailey has allowed 14 runs in 4.2 innings. And he's visiting Coors Field. Yeesh.

Other Targets: Matt Cain, Kyle Gibson, Mark Leiter Jr., Ubaldo Jimenez, Pat Corbin

Homers on the Wire

If you want power, how's this work for ya? In 86 plate appearances, this guy has five singles, seven doubles, a triple, and seven home runs (.267/.360/.667). Those are Enrique Hernandez's splits versus left-handed pitchers. And his opponent, Corbin, is quite exploitable. Look for this extra-base machine to deliver something or nothing.

The Phillies summoned arguably their top prospect over the weekend. Nick Williams is a hyper-aggressive hitter in the mold of Adam Jones. The lefty slugger could benefit from facing a pitcher who likes to stay ahead in the count like Jameson Taillon. The scout report is still thin so big league pitchers don't know the best way to attack him yet.

Other Targets: Melky Cabrera, Matt Davidson, Jed Lowrie, Mark Canha, Matt Joyce, Josh Bell, John Jaso, Aaron Altherr, Tommy Pham, Jose Martinez, Randal Grichuk, Paul DeJong, Max Kepler, Robbie Grossman

Steals on the Wire

I assume Raimel Tapia will start tomorrow. If the recent past is any indication, he sits against terrible pitchers... That doesn't seem like a real usage pattern, it's just my wry observation. In any case, Tapia's matchup versus Bailey and the Reds bullpen is primed for all kinds of action.

Other Targets: Delino DeShields, Adam Engel, Eric Young Jr., Ben Revere, Michael Taylor

Skill Positions

Austin Barnes is more than just a "skill positions" guy when he's actually in the lineup. And he'll play versus Corbin tomorrow.

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