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Welcome back to Streaming Wars, your one-stop shop for streaming the waiver wire. This article, which began last season, runs seven days a week. We are always ready to stream.
For those who are newcomers to this feature - use this column on a daily basis to improve upon your neediest categories, and target players who may be available on your waiver wire.
Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Friday, June 1. Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Reyes There And Gone
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Reyes There And Gone
Cardinals phenom prospect Alex Reyes returned to the majors yesterday. For one glorious inning, he was the promised one - the man about which all the prophecies were written. Then his velocity bottomed out and his command crumbled. He still managed four shutout innings, but he was clearly hurt. The latest word is a lat strain of unknown severity. These can range from relatively minor to career-derailing. We'll have more info soon.
2. Today's Weather and Updates - Thursday, May 31
Baltimore and St. Louis are at risk of delay and/or postponement. Both venues are due for spotty storms. Most likely, they'll both play. Monitor accordingly.
3. Streamer Picks - Friday, June 1
Pitchers to Use
Technically, Chase Anderson is still 55 percent owned and thus should be ineligible for this column. Additionally, a game at Guaranteed Rate Field is far from ideal. However, Anderson has two things going for him. Early in the year, his velocity was back down to pre-2017 levels, leading smarter fantasy owners to sell high. Even though the results haven't been positive since his return from the disabled list, he's throwing 93 mph again. That's where he lived during his superb breakout last season. The White Sox are powerful and strikeout prone. This is a high risk, high reward matchup.
Other Targets: Frankie Montas, Jaime Barria, Tyler Mahle
Pitchers to Exploit
Blaine Hardy may look like a breakout candidate with his 2.70 ERA through 20 innings. Let's remember, this is a 31-year-old LOOGY who has jumped to the rotation because the Tigers are desperate. He's doing a few things well. For one, he's cut his fastball rate to about one-third of offerings. He throws his slider just as often with the remaining third split between changeups and curves. The barrage of offspeed stuff helps him to keep hitters uncomfortable. To this point, he's posted 1.80 BB/9. Historically, he's walked at least twice as many hitters. He's also struggled versus right-handed hitters. Prepare for regression opposite the Blue Jays.
Other Targets: Jaime Garcia, Zack Wheeler, Hector Santiago
Homers on the Wire
With the exception of Brandon Nimmo, very few of the names below should have a higher ownership. The other exception is a stack of Dodgers visiting Coors Field. Enrique Hernandez will have the platoon advantage against Tyler Anderson. While I don't prescribe to batter versus pitcher data, I'll note that five Dodgers have over a 1.000 OPS opposite Anderson. Hernandez is one of them. So too is Matt Kemp (in just three plate appearances). Austin Barnes is generally a valuable play against southpaws too. It's always a good idea to target batters at Coors Field.
Other Targets: Miguel Andujar, Niko Goodrum, John Hicks, JaCoby Jones, Kendrys Morales, Brandon Nimmo, Matt Adams, Jesus Aguilar, Yolmer Sanchez, Daniel Palka, Matt Joyce, Ian Desmond, Derek Dietrich, Brian Anderson, Miguel Rojas, Luis Valbuena, Daniel Robertson, C.J. Cron, Franmil Reyes, Hunter Renfroe, Mac Williamson
Steals on the Wire
None of the stolen base threats stand out as having a fantastic matchup. The best probably belongs to Villar. White Sox backstop Omar Narvaez struggled with the running game last season, although he's been better this year. He's caught nine of 31 attempts (29 percent). Considering he wasn't an everyday catcher until semi-recently, it would seem teams are being very aggressive against him. Villar is having a solid season with the help of a .386 BABIP. If your league is deep enough to sell high, I suggest you do so.
Other Targets: Kevin Pillar, Cameron Maybin, Delino DeShields, Mallex Smith, Ben Gamel, Travis Jankowski, Manuel Margot, Jose Peraza
