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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 Thursday, June 20th.
Let's get to it.
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Agenda
- Everything You Expect
- Today's Weather and Updates
- Tomorrow's Picks
1. Everything You Expect
On a day when all the big bats boomed, here's Jose Altuve attempting to join the party. I've adopted similar hitting mechanics to Altuve, but I haven't done this yet.
2. Today's Weather and Updates
Atlanta is the lone rain risk tonight - a 50 percent chance for a soaking. Atlanta and Minnesota are looking rather wet tomorrow.
3. Tomorrow's Picks - Thursday, June 22th
Pitchers to Use
Zack Godley is up to 49 percent owned. He'll probably stick around here for another week. A visit to Coors Field shouldn't draw many buyers. Godley has the stuff necessary to succeed at altitude, but I'd still avoid the outing. However, he should also be owned in all leagues so it's worth snagging him if only to stash for next time.
Daniel Norris entered the season as a breakout candidate. Instead, he looks more and more like a mid-rotation volume guy. The Tigers should supply plenty of run support, putting Norris in line for a win. Whether or not the bullpen can hold the lead is another matter. Norris will help with strikeouts but could hurt your other ratios.
Over his last six starts, Jaime Garcia has a nearly luck neutral 2.57 ERA (3.03 FIP, 3.13 xFIP) with 7.50 K/9 and 1.93 BB/9. That's a strong run. His most recent effort in which he allowed six runs marred the overall numbers. It's also worth noting he went 1-3 in that span, and that six run game wasn't one of the losses.
Other Targets: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Mike Clevinger, Wade Miley
Pitchers to Exploit
Nik Turley is a cautionary tale on the differences between Triple-A and the majors. Down on the farm, Turley posted massive strikeout rates (16.64 K/9 at Double-A and 12.39 K/9 at Triple-A) to go with equally impressive whiff rates. In two starts, major league hitters are unfazed. He's hardly inducing any whiffs, and his command is shoddy. The White Sox are sneaky good against left-handed pitching. In fact, they're the best.
Despite decent results over 14 starts and 83.1 innings, I'm still convinced Antonio Senzatela is a middle reliever. Obviously, he could fill a multi-inning role while buffing the usage of his slider. You don't see many starters succeed by using their fastball over 75 percent of the time. Among qualified starters, only Lance Lynn throws more fastballs. Plus, the game is at Coors Field versus a tough DBacks offense.
Other Targets: Martin Perez, David Paulino, Jesse Chavez, Jeff Locke, Matt Cain, Yovani Gallardo
Homers on the Wire
You should see this one coming. Matt Davidson is a .286/.338/.540 hitter versus southpaws this season. The most meaningful numbers are his strikeout and walk rates. Against righties, he has a 4.4 percent walk rate and 44.5 percent strikeout rate. Woof. Opposite lefties, his 7.4 percent walk rate and 26.5 percent strikeout rate are just slightly below average. At this point, Davidson should be considered one of the best hitters in the league when he gets a southpaw.
You know who else is kind of ridiculous against lefties? Robbie Grossman. One of the most patient hitters in the league, Grossman is currently sporting a 26.5 percent walk rate against southpaws. He has a weird .240/.441/.300 slash. Don't worry the power will come. He'll walk less too but not much less.
I was pretty sure Ian Happ would have been demoted by now. He's struggling to make contact, but the Cubs have need of his powerful bat. He's kept his head above water via nine home runs in 126 plate appearances. Overall, he's slashing .218/.312/.545. Locke is an easy opponent.
Other Targets: Tommy Pham, Melky Cabrera, Josh Harrison, John Jaso, Josh Bell, Jed Lowrie, Matt Joyce, Matt Chapman, Derek Fisher, Seth Smith, Ian Happ, Derek Dietrich, Matt Adams
Steals on the Wire
Here's a curious matchup. Ivan Nova fills the strike zone with fastballs. He also milks value out of working just outside of the zone. Eric Sogard doesn't swing at balls, and he doesn't miss either. Seems like we have two guys with the same strengths. By comparison, Keon Broxton misses all the time, but he's also much faster than Sogard. Francisco Cervelli is one of the most exploitable catchers in the league aside from Miguel Montero.
Other Targets: Kevin Pillar, Delino DeShields, Adam Frazier
Skill Positions
Manny Pino is taking the reins as the Brewers starting catcher. He's a decent high average plug and play any time you need a one-day patch.
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