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Streaming Wars: Waiver Wire Targets for May 9

Brad Johnson's fantasy baseball daily streaming picks for May 9th. Pitcher and hitter streamers for MLB DFS games, and head-to-head (H2H) waiver wire targets.

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

Below are your pitcher and hitter streaming targets for Tuesday, May 9th.

Let's get to it.

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

 

Agenda

  1. MOAR Injuries
  2. Today's Weather and Updates
  3. Tomorrow's Picks

 

1. MOAR Injuries

I set you an important task yesterday - to determine which word is best used to describe a group of injuries (i.e. pride of lions). The results...

Frankly, I'm a little disappointed. The most commonly used saying won. I always root for the unconventional. Since I complained about injuries yesterday, Michael Brantley came up lame while running the bases (ankle sprain). At least we've received good news about Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. They're expected to return tonight.

 

2. Today's Weather and Updates

Storms be chillin' in Colorado. That sweet, sweet Cubbies lineup could be grounded. Keep an eye on it. Cincinnati, Chicago, and Denver are storm risks tomorrow.

 

3. Tomorrow's Picks - Tuesday, May 9th

Pitchers to Use

Yep, I'm obsessed with Charlie Morton. Get over it. There are red flags in the profile, but the pieces are there for an ace-like breakout. He just has to fit together a few more adjustments. Oh, and survive a starter's workload. Since his 2008 debut, Morton has only twice exceeded 150 innings in a season. While he's a great waiver wire acquisition, be careful paying for him via trade. Do you really want to bet he'll avoid the disabled list? Don't hesitate to use him tomorrow against the Braves.

Here's what I said about Alex Wood yesterday. It still applies. Wood may yet start tonight due to a weight room injury to Brandon McCarthy.

His ownership has climbed to 27 34 percent. This may be your last chance to acquire him cheaply. The southpaw uses a funky delivery to keep hitters uncomfortable. He has a high strikeout and ground ball rate coupled with a tolerable walk rate. His velocity is up two mph. He's an automatic start in all formats. Wood should receive run support against the Pirates. Keep an eye on how the Dodgers handle today's rainout - Wood could be bumped.

No, I don't believe in A.J. Griffin's early season success. There's no way he maintains a 10.18 K/9, 2.21 BB/9, and .220 BABIP. Regression will push him into the mid-4.00 ERA range. That doesn't much matter tomorrow. He's opposed by Jered Weaver and the Padres. If the Rangers lineup can't supply a victory, it's time for them to quit.

As a reliever, Matt Andriese is a poor man's version of Chris Devenski. As a starter, well, he's a rarely usable streamer. His stuff doesn't usually hold up to multiple spins through the lineup. I'm... hopeful... that the Royals crummy offense will let him cruise through six innings. Like many Rays pitchers, Andriese relies heavily on a plus changeup.

Other Targets: Ariel Miranda, Zack Wheeler, Dan Straily, Hector Santiago, Jharel Cotton

 

Pitchers to Exploit

Prepare for a rare Unbalded Jimenez sighting tomorrow. He finds himself opposite the Nationals juggernaut at Camden Yards. Too bad most Nats are highly owned.

I've been trying to squeeze quality starts out of CC Sabathia, but it's just not happening. The Reds offense has been remarkably productive. I'm not actually surprised, I thought they'd outperform preseason projections. With tiny Great American Ballpark in play, the Reds should post a few runs. You can still chase a victory with Sabathia since he only has to outpitch Tim Adleman. The Yankees bullpen will do the rest.

Mike Pelfrey is terrible. He hosts the Twins at former US Cellular Bandbox aka The GSpot.

Kyle Freeland has a shiny 2.65 ERA. He may be the Tyler Anderson of 2017. The actual Tyler Anderson has turned into a dumpster fire - a possible future for Freeland. With only 5.29 K/9 and 3.71 BB/9, he does very little to help fantasy owners. His success to date can be tied to a 64.2 percent ground ball rate and a 25.7 percent soft contact rate.

Other Targets: Jered Weaver, Adam Wainwright, Wily Peralta, Kyle Freeland, John Lackey, Alex Meyer

 

Homers on the Wire

We'll soon bid adieu to Yonder Alonso. He was seven percent owned last Thursday, 12 percent on Sunday, and now 30 percent this morning. Every site is talking about him today. He'll be over 50 percent by tomorrow. Grab him while you can. The production is (mostly) real. Matt Joyce and Jed Lowrie can be targeted too versus former prospect Meyer.

Bartolo Colon isn't getting his usual results. The Astros have a surprising array of options available. Josh Reddick is batting second the last few days. Nori Aoki and Yulieski Gurriel are farther down in the order.

Max Kepler, Kennys Vargas, and any other Twin you may possibly want are green lit versus Pelfrey and the Tigers horrific bullpen. Vargas is of interest if he can maintain his fluky low strikeout rate. Alas, I put the odds of that happening right around zero.

Aaron Altherr is banged up, but it didn't stop him from popping a pinch hit home run yesterday. Boomshakalaka. If Altherr wasn't playing semi-part time, he'd be getting the Alonso treatment from me. Grab shares if you can.

Other Targets: Andrew Toles, Mitch Moreland, Logan Morrison, Brandon Moss, Tommy Pham, Randal Grichuk, Zack Cozart, Didi Gregorius, Chase Headley, Chris Carter, Carlos Gomez, Shin-Soo Choo

 

Steals on the Wire

The door is closing on Brett Gardner. He's up to 46 percent owned. He has a pristine matchup against a bunch of bad Reds pitchers in a small ballpark. He'll probably sit one game due to the Yankees outfield logjam.

I'm tired of saying things about Jose Reyes. He's still sitting around, twiddling his thumbs at 31 percent owned. He'll face Samardijon mustard.

Try one or all of Taylor Motter, Ben Gamel, or Jarrod Dyson if you need a stolen base. The Phillies aren't the most stolen upon team, but their backstops aren't particularly talented. Motter has the best all-around ability of the group. The face Eickhoff.

Michael Taylor may or may not benefit from facing Ubaldo Jimenez. Who can say. Taylor has a nasty habit of swinging through everything. He'll also chip in with an occasional monster game.

Other Targets: Hernan Perez, Kolten Wong, Delino DeShields

 

Skill Positions

I issued a warning about Francisco Rodriguez yesterday. He promptly blew another save via a walk, double, and home run. Justin Wilson and Alex Wilson are the handcuffs to own. Rodriguez may yet take the bulk of the ninth inning action going forward, but there almost has to be a short term shift in usage. After all, he has a 8.49 ERA and four losses (plus a vulture win) in 11.2 innings. He's allowed runs in eight of 13 appearances.

 

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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

George Kittle

Suffers Torn Achilles on Sunday
Aaron Holiday

is Moving into Starting Five
Aaron Gordon

is Available on Sunday
Christian Braun

is Downgraded to Out
Jamal Murray

is Unavailable on Sunday
Omarion Hampton

Active for Wild-Card Round Against Patriots
Kristaps Porzingis

Won't Play on Sunday
Kevin Porter Jr.

is Available to Play on Sunday
Christian Braun

Downgraded to Questionable on Sunday
Tyler Herro

to Suit Up on Sunday
Norman Powell

Ruled Out for Sunday's Game
Victor Wembanyama

Cleared for Sunday
George Kittle

Ruled Out After Non-Contact Achilles Injury
Cole Perfetti

Contributes Two Assists in Sunday's Win
Carl Grundstrom

Misses Sunday's Practice
Jrue Holiday

Cleared to Suit Up Versus New York
Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders Request Interview With Ejiro Evero
Josh Hart

Returning on Sunday Night
Travis Konecny

Hurt at Sunday's Practice
Thatcher Demko

Lands on Injured Reserve
Colin Miller

Injured Versus Devils
Bryan Rust

Remains Out Sunday
Morgan Geekie

Won't Play Sunday
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Mike LaFleur to Interview With Raiders and Cardinals
Aaron Rodgers

Steelers Open to Re-Signing Aaron Rodgers?
Matthew Stafford

X-Rays Come Back Negative
Mark Stone

Extends Goal Streak With Empty-Netter
Nikita Kucherov

Has Four-Point Outing Saturday
David Pastrnak

Records Six Assists in Big Win
Stefan Noesen

to Have Knee Surgery
Carter Hart

Out Week-to-Week
Thatcher Demko

Exits With Injury Saturday
MacKenzie Gore

Yankees Pursuing Trade for MacKenzie Gore
Philip Broberg

Suffers Upper-Body Injury Saturday
Alex Bregman

Cubs Sign Alex Bregman to Five-Year, $175 Millon Contract
Chet Holmgren

Available Sunday
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Suspended for Three Games for Attempting to Strike Another Player
Kristaps Porzingis

May Return Sunday
Zaccharie Risacher

to Miss Second Consecutive Game Sunday
Kevin Porter Jr.

Considered Probable for Sunday
Aaron Gordon

Likely to Play Sunday
Christian Braun

Considered Probable for Sunday
Spencer Jones

May Miss Another Game Sunday
Jamal Murray

Iffy for Sunday's Action
Freddie Freeman

Withdraws from World Baseball Classic
Chandler Stephenson

Jaden Schwartz Replaces Chandler Stephenson in Kraken Lineup
Brandon Saad

Won't Play This Weekend
Shea Theodore

Returns to Golden Knights Lineup Saturday
Jaccob Slavin

Returns Against Kraken
Travis Konecny

Ruled Out Saturday
Brad Marchand

Misses Saturday's Game
Corey Perry

Available Saturday
Max Kepler

Receives 80-Game PED Suspension
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Cam Coleman Visiting Alabama on Friday
Omarion Hampton

Expects to Play Sunday Night
CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Enters Transfer Portal, Trending to Land at Florida
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NCAA Denies Trinidad Chambliss a Sixth Year of Eligibility
Omarion Hampton

Questionable for Wild-Card Weekend
Kyle Tucker

Mets Remain in Mix for Kyle Tucker
Ketel Marte

Will Remain With Diamondbacks
Rashee Rice

to be Reviewed Under League's Conduct Policy
Daniel Jones

Colts Plan to Re-Sign Daniel Jones
Davante Adams

Off the Injury Report, Will Play Against Carolina
Bo Bichette

Phillies to Meet With Bo Bichette
Rome Odunze

Will Return for Wild-Card Game on Saturday
CFB

DJ Lagway Commits to Baylor
Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Fire Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Sam LaPorta

Plans to be Back for Training Camp
Owen Caissie

Shipped to Miami as Centerpiece of Trade
Edward Cabrera

Cubs Officially Acquire Edward Cabrera From Marlins
Rome Odunze

Plans to Play on Saturday
Edward Cabrera

Cubs Finalizing Deal to Acquire Edward Cabrera From Marlins
New York Giants

Giants "All-In" on Hiring John Harbaugh
CFB

Jackson Arnold Signs with UNLV
CFB

Sam Leavitt Scheduled to Visit Tennessee
New York Giants

John Harbaugh Expected to be Favorite to Become New Giants Head Coach
Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh Won't Return as Ravens Head Coach
Bo Bichette

Unlikely to Return to Toronto?
Jordan Love

Ready to Start in Wild-Card Game Against Bears
CFB

Jadan Baugh Staying with Florida for Junior Season
Washington Commanders

Commanders "Mutually" Parting Ways With OC Kliff Kingsbury
CFB

Byrum Brown Officially Commits to Auburn
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Austin Simmons Signing with Missouri

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