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Kyle Braver breaks down his top 5 fantasy baseball sleepers and hitting streamers to target on your league's waiver wire for week 6 of MLB action.
Fantasy Baseball Streamer Bats for Week 6
It's time for another installment of my weekly position player streamers article. As always I'll limit my search to players owned in less than 50% of leagues and I'll try to give some variety in position types. You all should know the rules by now though so let's get started shall we?
1) Jace Peterson (SS, SD)
2014 Stats: .300 BA, 0 Runs, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1SB **note in 5 games**
Ownership: 0%
Opponents: Royals, Marlins
Games Scheduled: 7
The first question you should be asking me is who the heck is Jace Peterson and if I've never heard of him before why should I pick him up now? Oh he's on the Padres.....the Padres are terrible. Why would you recommend a Padre to us Kyle? Why?
These are all valid concerns, but I promise I don't put Peterson's name on the top of this list lightly. While Chase Headley is on the DL, he'll be taking the lion's share of work at 3rd base and with these at bats comes a very appealing skillset for fantasy owners. Looking at his minor league numbers you quickly see a very strong base-stealer in Peterson. He stole 39 bases in 2011, 51 in 2012, and 42 last year in high A ball. The catch is of course that he's only had 18 at bats at the AA level, so his batting average skills could be suspect against major league pitching. In a very short sample so far though he hasn't looked completely lost at the plate and in the minor leagues he always shown good plate discipline and on base skills (OBP of .382 last season for example). Once on base he's shown the willingness to run at a prodigious rate, already racking up a steal in only 5 games played. If you're searching for infield help and speed, I'd look very closely at Jace Peterson.
Note: Depending on your leagues rules he should qualify at 3rd base within the next week. He already has 4 games played there at the time I'm writing this article and more will be on the way.
2) Adam Dunn (1B / DH, CHW)
2014 Status: .274 BA, 12 Runs, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB
Ownership: 25.4%
Opponents: (at) Cubs, Cubs, Diamondbacks
Games Scheduled: 7
Adam Dunn has been quietly very impressive so far this season. The 5 home runs should come as no shock to anyone as everyone knows he has big time power, but the .274 batting average has been a very pleasant surprise. While I don't think that kind of batting average is sustainable long term, in the short term he has a 7 game stretch next week in two very nice hitters parks against two very weak rotations.
Arizona's rotation is 2nd in the major leagues in HR allowed and last in the majors in team ERA. The Cubs look much better at first, enjoying a middle of the road 15th ranked team ERA and are 8th best in preventing home runs to opposing batters. This however is largely a result of Jeff Samardzija's sparking 1.98 ERA and an unsustainable run by Jason Hammel. In real life once you get past Samardzija they're much less frightening than the box score would suggest and their bullpen is nothing to be concerned about either. A locked in Adam Dunn should have his way with them.
3) Dayan Viciedo (OF, CHW)
2014 Stats: .354 BA, 12 Runs, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB
Ownership: 49.4%
Opponents: (at) Cubs, Cubs, Diamondbacks
Games Scheduled: 7
Viciedo has been one of the hottest hitters in the majors so far this season, posting an incredibly impressive batting average to go along with his powerful swing. While some of his batting average is of course good fortune, he has also made some fundamental changes in his approach that play a big factor in the increased production he and his fantasy owners have enjoyed. His line drive rate is up almost 3% and he's similarly decreased his groundball rate over 15% while increasing his fly ball rate by 9%. While the line drives translate into improvements in batting average, the fly balls are what really have my attention. Any time a hitter who knocked in 25 home runs just two years ago, starts pumping out a career high fly ball rate in a great hitters park, my ears perk up. I've already gone over the weaknesses of the Cubs and Diamondbacks rotation earlier in this article, so I won't rehash that. All I will say is that while Viciedo is locked in like this I think he has a chance of being a big time contributor in average, home runs, and RBI/Runs. Any time I can pick up 4 out of 5 categories on free agency I jump at the chance.
4) Matt Joyce (OF, TB)
2014 Stats: .333 BA, 12 Runs, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB
Ownership: 49.8%
Opponents: Orioles, Indians
Games Scheduled: 6
Matt Joyce has been nothing but impressive so far this season, showing the batting average skills that were missing from his game last season. While these numbers will come down with time, I'd ride his bat while he's hot. He enjoys a nice 6 game home stretch against two rotations which rank in the bottom 10 in team ERA, and Baltimore's rotation has been 4th worst in the majors in preventing home runs so far this season, something a power hitter like Joyce is bound to enjoy. If you've been hit hard by the loss of Bryce Harper, I'd give Joyce a long look next week as a good fill in.
5) Jedd Gyorko (2B, SD)
2014 Stats: .144 BA, 6 Runs, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB
Ownership: 47.7%
Opponents: Royals, Marlins
Games Scheduled: 7
I'll admit right now that this one's a gut call. I was a big believer in Jedd Gyorko in the preseason, and while he has done nothing but disappoint so far, I still believe in his talent. He faces a nice 7 game homestretch in this coming week, and that power potential he showed us last year is still there. Call it a feeling, but I see a big week coming from Gyorko. If you need help at 2nd, he's who I'd turn to.
