Harris Yudin analyzes fantasy baseball hitter streamers on the waiver wire, to consider adding and streaming in week 7 of the 2016 MLB season.

Whether it’s because of an injury or poor performance, there are always opportunities to stream players off the waiver wire. The best players to stream are those who are under-owned and face appealing match-ups for the upcoming week.

Here are five players who are available in more than half of Fleaflicker leagues and have attractive match-ups during the seventh week of the season.

Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple & Android Stores.

Top Hitting Streamers for Week 7

Melky Cabrera (CHW, OF)- 69% Fleaflicker

Cabrera has quietly been one of the better hitters in baseball over the last six years. This year, he is batting a robust .308/.379/.408 over his first 130 AB. Cabrera is pretty highly owned, but there are very few fantasy rosters that wouldn’t benefit from adding the 31-year-old.

This week, the White Sox draw four underwhelming righties in Doug Fister, Collin McHugh, Dillon Gee and Yordano Ventura; Danny Duffy, who will be making just his second start of the year; and Dallas Keuchel, the reigning Cy Young Award winner who has surrendered at least five runs in four of his last five starts.

As a switch hitter, Cabrera is hitting over .300 against both lefties and righties. He has 14 multi-hit games on the season, and is .375/.432/.425 since the calendar turned to May. Any fantasy owner would be wise to add Cabrera right now, at least for the upcoming week.

Aledmys Diaz (STL, SS)- 65% Fleaflicker

Yes, Diaz is here again. Much like Cabrera, Diaz is owned in a lot of leagues, but realistically, he shouldn’t be on the waiver wire in any league until he visibly comes back down to earth. Diaz went 2-for-5 on Thursday and raised his batting average just one point. On May 12. That’s how incredible he has been— batting .400 in a game in mid-May doesn’t even affect your average. He remains third in the Majors in batting average (.383), 12th in on-base percentage (.412) and third in slugging percentage (.654). His 9.6% strikeout rate is tenth-best, and his .271 ISO is 18th.

Awaiting the Cardinals this upcoming week are Chris Rusin, Chad Bettis, Jon Gray, Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray— three lefties and three righties. There is a mix here of favorable matchups and talented arms who can toss a gem on any given night, but this remains about Diaz’ insane start to the season. Really, Diaz is a must-start against almost everyone until he begins to really bottom out.

Chase Utley (LAD, 2B)- 21% Fleaflicker

Utley has been a surprisingly large contributor for the Dodgers this season, holding down the second base job against righties while Howie Kendrick serves as a utility man. Utley has absolutely destroyed right-handed pitchers over the first six weeks of the season, to the tune of a .326/.426/.500 slash line with two home runs in 92 AB. While that pace will not hold, he has shown that he can still produce in a platoon role.

In Week 7, the Dodgers play the Angels and Padres. On the hill for those teams will be Matt Shoemaker, Jered Weaver, Nick Tropeano, Jhoulys Chacin, Andrew Cashner, Cesar Vargas and Colin Rea— all righties, all with a WHIP of 1.39 or higher. With the way he’s been playing and the match-ups awaiting him, Utley is worth a flyer in deep leagues.

Ketel Marte (SEA, SS)- 13% Fleaflicker

Marte had a slow start to the season, but has really picked it up as of late. Since April 22, when his batting average was at .188, Marte has gone 28-for-78 with 14 runs scored, a home run and a stolen base. The Mariners’ shortstop has had success against both lefties (.283 AVG) and righties (.300), and was recently moved up towards the top of the order.

Marte and the Mariners get a full week without having to face a particularly formidable pitcher, as they will see Tyler Wilson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Chris Tillman, Dan Straily, John Lamb and Alfredo Simon. With the exception of John Lamb, all of these pitchers are right-handed, and while this doesn’t directly affect the switch-hitting Marte, it does mean he will see better pitches in front of Robinson Cano, who has hit .345/.402/.738 vs. righties.

At a weak position, Marte is worth a long-term look, but he is especially appealing in Week 7.

Tommy La Stella (CHC, 2B/3B)- 4% Fleaflicker

No one really expected La Stella to be fantasy relevant this year, especially considering the depth on the Cubs’ roster. However, his .346 batting average leads all Cubs with at least 50 AB. He has seven hits in 15 AB since dropping to .297 on May 4. Even with Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Ben Zobrist and Javier Baez on the roster, as long as La Stella is hitting, he will find his way into games. Even if he doesn’t start, he provides some value as a pinch hitter. In that role, he is 3-for-7 with two doubles and two walks.

Beginning on May 17, the Cubs draw Chase Anderson, Jimmy Nelson, Junior Guerra, Jake Peavy, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner. Besides Bumgarner, who is a horrible match-up anyway, all of those pitchers are right-handed. This means the left-handed La Stella should get playing time priority over Baez. Peavy is a particularly enticing draw, as he has allowed a league-high .417 batting average against to lefties.

La Stella is deserving of being streamed in deep leagues this week, and should be in the starting lineup for fantasy owners for the first five games.

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