Week 21 Waiver Wire: H2H Category Streamers

August 17, 2018

Jason Katz identifies fantasy baseball category streamers for week 21 of 2018. Waiver wire pickups, adds, and streamers for weekly head-to-head (H2H) leagues.

I like to consider myself a pioneer of the streaming approach. I won a league about seven years ago by completely ignoring saves and just stacking up the starts each week. While streaming is undoubtedly more directly associated with pitching, there's plenty of value in streaming for offense as well.

Maybe you have a stacked roster and you can't drop anyone. But for those of us with a couple of guys on the roster fringes, it's never too early to look into targeting a specific player or two to gain an edge in a particular category. This season, I will be making weekly recommendations for extreme short-term category specialists every week in three offensive areas: speed, power, and average; and three pitching areas: strikeouts, wins, and ratios (ERA/WHIP).

Below are my Week 21 category streamers for fantasy baseball. All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Head-to-Head Category Streamers to Consider

Speed

Willy Adames (2B, SS, TB) - 27% Owned

The Tampa Bay rookie has been on fire the past week or so. He has either homered or stolen a base in six of his last seven games (as of August 14). Four of those games were stolen bases...and they were consecutive. He was never a speed demon in the minors, but at just 22 years old, there's no reason to doubt he can be on in the majors, especially considering what he's done recently.

Adalberto Mondesi (2B/SS, KC) - 11% Owned

I know you'd all love new players every week, but why try and fix what isn't broken? Adalberto Mondesi is still barely owned and has now added a three stolen base game to his resume. Over the past two weeks, he has had two multi-steal games. The speed is real and consistent and I see no reason to remove him from this list until his ownership percentage rises.

Power

Mark Trumbo (OF, BAL) - 36% Owned

Mark Trumbo has 17 home runs in a little over half a season. He's still hitting long balls at a 30+ home run pace. He's hit five over the past two weeks. The Orioles face the Blue Jays and  Yankees next week, who have allowed the sixth and 16th most home runs respectively.

Trey Mancini (1B, OF, BAL) - 31% Owned

Everything I said about the Orioles regarding Trumbo applies to Trey Mancini as well. While Mancini doesn't have the power that Trumbo has, Mancini has four home runs the past two weeks and 25+ home run power. Streaming power hitting Orioles is a good bet next week.

Average

Joey Wendle (2B, 3B, OF, TB) - 12% Owned

Sometimes it's less about the player and more about the opponent. With Joey Wendle, it's both. Wendle is a career .287 hitter that is currently hitting .294. He's been even better over the past two weeks, hitting .371. And, to top it all off, the Rays have a four-game set against the Royals next week. The Royals have the highest batting average against in the league.

Alen Hanson (2B, SS, OF, SF) - 2% owned

Alen Hanson is hitting .284 this season, but an impressive .310 over the past two weeks. More importantly, the Giants close out next week with a three-game series against the Rangers, who have the third highest batting average against in the league.

Strikeouts

Steven Matz (SP, NYM) - 15% Owned

The Mets' lefty is coming off the DL the same day this article drops so I won't be able to tell you how he looks. What I do know is that he sports a K/9 a hair below 9.00 and has a matchup next week with the Giants, who strikeout the eighth most in baseball.

Joey Lucchesi (SP, SD) - 25% Owned

Warning: this is not the best idea if you want to win other categories. Joey Lucchesi has a road start at Colorado next week. The good news is the Rockies strikeout the 12th most in baseball and Lucchesi strikes out more than a batter an inning. The bad news is the game is in Coors. If you want strikeouts, I promise Lucchesi will get them. I make no other promises.

Wins

Jeremy Hellickson (SP, WAS) - 26% Owned

Jeremy Hellickson has a respectable mid 3s ERA so he's capable of containing opposing offenses. That should be no trouble against the Mets in his second start of next week. The Nationals should be favored in that game and Hellickson is a good bet to pick up a win.

* Update: Hellickson hurt his wrist in his last start. If Hellickson can't go, you can likely stream whoever spot starts for him for a win as well.

Mike Montgomery (SP, CHC) - 12% Owned

The Cubs have a home set against the Reds next week and Mike Montgomery should pitch in that series. The Cubs will be heavy favorites against the last place Reds.

ERA/WHIP

Edwin Jackson (SP, OAK) - 25% Owned

I cannot believe I am recommending Edwin Jackson in the year 2018. Unfortunately, I can't deny the hot start he's gotten to his newest campaign with what feels like his 25th team. Jackson has a 2.84 ERA and although his peripherals suggest he's been a bit lucky, he should be just fine in a home start against a Rangers offense that will likely be without Adrian Beltre.

Lucas Giolito (SP, CWS) - 19% Owned

This one is a gamble. Lucas Giolito just threw a quality start against the Tigers and he gets them again next week. Giolito has an awful ERA that is currently over 6.00, but the pickings are slim next week and the Tigers are third to last in runs scored this season.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers