Matt Brash of the Seattle Mariners doesn’t feel like a streamer to me. There’s been so much Twitter helium on him already. But the degenerate fantasy baseball niche is still just that…a niche. Brash is just 46% rostered in Yahoo leagues at the moment, but he deserves to be higher based on his season-long potential. That said, much like Atlanta yesterday, the Astros are NOT a team we want to stream against. Despite the loss of Carlos Correa, they’re still trucking along as one of the toughest teams to strikeout, with the third-lowest K-rate in the majors (17.9%). Only the White Sox and Cardinals have been better. Add Brash for the long haul. But I don’t blame you if you have a solid lead in your head-to-heads and he finds your bench in daily lineups.
The rest of these options will be more available, and I’ll try to offer a streamer at every possible league size.
LHP Nestor Cortes (44%) @ Baltimore Orioles
We’re still in that frustrating time of year when pitchers are still building up their pitch counts. I thought Taillon would get over the five-inning threshold in this same matchup yesterday, but he fell ONE out shy. Hopefully Cortes, who spun 4.1 shutout innings against the mighty Blue Jays in his debut, can get there. Cortes only allowed three hits in that one, and tallied five strikeouts against zero walks. The Orioles are a much friendlier matchup, as they have the third-worst strikeout rate in the league (27.3%) and a weak .087 ISO (dead last). Better days will be ahead for the Orioles offense, but if you’re streaming on this Easter Sunday, Cortes is the primary add wherever he is available. The icing on the proverbial cake is that the Yankees lineup could easily jump all over opposing hurler Bruce Zimmerman, a lefty. One final note on Cortes–small sample caveat applies, but his 91.2 MPH average four-seam velocity from his first turn bested last year’s 90.8 MPH average. It’s something to monitor. It’s still early and we can expect pitchers to add a tad more velocity as they get stretched out. Cortes could morph into someone you hold, not just stream.
LHP Andrew Heaney (29%) vs. Cincinnati Reds
Do you feel lucky? Do ya? Heaney is ALWAYS a roller coaster, and I doubt that changes despite the promising matchup on tap for today. But this is close to a Triple-A lineup the Reds are fielding, and Heaney was dynamite in his debut, which spanned 4.1 innings against the Twins–one earned run, three hits, and five strikeouts. Heaney’s deal has always been that when he gets hit, he gets hit hard. Maybe it’s a mental thing…I don’t really know. But he’s got the change of scenery working for him so far. And he does what I like–strikes out plenty of guys while not issuing tons of free passes. So maybe the Dodgers unlock more of his potential this year. Maybe they don’t. Either way, the Reds are a cheese matchup for today. The team .108 ISO (27th) and 26.2% K-rate (26th) are bottom five marks in the majors, and despite a very good Tyler Mahle opposing Heaney today, the Dodgers are heavy -200 favorites. Heaney can be rocky, but his peripherals have consistently been better than his performance. Is this the year? I’d take a shot on him today to find out.
LHP David Peterson (8%) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Speaking of Triple-A lineups, yikes at Arizona. The D-backs actually have a .191 ISO so far, but it comes with a stunning 27.6% strikeout rate (second-worst in MLB after only Minnesota). Seth Beer (.400/.455/.600) is the ONLY regular batting above .200 for Arizona, and he likely won’t play today given it will be a LvL matchup against the southpaw Peterson. Peterson is pretty average across the board with regard to swinging strike rate and contact allowed…but this is the sort of matchup you’re looking for if you’re digging deep.
Who are YOU streaming today, gamers?
rotoranks 