This Week In Streaming Strategy

This Week In Streaming Strategy

To start or not to start, that is the question.  Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the Inges and Morrows of outrageous fortune, or to take (two-start) arms against a sea of starts at Fenway Park, and by opposing end them. To sleep, perchance to stream!

Most Shakespeare quotes aren't very useful when applied to fantasy baseball -- he just keeps pushing you to start Daniel Bard.  Let's put the Swan of Avon aside and focus on the comedy of errors known as my weekly streaming tips.

* American League DHs. Another round of interleague play begins on Friday, with the Indians, Royals, Tigers, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels and Athletics all heading to NL parks and losing their designated hitters for three games. This means that, for instance, the Royals will lose one of Billy Butler or Eric Hosmer (my guess is that Butler starts at least two of the Royals' three games in Pittsburgh) and the Rangers will have to employ their usual creativity with Michael Young's spot in the lineup. As I noted a few weeks ago, be prepared to make some quick pre-game changes to your lineup if some of your regular big bats are riding the bench this weekend.

* National League bench players. The Astros, Cubs, Phillies, Nationals, Mets and Dodgers are all playing in AL parks this weekend, thus opening up some playing time for DH candidates. Bobby Abreu, for example, should be moved to DH duty when the Dodgers are in Seattle, opening the door for Tony Gwynn Jr. and intriguing rookies Alex Castellano and Scott Van Slyke for playing time in the outfield. 

* Tony Campana.  I want to highlight the Cubs outfielder even though he may not be as helped as you might think by the Cubs' trip to an AL stadium this coming weekend.  After stealing two more bases on Saturday, Campana now has 18 steals (from 21 attempts) this season, ranking him second in all of baseball despite receiving limited playing time.  Campana has little pop but his average (.305) and on-base percentage (.353) are certainly worth a few more starts in center field, especially now that Joe Mather may be playing more at third base in place of the struggling Ian Stewart.  Campana is a left-handed bat and the Cubs are slated to face at least four righty starters this week, though when they do reach their interleague dates in Minnesota, Campana will face at least one southpaw (Scott Diamond) and maybe a second in Francisco Liriano depending on how the Twins shuffle their rotation.  Still, I'd stream Campana this week since even if he gets just four starts against right-handers, that could easily translate to at least four steals.

* Derek Holland. As a Holland owner myself, I felt the pain first-hand as Holland inexplicably blew up against the Mariners (the Mariners!) last week. Holland lasted just 1 2/3 innings and allowed eight runs as the Seahawks beat the Cowboys by a 21-8 score. After a start like that, naturally, I'm ... recommending him as a two-start option for the upcoming week? It seems as if the young southpaw's inconsistency this season can be tied to Rangers Ballpark; Holland has a 6.69 ERA in seven games (six starts) at home this season, as opposed to a 2.84 ERA in four starts on the road.  Arlington is a tough place to pitch even if you're not facing the Texas lineup, but this week Holland gets two road outings in two very pitcher-friendly stadiums. He starts on Tuesday against the A's in Oakland and then is scheduled for a Sunday interleague matchup at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Holland has definite bounce-back potential with those two opponents and, in the wake of the Mariners' start, may very well be available on your waiver wire.

* Jason Hammel. The Orioles right-hander is the inverse of Holland; Hammel has a 1.73 ERA in four starts at home and a 4.04 ERA in six road outings.  With a nod to those splits, I'd recommend benching Hammel for his start at Fenway against the Red Sox on Tuesday, but he's a good play to start at Camden Yards on Sunday against the lackluster Phillies offense. I'd keep a wary eye on Hammel in general since he's coming back to earth after a stellar beginning to the 2012 season. Hammel had a 2.09 ERA through his first six outings this season but a 4.70 ERA in his last four starts.

* Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis. These left-handed Mets hitters will get plenty of opportunity to produce since the Amazins are scheduled to face six consecutive right-handed starters before a possible date with Andy Pettitte on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. If you've hung in there with Davis all season, this may be his last stand; if he can't get his ice-cold bat going against all these favorable matchups, I'd recommend cutting him from your fantasy roster.

* Scott Hairston. Conversely, all those right-handed opponents could portend a tough week for a right-handed bat like Hairston. The veteran has been one of several unheralded players who have come up big for the surprising Mets this season, but Hairston has standard splits for a right-handed hitter (career .832 OPS against lefties, .695 OPS against righties) and isn't likely to provide much from Monday to Saturday. It's not a good long-term prospect to have Hairston on your fantasy team, of course, but he's provided good streaming value this season, hitting .274/.317/.558 with six homers in 101 plate appearances.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

First, a word of regret.  In last week's column, I advised against playing Dan Uggla in the Braves' four-game series against the Reds due to the fact that Cincinnati was sending four right-handed starters to the mound during the series. I backed up this advice by saying, "The "sit Uggla" item is the official Mark's Public Apology choice of the week, as if Uggla has a big series in Cincinnati, I promise to rebuke my bad advice in next week's column."

Well, Uggla went 2-for-12 over those four games, with those two hits being a home run and a double. Uggla also added four walks during the series, adding up to a total line of .167/.375/.500.  Clearly, that was good enough for your fantasy lineup, so to Uggla owners everywhere, I apologize. In the words of the legendary Smooth Jimmy Apollo, when you're right 52% of the time, you're wrong 48% of the time. Let's see if I can make up for it with some better streaming recommendations for this coming week...

* Bronson Arroyo. The veteran bounced back from two subpar outings with a terrific start against the Braves last week, and we may be able to officially state that Arroyo is having a comeback year.  Arroyo has a 3.22 ERA (3.71 FIP, 3.72 xFIP, 3.68 SIERA) in nine starts and has a league-leading 1.2 BB/9.  Even if the right-hander regresses at some point, it almost surely won't be this week, as Arroyo is scheduled to face two of the league's worst offenses in the Pirates and Astros. Arroyo is owned in just 8% of Yahoo fantasy leagues, so he is the perfect candidate to fill that week-to-week streaming fifth starter's role in your fantasy rotation.

* Mike Trout. Roto Authority's Mike Axisa sounded the warning bell on Trout earlier this week, noting that it was unrealistic to expect the rookie to keep putting up superstar-caliber numbers at age 20.  Sure enough, Trout has started to come back to earth, hitting just .091 in five games before stroking two hits on Saturday. I agree with Mike's overall point and, in fact, just dealt Trout in one of my fantasy leagues in what will hopefully end up as a sell-high maneuver for me. That said, this upcoming week looks pretty favorable for the right-handed-hitting outfielder. While the Halos are scheduled to face right-handed starters in four of six games this week, two of those righties are the strugglng Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova.  (Trout's splits actually show that he performs better against RHP, but with only 250-odd Major League plate appearances, it's too soon to say that Trout is a reverse-splits guy.)  Keep Trout in your lineup through the Yankees series, but maybe sit him down when the Angels face Yu Darvish and Colby Lewis later in the week.

* Yonder Alonso. Don't be scared off by his unimpressive power numbers (one homer, 14 RBIs) since otherwise, Alonso has been the second coming of Tony Gwynn. Alonso entered Saturday's action with a .349/.438/.494 line in May, equally good both at and away from Petco Park and was even beating the splits and torching southpaws to the tune of a .917 OPS in 48 plate appearances.  Like Trout, there's bound to be some regression given that Alonso's BABIP sits at a whopping .370, but Alonso is showing all the signs of becoming a solid, money-in-the-bank contact hitter. The Padres face right-handed starters in four of their six games this week, and by this point, I have enough confidence in Alonso to start him against almost any left-handed starter too. I believe "showing confidence in a Padres hitter" is one of the top entries under the heading of Famous Last Words, but still, there's a lot to like about Alonso.

* Scott Diamond. [obvious sportswriting cliche] The young southpaw has been been a real Diamond in the rough of the Twins' 2012 season!  [/Obvious sportwriting cliche]  Diamond has been terrific in his four starts, posting a 1.78 ERA and a 5.67 K/BB ratio. He has a very high 61% ground ball rate, but other than that, Diamond has thrived on skill, not luck -- his FIP/xFIP/SIERA are a still-terrific 3.02/2.77/2.69, respectively, and his BABIP is an even .300. Diamond is scheduled for two starts this week, one against the light-hitting Athletics and the other against the Indians, who are susceptible to left-handers (a team OPS of .652 against southpaws, 23rd in baseball) since their everyday lineup is heavily comprised of left-handed bats. You can still mine some value from Diamond (groan) this week before he turns back into (easy setup) a lump of coal.

* Ricky Romero. The Blue Jays ace has been battlng control problems all season long, with a 5.1 BB/9 rate that is well above the career 3.5 BB/9 rate that he carried into the year.  Romero has had three shaky starts in a row and now faces two hot offenses in the Orioles and Red Sox this week, both of whom rank in the top five in team OPS against left-handed pitching this season. I would consider sitting Romero against Baltimore on Tuesday just to be safe and, even if he pitches well, I'd probably sit him against Boston on the weekend simply because the Sox are Romero's toughest opponent -- he has a career 6.45 ERA in 14 starts against the Red Sox, though he dominated them in a start back on April 11.

* Every Pirates batter besides Andrew McCutchen.  Those of you with weak stomachs may wish to skip this section. The Pirates are averaging a measly 2.83 runs per game this season, having scored a league-low 130 runs over their 46 games.  (The historically-bad 2010 Mariners lineup managed 3.17 runs per game.)  The Bucs are at or near the bottom of the league in virtually every major offensive category.  Aside from McCutchen and hot-hitting Josh Harrison, no Pirate has an OPS above .700. Several Pittsburgh batters who were thought to be decent fantasy options going into this season --- Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, Alex Presley --- have ranged from disappointments to outright failures. I can make four observations from this mess.  First, it's a testament to Pittsburgh's underrated pitching staff that this banjo-hitting team has a respectable 22-24 record. Secondly, McCutchen is suddenly a great bet to lead the league in internentional walks. Thirdly, if you have any non-McCutchen Pirate in your fantasy lineup, park him on the bench or drop him outright. Fourthly, it's going to be awfully embarrassing come football season when the Steelers' Troy Polamalu gets more hits than half the Pirates' lineup.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

"When I want more...RBIs

When I don't want...my WHIP too high

Whenever I want points, all I want have to do,

Is strea-ea-ea-ea-eam....stream, stream, stream"

Okay, the search for a new column theme song will have to wait.  In the meantime, let's just stick to this week's best and worst streaming options.

* Hiroki Kuroda.  It's safe to say that Kuroda hasn't lived up to expectations in New York, as he has a 4.50 ERA (5.28 FIP, 4.21 xFIP) through eight starts as a Yankee and is on pace to put up career worsts in ERA, K/BB rate, HR/9 and basically every statistical category you can name.  And yet, despite all this, I'm endorsing Kuroda as a good two-start candidate for the upcoming week. Kuroda's problems have largely taken place away from Yankee Stadium --- he has a 3.08 ERA in four home starts, as opposed to a ghastly 6.23 ERA in four road outings. Being back home against a middle-of-the-pack Royals lineup should help Kuroda, though he lasted just 4 1/3 innings in a start in Kansas City on May 5. Kuroda's second start this week is a road outing, but it's in pitcher-friendly Oakland against the woeful A's lineup.  If Kuroda can't get through the A's next weekend, I'd suggest confining him to Yankee Stadium starts unless he gets on track.  Still, the potential is there for Kuroda to have a bounce-back week, so if another frustrated manager dropped the righty after his rough outing in Toronto on Wednesday, Kuroda is worth a pickup.

* Bud Norris. Essentially, what Tom Warman said. Norris has been lights-out over his last four starts (a 4-0 record, a 1.40 ERA, a 4.00 K/BB rate and 28 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings) and this week has a home start against the Cubs and a road start in Los Angeles against the Matt Kemp-less Dodgers.  Norris is only owned in 52% of Yahoo leagues, which I can only chalk up to the semi-anonymity of pitching for a bad Astros team.

* Matt Adams. The ongoing Cardinals/Dodgers series matches two of the most injury-plagued teams in baseball, and it may have claimed another DL patron when Lance Berkman had to be helped off the field on Saturday with a knee injury. Berkman's status is up in the air, but if he does indeed have to go on the disabled list again, the Cardinals may forego their usual platoons and instead just call up Adams.  The 23-year-old was taken in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft and has done nothing but slug ever since, posting a career .318/.366/.557 line during his rise through every level of the minors.  Adams currently has a .970 OPS this season for Triple-A Memphis. If Adams does get the call, he would be in position to contribute immediately since he's a left-handed batter and St. Louis faces righties in five of seven games this week. Keep a close watch on Berkman's situation and jump on Adams if the Cards are compelled to make a move.

* Dan Uggla. You might think it crazy to sit a middle-infield power threat like Uggla, especially when he's set for four games at the launch pad known as the Great American Ballpark, where he has a career 1.010 OPS in 85 plate appearances. However, I'm exercising some caution with Uggla this week, given that the Braves are scheduled to face right-handed starters in five of seven games.  Uggla has been a reverse-splits guy throughout his career (an .835 OPS vs. righties, .786 vs. lefties) but this season has more normal numbers for a right-handed hitter -- Uggla has torched southpaws to the tune of a .974 OPS and managed just a .686 OPS against righties. Am I overreacting to this small sample size?  Very possibly, but I'd recommend starting another second baseman ahead of Uggla during at least a couple of those games against right-handers.  And now, just after I tell you to watch out for Uggla against righties, I'll tell you to start him against, of all people, Stephen Strasburg on the weekend, as Uggla has shown some early mastery of the Nationals ace (5-for-6 with a walk in seven PAs). The "sit Uggla" item is the official Mark's Public Apology choice of the week, as if Uggla has a big series in Cincinnati, I promise to rebuke my bad advice in next week's column. Stay tuned!

* Russell Martin. Catcher is such a thin position that you hate to outright give up on a backstop since the pickings are very slim on the waiver wire. That said, Martin's early-season struggles are becoming too hard to ignore. The Canadian entered Saturday's action hitting just .167/.322/.292 for the season. These ugly numbers include a .511 OPS against right-handed pitching, and with the Yankees scheduled to face righties in five of six games this week, this is a good time to put Martin on the bench and start using your backup or start exploring trade options.

* Colby Rasmus, Eric Thames. With John Farrell wanting to get Rajai Davis some more playing time, even against right-handed pitching, Rasmus and Thames' status as borderline fantasy roster candidates drops even further. The two left-handed bats weren't putting up good numbers but at least were plays against righty starters; if Davis is now encroaching on that time, Rasmus and Thames can't be counted on for much of anything fantasy-wise. You'll notice that I'm not adding a "pick up Davis" tidbit since, while he's a cheap source of steals and has been hot lately, Davis hasn't shown consistent hitting form since 2009. Given Davis' career OPS of .666 (talk about a bad omen) against righties, I'd guess Farrell's experiment might not last long and Davis will return to his usual role of spelling Rasmus or Thames when the Blue Jays face a southpaw. 

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

Here are a few names to slot into your lineup (or keep on the bench) in order to maximize your fantasy points over the next seven days...

* Regular Designated Hitters.  Interleague play begins on Friday, with the Rangers, Orioles, Twins, Angels, Mariners, Athletics, Red Sox and White Sox all playing three games in NL parks.  This means that lineup regulars like David Ortiz, Kendrys Morales or Adam Dunn may lose some playing time. On the other hand, if their managers put them into the field, that could mean that other notable stars will hit the bench for a game or two. The lineup permutations are endless, so if you have any players from any of those eight AL teams going on the road this weekend, give your fantasy roster a quick look 30 minutes before first pitch so you can properly adjust for who's starting and who isn't.

* National League bench bats.  The Marlins, Pirates, Reds, Diamondbacks, Mets, Reds and Braves will be playing in AL parks this weekend, meaning that some of their platoon or bench players will see some DH at-bats. For instance, Chris Young is expected to return from Arizona's DL this week, so the D'Backs can just slot him into the lineup without having to remove Jason Kubel or Gerardo Parra. Or, since the Braves are scheduled to face right-handers James Shields and Jeff Niemann in Tampa Bay this weekend, Eric Hinske or Juan Francisco are good plays as left-handed hitters who could be Atlanta's DH.

* Derek Lowe.  The veteran righty sports a 2.47 ERA, a 63.6% groundball rate and has delivered quality starts in six of his seven outings.  His return to the American League has gone much better than anyone expected ... and yet Lowe's numbers contain more red flags than a Stanford pep rally. In 43 2/3 innings pitched, Lowe has just 13 strikeouts and an equal number of walks, plus a WHIP of 1.51.  His FIP and xFIP stand at 3.94 and 4.36, respectively, indicating that he's gotten some good fortune.  (While Lowe has a .317 BABIP, that metric is somewhat skewed given that he's such an extreme groundball pitcher.)  Given that Lowe gives you next to no value in strikeouts and WHIP, you're forced to rely on just his wins and ERA to help your fantasy team, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that the bubble could burst any start now. Lowe may be a tempting two-start option this week since he's facing the Twins and Marlins, but I wouldn't risk picking him up.  In fact, if you do have him in your rotation, I hope you're trying like mad to trade him while his value is probably peaking.

* Jason Hammel. Just so we're keeping track, I'm advising you to avoid the risk of Derek Lowe, and yet throwing caution to the wind by inviting everyone aboard the Hammel bandwagon.  (You can grab a seat next to Roto Authority's Tom Warman.)  Hammel's breakout season has been a big reason for the Orioles' early success, as the Rockies' castoff has pitched like an ace through his six starts.  Hammel is scheduled to face the light-hitting Nationals in interleague action next weekend, and while that's a very enticing start, his scheduled start for Monday against the Yankees is a fair reason for pause.  Hammel did pitch well against New York on April 30 at Yankee Stadium and has allowed just a single run in 15 innings at Camden Yards this season.  Hammel's great start has gotten him lots of attention as he's owned in 72% of Yahoo fantasy leagues, so if you're in one of the other 28%, absolutely grab him if he's still available.  I'd hesitate to say he'll keep pitching like Jim Palmer the rest of the season, but Hammel still looks like a quality rotation hand.

* Gordon Beckham.  I hope nobody was injured during the Great Gordon Beckham Fantasy Evacuation of '12. Beckham was seen a dark-horse breakout candidate and was a popular selection in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, but after a rough .153/.231/.203 line in April, Beckham was waived by many a manager -- he is currently owned in just 8% of Yahoo fantasy leagues. For those eight-percenters who hung onto Beckham, however, you have been rewarded with some solid play, as Beckham headed into Saturday's action with a .302/.354/.512 line in May.  A two-week sample size isn't enough to tell if Beckham has really the corner or not, yet as a bench option, he's worth keeping on your fantasy roster.

* Rickie Weeks.  If you had kept Beckham in May, you could have started him ahead of Weeks, whose slump is reaching critical mass.  Weeks carried a .600 OPS into Saturday's play thanks to a lack of contact (a 28.1% strikeout rate, which would be the highest of his career should it continue the rest of the season) and not doing much with the ball when he does make contact (an 11.4% line drive rate).  At this point it might be a good idea to go a week without Weeks and give a hot waiver wire second baseman a try, or elevate someone from your bench.  Weeks does have an abnormally low .211 BABIP and he's drawing more walks than ever before, so there are definitely signs that he can return to form, but it will save you fantasy points if you wait until he does start showing that form before again slotting him into your lineup.  Of course, this could all be a moot point if Weeks is forced to miss any extra time with an injured wrist.

* Raul Ibanez.  The Yankees brought in Ibanez to feast on right-handed pitching and the veteran slugger has done just that during his short time in the Bronx.  Ibanez is hitting .293/.349/.640 against righties this season and thus could be in for a big week with the Yankees scheduled to face right-handed starters in six of seven games.  Four of those games are on the road, and while Ibanez's away OPS is over 250 points lower than his home OPS, I'd still consider him worthy of a fantasy lineup spot against a righty even without the comfort of Yankee Stadium's short right-field porch.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

As a huge fan of both the Ghostbusters movies and cartoons, I can't believe it took me five weeks of writing this fantasy streaming column to realize that I should've titled it, "Don't Cross The Streams."  Unbelievable.  Somewhere, Ernie Hudson is shaking his head in disgust.  Hopefully, I can make it up to Winston, Egon and the whole gang by giving them some good tips for their upcoming week of fantasy action.  (It would delight me to no end to discover an all-Ghostbusters cast fantasy baseball league. At last check, Dan Aykroyd's "Big Ayk Attyck" is in first place, narrowly ahead of Bill Murray's "1908 CurseBusters" and Sigourney Weaver's "There Is No Dana, Only Eveland" squad.)

* Jonathon Niese.  The southpaw signed a niese nice contract extension in April and has lived up to the deal thus far, posting a 4.08 ERA (3.48 xFIP), a 2.67 K/BB ratio and a 52.4% ground ball rate in five starts. I'm recommend Niese as a two-start pitcher to pick up this week because, even though his two starts are slated to be on the road, he'll be in Philadelphia against the light-hitting Phillies and then in the very pitcher-friendly Marlins Park. There's good potential here for Niese to keep up his strong start against these two offensively-challenged NL East rivals.

* Doug Fister. Here's another opponent-influenced two-start pitcher recommendation. Unless there's a last-minute setback in his injury rehab and activation from the DL, Fister is in line to return to the Tigers' rotation on Monday. Fister could hardly have asked for a better way to ease himself back into action as he'll face the Mariners at Safeco Field and then the Athletics at the Coliseum.  Feel free to activate him from your disabled list and get him in your Monday lineup. If you don't have Fister already, check the waiver wire to see if some short-sighted manager dropped him during his DL stint. 

* Norichika Aoki, Nyjer Morgan. This is a very borderline recommendation based solely on the fact that the Brewers are facing all right-handed starters over their six games this week, meaning these two left-handed hitters have a golden opportunity to get the bats going.  Carlos Gomez is on the DL, too, and while he usually only starts against lefties anyway, his absence means Aoki and Morgan are Milwaukee's only choices in center field. Aoki has shown some good pop against righties (a .273/.385/.455 line against RHP heading into Saturday's action) but Morgan has thus far been a non-entity, with an OPS of just .386 against right-handers. Morgan was a streaming superstar last year and in 2009, always worth a start against right-handed pitching, but his bat has been so cold this season that Aoki could steal his spot in the center-field platoon. If you have Morgan on your roster, this week might be his last stand; another poor week of hitting could earn him an outright release or, at the very least, turn Tony Plush into Tony Bench....hmm, that joke would've worked better if there weren't already an awesome ballplayer actually named Bench.   

* Right-handed Reds. When your only two regular left-handed bats are Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, it helps cover up a lineup's lack of balance. Despite Votto and Bruce both laying the smack down on righties, Cincinnati's team OPS against right-handed pitching is just .677 due to a large number of righty bats who have been quieted by their like-handed mound opponents. The Reds face right-handed starters in five of six games this week, including the likes of Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo and Jordan Zimmermann. With this in mind, you'll want to consider benching Brandon Phillips, Zack Cozart, Devin Mesoraco or any other right-handed Cincinnati hitters that you might have in your fantasy lineup and find a more favorable matchup off your bench.

* Hector Santiago. Though Chris Sale had impressed as a starter this year, the White Sox announced that they were turning Sale into their closer due to worries that Sale's elbow isn't up to the workload.  It seemed like Robin Ventura was pulling a rabbit out his hat when he surprisingly made the lightly regarded Santiago the closer out of Spring Training, and the move seems to have backfired.  Without saves to prop up his fantasy value, Santiago can be streamed right off your roster.  Even if your league tracks holds, Santiago still has little value given that the White Sox already have such vaunted "holds guys" as Matt Thornton, Addison Reed and Jesse Crain, all of whom are either more proven bullpen performers or have more overall upside.

* Adam Lind. I recently called 2012 a make or break year for Lind, and thus far, he's still broken. The Blue Jays' first baseman hit his second homer of the year on Saturday night, raising (!) his slash line to .200/.287/.333.  He's been a bit unlucky with a BABIP of .235, but still, a wOBA of .257 is just nowhere near good enough for anyone, let alone a first baseman on a would-be contender in the AL East.  There's still a slim chance that Lind turns it around, so if you're in a deep league, I don't recommend releasing him, but keep him nailed to the bench until his bat shows some signs of life. The Jays have four games against the woeful Twins rotation this week, so only consider Lind a) against a right-handed starter and b) if your regular first baseman is facing a tough matchup.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

A few tips on how to maximize your fantasy potential for your coming head-to-head matchup this week, or, if you're in a standard 5x5 roto league, here's how to start off May by snagging some extra points ...

* Garrett Jones, Alex Presley. It's time to sound the bell once more for the righty-mashing Jones. After the Pirates face Mike Minor and the Braves on Monday, it's nothing but right-handed starters for Pittsburgh's remaining six games of the week. Jones is finding new life in his platoon role, as he entered Saturday's action with a .915 OPS against righties and just two PAs against left-handed pitching this season.  It's getting to the point where Jones is an auto-start in your first base, outfield or utility spot if he's scheduled to face a right-hander. As for Presley, he's at best a borderline starter (even in deeper leagues) and doesn't provide much outside of batting average.  That said, he's another left-handed hitter who should benefit from the Pirates' righty-heavy schedule, so it could behoove you to give Presley at least a few starts off your bench this week.

* Jon Jay. With Allen Craig due to return from the DL sometime this week, the platooning cavalcade known as the St. Louis Cardinals will get yet another quality name thrown into the mix for playing time.  Now that Matt Carpenter has come back down to earth, Craig will probably be slotted at first base until Lance Berkman is healthy, thus keeping the Cards' outfield as Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran playing every day and a Shane Robinson/Jay platoon in center. After missing six games with a shoulder injury, Jay returned with a bang, delivering back-to-back three-hit games on Friday and Saturday.  While he has a solid career line against southpaws, the left-handed-hitting Jay has been used almost exclusively against righties this season, and with St. Louis set to face four righties this week, keep Jay in your lineup as long as he's hot.

* Chris Davis. As a longtime member of the Chris Davis fanclub, I'm delighted that he's getting a chance in Baltimore and hitting well (an .852 OPS entering Saturday) as the left-handed half of the Orioles' first-base platoon. This week, the O's face right-handed starters in five of six games, and while this quintet features some major AL East names (Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz), these five have ranged from average to horrible thus far in 2012. There's plenty of opportunity for Davis to keep swinging a hot bat this week, and he's only owned in 14% of Yahoo leagues.  Get him in your lineup!

* Tommy Milone. One of the big pieces that came to Oakland in the Gio Gonzalez trade, Milone has done an excellent job of filling Gonzalez's shoes in the Athletics' rotation. Milone has an even 2.00 ERA through four starts and is coming off eight innings of shutout, three-hit ball against the White Sox in his last outing. Slated for two starts this week and at just 21% ownership in Yahoo leagues, Milone should be a great pickup, right? Not so fast.  Milone is set for road starts in Boston and Tampa Bay this week, which represent a significant uptick in competition. Milone faced the White Sox (18th in MLB in team OPS), the Angels (23rd), the Mariners (22nd) and the Royals (7th, but weren't hitting well over the first week of the year when Milone faced them) in his first four starts. The Red Sox and Rays, by contrast, rank second and fifth in team OPS. Milone is a ground-ball pitcher with good control --- 13 strikeouts and six walks in 27 IP, with a 44.3% ground ball rate --- but it will be a tall order for him to weave his way through those tough AL East lineups.  You could argue I'm selling Milone short here, so I'll make this promise: if he makes it through these next two starts relatively unscathed, I will sing his praises in next week's column.

* Kyle Drabek. The Blue Jays righty has gotten off to a nice start in 2012 but it's easy to forget that he also looked good in the early going in 2011. Drabek had a 3.30 ERA through his first five starts last season before the wheels began to fall off, culminating in Drabek's eventual demotion to the minors.  (And to think, some clown picked Drabek to be Rookie Of The Year in 2011.) Drabek's unimpressive K:BB ratio of 18:13 this season and his advanced metrics -- .226 BABIP, a 4.14 xFIP and a 5.22 FIP --- indicate that he's been more than a little fortunate to post his 2.25 actual ERA. Drabek is scheduled to make two starts this week, one on Monday against Yu Darvish and the powerful Rangers lineup, and then in Anaheim on Saturday against the Angels, who have been punchless thus far but certainly have the bats to turn things around.  If you're looking to add a two-start hurler this week, stay away from Drabek since he could be in for some regression.

* Kendrys Morales. Speaking of that Jays/Angels series, with Ricky Romero throwing against Texas on Wednesday, it means the Halos will avoid Toronto's ace southpaw and get all righties (Brandon Morrow, Henderson Alvarez, Drabek and Drew Hutchison) during their four-game set.  The Angels are also scheduled to face two right-handers and struggling left-hander Francisco Liriano in their series with the Twins earlier in the week, so it all adds up to a prime opportunity for Morales to take off.  The switch-hitter has much stronger numbers against righties over his career and even though it seems Morales hasn't quite returned to his pre-injury form yet, he was still hitting .311/.354/.444 against righties in 2012 heading into Saturday's game with Cleveland.  The Halos badly need something to spark their lineup and a big week from Morales against all this right-handed opposition could do the trick.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

A few days ago, my friend Don tweeted the following: "I just realized I'm looking for fantasy baseball advice on a blog written by the guy I'm against this week. Damn."  Truly a proud moment of my tenure at Roto Authority. Let's see if I can keep the good vibes going and plant a bunch of trojan horses to fool my fantasy opponents uncover some good and bad streaming options for the upcoming week ...

* Chris Getz. Six of the Royals' seven games this week will be against right-handed pitching, thus giving plenty of opportunity for the left-handed-hitting Getz. Kansas City's second base situation is not exactly a platoon, but you'd think that Getz would be a logical pick to see the lion's share of starts this week over Yuniesky Betancourt, a right-handed bat.  The Royals have been regularly starting Betancourt due to his hot bat, but this is the same player who has a career .685 OPS, he'll come back down to earth soon.

* Henderson Alvarez. Owned in just 16% of Yahoo fantasy leagues, Alvarez allowed six runs in 6 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Thursday but pitched well in his first two outings of the season. One of those outings was against the Orioles, whom he'll face again on Tuesday at Camden Yards. Alvarez's other start this week will come against the light-hitting Mariners on Sunday at Rogers Centre. This is kind of a borderline recommendation, since Alvarez has been victimized a bit by the long ball this year (four HR in 19 1/3 IP) and has middling peripherals. With two of the AL's weaker teams on the slate this week, however, Alvarez stands out as the best widely-available two-start pitcher.

* Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Sweeney. The Red Sox are set to face righties in six of seven games this week, thus making these two into quality streaming plays. The switch-hitting Saltalamacchia has much better career splits against right-handed pitching (.768 OPS) than he does against left-handed pitching (.601 OPS), so this might the week where the catcher breaks out of his early-season slump. Sweeney is Boston's one healthy left-handed outfielder, so he'll be the one lineup constant this week as the Sox try to cobble together a decent outfield out of a collection of second-stringers.

* Marlon Byrd, Darnell McDonald, Jason Repko, Cody Ross. And hey, while we're at it, here are those second-stringers!  All four are right-handed hitters, so they're in tough against the steady diet of right-handed pitching against whom Boston is scheduled this week. The newly acquired Byrd will probably see the most playing time, but the other three will be fighting for at-bats. It's best to just stay away from Boston's outfield this week, aside from Sweeney.

* Philip Humber. Let's not go nuts over one legendary game. Unheralded pitchers who toss perfect games or no-hitters always see a bump in ownership following their big starts, but in most cases, there's a reason these guys are unheralded in the first place. Humber is the same pitcher he was before Saturday's perfect game; a solid fifth starter option with decent peripherals (a 2.83 K/BB in 2011 and a 16:3 K:BB ratio in 14 innings this year). Let's also not overlook the fact that his masterpiece took place at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field and against the woeful Mariners' lineup. Humber's next start will be back at U.S. Cellular Field against the Red Sox, so not only can Johnny Vander Meer rest in peace, it's up in air as to whether Humber can even deliver a quality start. I'd pass on Humber this week, but perhaps keep an eye on him for a spot start later in the year if he continues his good form.

* The Phillies.  From 102-game winners in 2011 to a team that I can just list as general stay-aways for an April fantasy week and everyone understands. The Phils have scored just 42 runs (second-lowest in baseball) in 15 games this season and have been especially atrocious against right-handed pitching, posting a team OPS of just .606 against righties. The Phillies will face at least four right-handed starters in their six games this week, and while only a couple of those names (Josh Collmenter, Trevor Cahill, Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija) are particularly challenging, it might be best to just give your phantasy Phillies a break en masse this week. Even the better bats like Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino or Jimmy Rollins have fared worse in their careers against righties, and of this trio, only Victorino is performing anywhere close to his usual standards. There's nothing worse than a team-wide malaise to drag down individual fantasy stars, and such a slump might be occurring in Philadelphia.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

Some pitchers, hitters and platoons are featured in this week's look at how to stream yourself a few extra fantasy points ...

* Bryan LaHair. The Cubs are scheduled to face right-handers in five of six games next week, which is good news for the left-handed-hitting LaHair. All but four of his at-bats have come against righty pitching this season (Jeff Baker plays first against left-handers), and thus LaHair has been on fire, posting a 1.342 OPS against righties through Saturday's action. It's a small sample size, but why not ride LaHair while he's laHot?  The only downside is that two of his matchups against righties this week (against Josh Johnson on Tuesday and Ricky Nolasco on Thursday) will take place at Marlins Park, which is looking like it could be baseball's next great pitchers' park.

* Garrett Jones. The left-handed side of the Pirates' first-base platoon has been off to a slow start, but Jones will have plenty of opportunity to get going this week.  The Bucs face right-handed starters in five of six games this week, with the first three of those games taking place in hitter-friendly Chase Field against the Diamondbacks.

* Chipper Jones. While we're talking about guys named Jones, there's a chance that Chipper's early-season stint on the DL (and general age and injury-prone status) may have left him available in some leagues.  Indeed, Jones has just played in two games this year due to a torn meniscus in his left knee and then swelling in that same knee once he returned from the disabled list.  So, why am I recommending him as a pickup this week?  Simple -- the Braves are playing three games against the Mets. I think Jones could play on one leg and still take it to the Mets, against whom he holds a .318/.414/.559 career line. You can return Jones to your bench or to the waiver wire after the series if you must, but whenever Jones is in the lineup against the Amazins, he is a must-play.

* Jeff Niemann. If Niemann played for any other team, I suspect he'd get a lot more fantasy attention. The big right-hander is currently owned by a measly nine percent of fantasy players on Yahoo Sports, a statistic I can only attribute to Niemann being lost in the shuffle amidst the Rays' ridiculously deep starting pitching corps. He's the fifth starter in Tampa Bay but could easily be a No. 3 on a number of other clubs. Niemann stands out as the most intriguing of this week's widely available two-start starters, slated to pitch on Tuesday in Toronto and on Sunday at home against the Twins. I like his chances at Tropicana Field against the combustible Francisco Liriano and the shaky Twins lineup, though the Blue Jays matchup is a bit tougher. Aside from ERA (5.23), Niemann has pretty solid career numbers against the Jays, so I'd roll the dice and pick up Niemann if you're looking to stream a fifth starter.

* Liriano. Speaking of the Minnesota southpaw, his bandwagon is emptying quickly after two rough starts (10 ER, 15 hits and five walks in nine IP, against just five strikeouts) to begin the season.  Things don't get any easier for Liriano this week with two starts against the Yankees and Rays. If Liriano has already been dropped in your league and you were thinking of sneakily picking him up for a two-start week, just walk away, man. Don't be a hero. Leave the hot crazy girl alone and go with Sarah Niemann, Plain and Tall.

* The Indians lineup. It's been a tough start for the Tribe, who still rank near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories even after scoring 19 runs in two games against Kansas City.  The Indians' lineup is heavy with left-handed bats, so the good news is that they're only slated to face one southpaw (Jason Vargas) in their six games next week. The bad news?  They're playing those six games in the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field and the O.co Coliseum, and their right-handed opponents include the likes of Felix Hernandez and Brandon McCarthy.  Carlos Santana is the only Indian I'd be comfortable with starting for all six games -- even for stalwarts like Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo, I might choose to give them a night or two on the bench this week.

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This Week In Streaming Strategy

We're only a handful of games into the 2012 season, but it's never too early to pick up some extra fantasy points. Picking streaming options is a bit difficult in the early going, since pitching rotations haven't quite been settled due to extra off-days, but here are a few matchups and players to both use and avoid when it comes to setting this week's lineups.

* Reid Brignac, Matt Joyce, Carlos Pena, Luke Scott. The Rays are scheduled to face right-handed starters in five of their six scheduled games next week, so these four left-handed bats are in good position to produce, even though a couple of those righty starters include the likes of Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett. Sean Rodriguez is the first-choice shortstop in Tampa Bay, but you would expect Joe Maddon to play the percentages and give Brignac the majority of the starts this week. Switch-hitter Elliot Johnson could also get a couple of starts at second base ahead of right-handed-hitting starter Jeff Keppinger this week. 

* Danny Espinosa. The Nationals are one of six teams who play all seven days next week, and the Nats are set to face right-handers in all but one of those seven games.  That doesn't bode well for Espinosa, a switch-hitter who has performed better against lefties over his career. While most of Washington's right-handed opponents this week are no great shakes (i.e. Bronson Arroyo, Mike Pelfrey, Dillon Gee), it might be wise to give your backup second baseman a look if he has a more favorable matchup than Espinosa over this stretch.

* Yu Darvish. Just in case you thought about giving Darvish a "wait and see" benching as he begins his Major League career, his first two starts are against the Mariners at home and then at pitcher-friendly Target Field against the light-hitting Twins. You could hardly have asked for a better set of opponent to ease Darvish into the big leagues. 

* Matt Moore. Like Darvish, Moore is also a two-start pitcher this week, but his opposition is much stiffer.  Moore is scheduled to start on Tuesday against the Tigers and then on Sunday against the Red Sox, both road outings.  You could argue that this is pretty tough competition for a pitcher who, as heralded a prospect as he is, will be making just his second and third regular-season starts. My counter to that (admittedly strawman) argument is that in two 2011 starts, Moore tossed five shutout innings at Yankee Stadium and then shut out the Rangers on two hits over seven innings during the ALDS.  Have no fear in starting Moore in the unfriendly confines of Comerica and Fenway Parks. 

* Daniel Descalso. The left-handed-hitting side of the Cardinals' second base platoon could be a busy man this week. St. Louis is scheduled to face right-handers in five of their six games this week, leaving little room for Descalso's platoonmate, Tyler Greene. 

* The Twins. Not to paint Minnesota's roster with too broad a brush here, but look at the six starters the Twins are lined up to face this week --- C.J. Wilson, Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Matt Harrison, Darvish and Neftali Feliz.  Even though the Twins will be at home for all six games, it's hard to see this questionable lineup generating much of an attack against these pitchers. Obviously you'll keep Joe Mauer in your lineup every day, and Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau are fairly safe bets, but for borderline fantasy starters like Denard Span, Ryan Doumit, Alexi Casilla or Jamey Carroll, go with another roster option if you have one available.

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