(Photo by Juan DeLeon/Icon Sportswire)
For some background on this article and the list of ineligible catchers, check out Week 2’s article.
Reviewing Last Week
It’s only Sunday so the week is not yet complete, but let’s look at how I did with last week’s streamers.
Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians)- 2/15, 2 R, 1 RBI
More like Yawn Gomes, or get off my Lawn Gomes, am I right? You were my featured pick, Yan! I trusted you and you let me down! But even worse, you let the people down. I don’t care if your team went 3-1 in the games you’ve played, I care about your production. Yan is good and will have better weeks than this.
Chris Iannetta (Colorado Rockies)- 4/12, 3 R, 3 RBI
Austin Bristow was mentioning in the Slack channel that perhaps we’ve been relying too heavily on the “playing at Coors” rhetoric lately with respect to opposing pitchers because the Rockies offense has been pretty bad. At he’s not wrong, but I think we just need to lower our expectation of this offense rather than eliminate it. There’s still significant opportunity for these hitters to put up great numbers like Iannetta did this week.
James McCann (Detroit Tigers)- 3/15, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Yes, it’s a .200 average, but the counting stats are awesome. He may have pretty much gotten all of them on Memorial Day, but it still counts for you for the week.
Streaming Record: 15-9
Looking Forward
Before we get to this week’s streamers, a few notes:
- Brian McCann is on the DL with a knee issue which has created a buzz around backup Max Stassi. Real quick, McCann is eligible to return this week, but he’ll test his knee out over the next couple days to determine if he’s ready. If not, Stassi will continue to handle starting duties. So, the big question is: do you want to own Stassi? There’s definitely a good amount not to like: His 45% ground ball rate, his 32% K rate, and a sky-high 22% HR/FB rate. That last number makes sense based on his 40.3% hard contact rate though, and as long as he’s starting every day and making hard contact, I’m willing to give him a shot as my backstop. Just remember that he’s not a long term investment.
- Yadier Molina is expected to be activated Tuesday, fantasy owners rejoice.
And now to the recommended streamers this week:
I’ve gotta be up front here, this is not a good week for streaming catchers. The normal guys I like to push have bad matchups, and the guys with good matchups are mostly in timeshares that make streaming difficult. So, if you’ve got someone you like already, I wholeheartedly support rolling with that guy.
Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)– I’ve called on Tuck before (can I call you, Tuck? Imma call you Tuck) and he hasn’t disappointed. I’ll repeat my disclaimer that you shouldn’t be expecting much power here, but when I’ve said that, he typically has big power weeks, so you’re welcome in advance. I expect Tuck to sit game 3 of the Colorado series vs Tyler Anderson and perhaps game 2 against St. Louis, as they’re both DANs. I don’t mind him sitting vs Anderson, as the switch-hitter hits better against righties anyway.
Chris Iannetta (Colorado Rockies)– The Rox do draw Zack Greinke (and maybe a resurgent Zack Godley?) this week, but it’s at Coors, which helps a little. Besides that, they’re in Cincy against Sal Romano, Tyler Mahle, and the Light Gray Knight, Matt Harvey. But the Harvey game is a DAN, so he’s probably sitting. With no real better options this week, I’m rolling with Iannetta.
Max Stassi (Houston Astros)– Why not? Let’s have some fun and go with the hot hand. Don’t worry too much about facing James Paxton on Tuesday, as Stassi is a righty which should help a little. What does somewhat concern me is the fact that the Astros have six games this week and a Monday off day, meaning Stassi will get at least one day off during the week. He’s likely to sit Sunday vs Matt Moore, as it’s a DAN, but if he misses another start, that’s only 4 this week and it’s difficult to get a ton of production out of that.