(Photo by Adam Bow/Icon Sportswire)
For some background on this article, 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.
Jorge Alfaro (Philadelphia Phillies)- 2/16, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
The home run is great, but the .125 average hurts too much for me to call this a win. You’re killin me, Alf.
James McCann (Detroit Tigers)- 3/11
McCann used to be among the most dependable catchers in terms of playing time, but now, we can’t even say that with certainty. It seemed that when Miggy went down, we’d see a lot more McCann behind the plate and Hicks at 1st, but McCann still isn’t playing with regularity. The .273 average is nice but it didn’t come with many ABs, meaning it didn’t help your overall average much. With nothing in the counting stats, I’ve gotta take the L here.
Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians)- 7/20, 2 R, 1 HR, 8 RBI
Yes, Yan. Yes. Somehow, we just got teleported back to 2014 for a year and I’m just upset that we came back.
Streaming Record: 18-12
Looking Forward
Before we get to this week’s streamers, a few notes:
- Max Stassi is not happy I called him an afterthought. Sorry, buddy, but you’re just not playing with regularity! Six starts in eleven games makes it hard to recommend starting you, that’s all I meant. One of our writers voted for you as an All-Star game starter, and as the AL leader in WAR among catchers, I can’t say he’s crazy for it. Those picks are coming out later this week!
- Austin Hedges is rehabbing and should be back sometime next week, for those of you in super deep leagues where you’d actually consider owning a Padres catcher.
- This is why we don’t freak out over small sample sizes. John Ryan Murphy is now back to earth.
- Speaking of Murphys… keep an eye on Tom Murphy. He’s post-hype at this point after his strong showing in the 2016 season, but he’s 3/8 since his call-up with a pair of RBIs- best of all, he’s started 4/5 games. He’s on the streaming radar and could be even more valuable than that.
- I’m finally on board the John Hicks train. I’m sorry it took me so long, but guys have to prove themselves before getting a full endorsement. That, and he now has a permanent starting job. However, I don’t want either of Hicks or McCann this week, as the team only has 5 games, and that limits their overall upside. Hicks has decent value in the long run, as he’ll play 1B mostly every day now that Miggy is out for the season.
And now to the recommended streamers this week:
Tom Murphy (Colorado Rockies)– Yes, folks. It happens that quickly. I’m a bit concerned about the Rox getting Jacob deGrom on Monday, but they follow that up with Jason Vargas, Seth Lugo, and Steven Matz all at home. Then the Fish come to town and send Wei-Yin Chen, Trevor Richards, and Caleb Smith to the bump. That’s 7 games in 7 days, though the Matz and Richards games are DANs, so I’m expecting a breather after what will likely be a Sunday off-day today. Fire him up.
Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians)– He at least gets one lefty this week, in Carlos Rodon, who has allowed just 10.3% soft contact this year. But Dave, he’s got a 3.60 ERA. And a 6.88 FIP, 4.28 SIERA, .192 BABIP, 84% LOB rate… should I go on? Besides Rodon, the Tribe gets Pitcher List darling Dylan Covey (just kidding, we just obsess over him in our group chat) and Reynaldo Lopez of the Sox (not to be confused with the Sawx), then Mike Fiers, Jordan Zimmerman, and a mystery 3rd pitcher. Regardless, I’m not scared. Fire Gomes back up and let him go to work this week.
Devin Mesoraco (New York Mets)– It feels wrong just typing that team name out in a recommendation. Trust me, I get the reasons not to play him. He’s hitting just .208/.269/.208 in June, which makes me feel like I just ate some bad fish at a party. Gross. But he’s got 4 games in Coors and that’s worth a shot with no other exciting or significant high-upside options this week.