Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire
For some background on this article, check out Week 2’s article.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: I’m not Dave Cherman. I will be filling in for Dave for the next few weeks so that you still get your catcher fix! Now, let’s get into it.
Reviewing Last Week
I’m writing this late Saturday night, so the week is not yet complete, but let’s look at how Dave did with last week’s streamers.
Tom Murphy (Colorado Rockies) — 0/4
Yikes. Murphy simply has not played since returning from the paternity list earlier this week. Chris Iannetta and Tony Wolters have split the duties behind the dish this week, so I’ll have to count this as a loss in Dave’s record.
Max Stassi (Houston Astros) — 2/9, 1 R
Stassi lost playing time this week to Tim Federowicz of all people. Stassi has started three of the six games played this week and has not made the most of the at bats he’s received.
Robinson Chirinos (Texas Rangers) — 4/13, 1 R, 1 RBI
While not as bad as the first two, Chirinos’s performance didn’t really help his owners this week. Rough week.
Dave’s Streaming Record: 24-19
Looking Forward
Before we get to this week’s streamers, a few notes:
- Good news for Gary Sanchez owners: the Yankees catcher will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre today. If all goes well, he has a chance to return on July 20th. Austin Romine has hit well in his place, smacking two home runs this week, but I can’t imagine that will affect Sanchez’s playing time at all once he’s healthy. If you’ve been rolling with Romine, that train seems to be at the end of the line.
- Francisco Cervelli is back on the shelf. The Pirates backstop was placed on the 7-Day concussion DL as he is still dealing with post-concussion symptoms. The earliest he is able to return is July 21. Elias Diaz will get the majority of time at catcher while Cervelli is out, though I can’t recommend him for fantasy use.
- Christian Vazquez will be out 6-8 weeks after having surgery on his injured finger. Sandy Leon is set to be the Red Sox primary catcher in his absence. More on that in a bit.
The following scoring period is a bit tricky, what with the All Star break and all. For the purposes of this piece, I’ll be looking at just this coming week with only three games in the fantasy scoring period. Making the matter even more difficult, the only teams playing a doubleheader are the Cubs and Cardinals, but of course, they each have a universally owned stud behind the dish. Despite all of this, I’ve done my due diligence to give you the streamers you’re looking for:
Austin Hedges (San Diego Padres) — Once a top catching prospect, Hedges has been on and off the DL this season. But, now that he is healthy, he has performed fairly well at the plate. In his last seven days, Hedges has gone 9/21 with a home run and 5 RBI. He’ll be playing at Philadelphia after the All Star break, and I’ll put my money on him continuing this hot streak through that series.
Sandy Leon (Boston Red Sox) — I recommend Leon with a healthy amount of hesitation. Sure, with Vazquez out Sandy will get the majority of at bats going forward, however, he has been ice-cold of late, going just 2/23 in the past week. However, after the break, he will play a three-game series at Detroit, a team definitely not known for their stellar pitching staff. Pair that with the fact that the Red Sox have the best offense in baseball, and you have an opportunity for a plenty of runs and RBI.
Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians) — One of my personal favorites, Gomes has taken the majority of time in my fantasy lineups while Gary Sanchez has been out. Now, in the coming week, Gomes will play his three games post-break at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. A known launching pad, especially in the hotter months, Gomes should be able to take advantage. And, much like Sandy Leon, Gomes plays with a fantastic surrounding cast giving him plenty of opportunities for both runs and RBI.