Catchers to Stream for Week 13 (6/25 – 7/1)

(Photo by Larry Radloff/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.

Tom Murphy (Colorado Rockies)- 5/12, 2 R, 3 RBI

The only thing I don’t like about this week is the small number of PAs. I should mention that 6 of his 7 outs came via the punchout, so it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but Ks don’t count against us in most fantasy leagues so this is an overwhelming win. Murphy spends this whole week away from home, however, not to mention dates with Madison Bumgarner, Rich Hill, and Ross Stripling, so I’m looking elsewhere for my fantasy production.

Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians)- 2/10, 2 R, 3 BB

Because Gomes sat last night, I expect him to get the start today, here’s hoping he can salvage his week. If you play OBP, his week wasn’t as bad, but there’s no getting around it. This is a loss.

Devin Mesoraco (New York Mets)- 4/14, 3 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI

I was really worried this pick was going to let me down, but Devin did some work in Colorado, looking like a flashback from 2014. Don’t expect this to continue every week.

Streaming Record: 20-13

Looking Forward

Before we get to this week’s streamers, a few notes:

• Francisco Cervelli is on the 7-day concussion DL and Elias Diaz is getting the bulk of starts in his place. The 27-year-old has never really done much in his time in the majors, but he’s slashing .297/.345/.475 so far this season and I’m kind of ok rolling with him this week, as he has a pretty easy week getting the Mets minus deGrom and the Padres all on the road.
•  Austin Hedges is expected to be activated today… if you’re into that sort of thing.
• Earlier this year, the Orioles optioned Caleb Joseph to AAA to allow Chance Sisco the “chance” to start full-time. Sisco wasn’t interested, however. He hit just .213/.340/.328 to earn a ticket back to Norfolk. Joseph is back up to start over backup Andrew Wynns, which is an ironic name for an Orioles player. Spoiler alert, you don’t want to own either.
• EDIT: Gary Sanchez is headed to the DL with a groin strain. Austin Romine is a very servicable backup and you want to own a catcher in this offense who’s going to play nearly everyday.

And now to the recommended streamers this week:

Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)– You may recognize Tucker Barnhart from basically every other week of this article. He’s still getting no love with just 16% ownership in Yahoo, but he can still have big weeks for your fantasy team. In fact, I should’ve recommended him this past week as he hit a HR and drove in 4. Barnhart’s week is pretty light- a series in Atlanta against the fresh-off-the-DL Mike Foltynewicz, Anibal Sanchez, and Sean Newcomb (who is due for some regression) and four games hosting Milwaukee’s stellar rotation of Javy Guerra, Chase Anderson, Jhoulys Chacin, and Freddy Peralta. Peralta and Newcomb’s games are both DANs, so I expect a cap of five games for Barnhart and none of these are particularly frightening.

John Hicks/ James McCann (Detroit Tigers)– I didn’t recommend either of them last week due to an abbreviated schedule, and I’m happy for it. They had only five games and a bad schedule last week. This week? Seven games- four against the patchwork A’s rotation (they have five starters on the DL right now) and three in Toronto. The Tigers do draw Sean Manaea, Marcus Stroman, and J.A. Happ over that time, but that’s not enough to dissuade me from recommending them this week. Thursday and Saturday (Manaea and Sam Gaviglio) are both DANs, so I’d cap McCann at 5 starts this week. As Hicks is a 1B now, he’s not capped by the same restrictions.

Martin Maldonado (Los Angeles Angels)– I love guys with seven games in a week. And this week, that love has me recommending one of my most favorite mid-ceiling, low-upside catchers. Maldonado is almost never going to be the guy who hits 4 homers in a week or blows you away, but he can hit for a decent average with moderate upside. The Angels play a makeup game in Kansas City vs Jakob Junis tomorrow afternoon, then head to Boston for a 3 game set against David Price, Rick Porcello, and Nick Pollack’s favorite starter Steven Wright. I’ll admit that worries me slightly. What doesn’t worry me is the next set of games vs David Hess, Andrew Cashner, and Kevin Gausman. Fire him up.