Catchers to Stream for Week 14 (7/2-7/8)

(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/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.

Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)- 5/14, 3 R, 2 RBI

If you were expecting HRs or SBs, you came to the wrong catcher, but the .357 AVG and some counting stats to boot meant that Barnhart really helped your team this week.

John Hicks/ James McCann (Detroit Tigers)- 8/21, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI | 1/11, 1 RBI

This is a mixed bag- Hicks was a big win, McCann…. not so much. I’m ok rolling with Hicks, for the most part, each week. If you recall, I didn’t suggest him for Week 12 because the Tigers only had 5 games, but barring playing time issues or a week of absurd matchups (say the Indians and Astros)- which isn’t happening this week- feel free to ride him.

Martin Maldonado (Los Angeles Angels)- 3/16, 3 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI

That .188 AVG is flat out terrible, but the power and counting stats is so helpful that I don’t know how you say this is anything but a victory. I just hope the rest of your team picked up the average.

Streaming Record: 23-14

Looking Forward

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

• Francisco Cervelli is still on the 7-day concussion DL and Elias Diaz is started every game in his place. The 27-year-old put up 4 R and 4 RBI last week, so you could do worse than rostering him. However, with a set against Alex Wood, Clayton Kershaw, and Rich Hill, plus an off day, Diaz is not my first choice.
• Austin Romine left last night’s game with hamstring tightness and he’s day-to-day. That makes Kyle Higashioka the starter. Even in this lineup, he’s not a fantasy target. You might see Francisco Diaz called up as a 3rd catcher until Romine is back to full health. The Yankees are hurting right now with Gary Sanchez still on the mend for another 2-3 weeks.
• Tyler Flowers left Friday night’s game also with hamstring tightness and sat yesterday. If he misses any extended time whatsoever, Kurt Suzuki is a fantastic pickup. Suzuki has had a great year but hasn’t played more than half-time because of Flowers’ defensive prowess.

And now to the recommended streamers this week:

Robinson Chirinos (Texas Rangers)– Every time I mention Robby here, I remind people that I LOVED him coming into this year based on his great career numbers in a part-time role. He’s finally starting to heat up with a .250/.400/.558 line in June. He’s never been a high-average hitter, but he’s got great power upside. Not only that, but he hits lefties well and he gets two this week in a struggling Dallas Keuchel and Matthew Boyd. Chirinos has been sitting every DAN this season, which means he’ll likely sit vs either Mike Fiers or Michael Fulmer. Either way, I’m all about Chirinos this week. Fire him up.

Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)- This is not the best week for streaming, as most of the high-level choices have bad matchups. Barnhart absolutely mashes lefties to the tune of a .396/.491/.521 line this season and gets two this week- Mike Montgomery and Jon Lester. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 5 starts this week from Ol’ Reliable. That’s not his nickname, but I don’t care. He’s been one of the most reliable streamers this season. Apparently, his real nickname is Barney. I’m not sure what to do with that information.

John Hicks (Detroit Tigers)– See the arguments in the review above. The Jays haven’t announced the starter for tomorrow’s game, but there’s even remotely worrisome matchups after that, as the Tigers get Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana in a duo vs the Cubbies in Chicago and then Yovani Gallardo, Bartolo Colon, Cole Hamels, and Austin Bibbens-Dirkx. That means seven games in a week against no elite pitching so I’m all over it. His ownership is at 48% so this could be the last week he’s featured here. I’m gonna savor it.

Some might be interested in Tom Murphy because the Rox get a trio at home, which automatically puts Murphy into consideration. The downside? One of those games is against Madison Bumgarner. After an off-day, the team travels to Seattle for 3, including one against James Paxton. The big reason I can’t recommend Murphy is the 4 games against lefties this week. Murphy rakes against righties over his career (.305/.352/.634) but is equally bad against lefties (.159/.232/.254). With six games this week, only two of which are against lefties, I can’t recommend him this week.