Catchers to Stream for Week 15 (7/9-7/15)

(Photo by Russell Lansford/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.

Robinson Chirinos (Texas Rangers)- 1/15, 2 RBI

You’re killin me, Robby. This is what you get with Chirinos- a few weeks of elite production followed by zilch, nothing, awfulness. He’s a streamer and nothing more.

Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)- 1/12, 1 R

This is why we don’t own Tuck every week. Weeks like this are always within the realm of possibility. This week got me feelin like Alfred so far.

John Hicks (Detroit Tigers)- 5/15, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI

I was worried I’d have let you all down completely, but here comes the heralded Hero Hicks to help the hungry. Ok, that’s enough. It’s good and you should feel good about owning him.

Streaming Record: 24-16

Looking Forward

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

• Francisco Cervelli is reportedly returning today, which is actually really disappointing because I love what Elias Diaz had been doing with the bat. I should’ve caught onto him sooner for this article, but at least you saw my blurbs and hopefully someone took a chance on him. If Cervelli goes down again, Diaz is definitely someone worth owning.
• Stop trying to make Willians Astudillo a thing. He’s not gonna be a thing. The 26 year old has sat 4 in a row and has no path to consistent playing time.
• Boy was I wrong about Kyle Higashioka. Nothing like 3 HRs for your first 3 MLB hits to clear the sinuses. I still don’t like him in the long term, as his average is terrible and the power doesn’t look legit from his minor league numbers. I wouldn’t recommend either Yankee until Sanchez is back, but Romine is reportedly back to fully healthy and should get the lion’s share of starts over Higashioka.
• Matt Wieters began a rehab assignment this past Friday. No word yet on how long it’ll take, but he’s not a must add upon return. I need Wieters to prove to me that he can hit.
• Mike Zunino to the DL with a bruised ankle. Chris Herrmann and David Freitas will handle the catching duties. Ignore them for fantasy purposes.

And now to the recommended streamers this week:

Tom Murphy (Colorado Rockies)– Last week, I told you not to start Murphy because he was facing four lefties. He faces three this week. So why am I recommending him? Well first of all, all six games the Rox play this week take place at wonderful Coors Field. Second, Murphy has looked marginally better against lefties, hitting .294 with a .471 SLG in his 17 PAs. Very small sample size, yes. And I’m not ignoring his 40.8% K-rate. The upside is there though. Keep in mind, he will miss Monday’s game (expected back Tuesday from paternity leave).

Max Stassi (Houston Astros)- Brian McCann is on the DL for the foreseeable future and Stassi is getting the large bulk of starts for the Stros. There’s no denying that Stassi had a rough June, hitting .163/.281/.347, but he’s heating back up, hitting .290/.405/.484 since June 16th. He hits better against lefties and gets two of them this coming week: Sean Manaea and Francisco Liriano. A potential reason he won’t succeed is that all six games are at home, where Stassi struggles relative to the road- Minute Maid is like the reverse Coors- but the matchups are good and I’m willing to risk it.

Robinson Chirinos (Texas Rangers)- Robinson is the drug that I just can’t quit. Although his season has been marked by inconsistency and a low batting average, he historically hits lefties very well and he gets three of them this week: Brian Johnson, Eduardo Rodriguez, and a guy you may have heard of named Chris Sale. Then he gets a 3 game set vs the O’s. You could certainly do worse.