Catchers to Stream for Week 6 (5/7 – 5/13)

(Photo by Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)

For some background on this article and the list of ineligible catchers, check out Week 2’s article. Chris Iannetta fell under 50% owned last week, and Kurt Suzuki and Jonathan Lucroy fell under 50% this week, making both available.

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.

James McCann (Detroit Tigers)- 8/23, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

That’s what I want to see from my call boy. A .348 average and some help in 3 different categories. Atta boy. He even attempted to steal a base but got gunned down. Keep up the good work Jim… Jimothy?… James. Can I call you James?

Yan Gomes (Cleveland Indians)- 4/16, 3 R

A .250 average with moderate help in runs… I don’t think I can really take a win here. Gomes is starting today though, so hopefully, he comes in clutch today.

Streaming Record: 7-4

Looking Forward

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

• Yadier Molina will miss about a month with a pelvic injury. Ouch. Top prospect Carson Kelly has been summoned from AAA. He’s been off to a slow start thus far in Memphis, but he slashed .283/.375/.459 last year with 10 HRs in 68 games in addition to a 34 game audition in the bigs. I’m on board with taking a flier on Kelly, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a star as of yet. He’s the Cardinals’ catcher of the future though and one of the top catching prospects in the minors.
• Austin Hedges is on the DL with tendinitis in his right elbow and it sounds like it’s not recovering the way the team wants. The team will re-evaluate him a week. In the meantime, Raffy Lopez and A.J. Ellis will man the fort… not that I want to roster either one of them.
• Stephen Vogt reinjured his shoulder on his rehab assignment. The team has no timetable for his return, so expect Manny Piña to continue holding down starting duties.

And now to the recommended streamers this week:

Jorge Alfaro (Philadelphia Phillies)– The Phillies get a very light schedule this week as he gets to skip over Johnny Cueto when facing the Giants. The Mets do throw Noah Syndergaard and likely Jacob deGrom at him, but with it being deGrom’s first game off the DL, I’m not too concerned. Alfaro mashes righties (.297/.336/.500) and the Phils are set to face four of them. Alfaro let me down the last time I picked him here, but I’m willing to ride with him again.

Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)– The Mets, but no Syndergaard or deGrom, and the Dodgers, but no Clayton Kershaw makes for an easy week for the Reds hitters. As with when I mentioned Barnhart previously, I don’t love his upside, but his floor should be helpful for you.

Martin Maldonado (Los Angeles Angels)– There is some concern with this pick as Maldonado is currently on the bereavement list and could theoretically miss up to five more games. However, if he comes back Tuesday, he still gets to participate in the series at Coors. Even if not, he gets a struggling Twins rotation afterward, so he has the ability to give you a good week. I’d just monitor his bereavement activation, as he has to miss at least one more game this week.