Catchers to Stream for Week 8 (5/21 – 5/27)

(Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire)

For some background on this article and the list of ineligible catchers, check out Week 2’s article.  Kurt Suzuki is back under 50% and eligible again, but I still don’t want to own him. Flowers is taking his rightful place as the Braves starting catcher, which relegates Suzuki to backup duty.

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)- 3/13, 2 R, 1 RBI

He plays today, so here’s hoping he caps off the week with success. If you play in an OBP league, you’re in better shape as he walked three times this week, but with a .231 AVG, I think I have to take a loss here. This is the downside of James McCann.

Robinson Chirinos (Texas Rangers)- 6/16, 1 R, 3 RBI

He also walked 4 times, but the .375 AVG and 3 RBI were helpful enough as is. Those who gave up on Chirinos after the first few weeks of the season are going to regret it, mark my words. The guy is good. Not top 5 catcher good, but top 10. He’ll have his down weeks, but he’ll have plenty more weeks like this.

Manny Piña (Milwaukee Brewers)- 5/15, 2 R, 1 RBI

I know, you wanted a bit more in the counting stats department, but I think this has to be a win. A .333 average is damn good from the catcher position and it’s not like he gave you nothing in those areas.

Streaming Record: 12-5

Looking Forward

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

• Carson Kelly is on the DL with a hamstring strain. The timing couldn’t have been much worse for the Cards, as Yadier Molina is out another 2-3 weeks. There are no real updates on his condition at all. Francisco Peña will continue to hold things down. He’s not a fantasy option.
• Jorge Alfaro was scratched last night, but the team is not concerned. He likely just needs an extra day of rest for his knee. He’s been slowly improving his average over the course of the last few weeks and fantasy owners should be paying attention.

And now to the recommended streamers this week:

James McCann/John Hicks (Detroit Tigers)– The Tigers Monday opponent, Jose Berrios, may have figured out his curveball woes, but that still leaves Lynn and Gibson in Minnesota. They then return home for a set against Reynaldo Lopez, Hector Santiago, and James Shields. I expect McCann to sit in the final game of each series, due to being day games after night games (DANs?). McCann is a solid bat despite cooling off somewhat. Yes, people. I’ve come around on Hicks for the short-term. He’s worth owning as long as Miggy is out.

Robinson Chirinos (Texas Rangers)– Ok, Dave. This is starting to look reaaaaally similar to last week’s recommendations. To that, I say that McCann and Chirinos are good hitters who both have great weeks lined up two weeks in a row. Don’t cry to me! I don’t make the schedules! Today is a DAN, so he should sit and maximize his potential starts in Week 8. The Rangers get Tanaka on Monday, followed by Domingo German and CC Sabathia. It then gets easier with starts against Danny Duffy, Erik Skoglund, Ian Kennedy, and Jason Hammell, all at home. Sign me up.

Tucker Barnhart (Cincinnati Reds)– The Reds host Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, and Ivan Nova, then get a trio in Coors against Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson, and German Márquez. Show me a matchup that worries you there. I’ll wait.