FANTASY PLAYS: Pickups, streamers for week in baseball
PLAYERS TO PICK UP
Jack Flaherty, SP, St. Louis (54 percent owned in Yahoo) - Thirteen strikeouts. One walk. One earned run. Those were the numbers from Flaherty's last outing. How is he owned in just over half of leagues? If Flaherty is available in your league, you need to open a new tab, add him and then return here to read the rest of this column. With an outstanding slider, Flaherty is dominating hitters each outing. He's given up a total of six earned runs in 23 1/3 innings this year. Despite the too-many-guys-but-not-enough-spots problem the Cardinals' rotation has right now, Captain Jack's spot is safe.
Tyler O'Neill, OF, St. Louis (41 percent) - Speaking of young Cardinals making a difference, O'Neill had a stretch of three home runs in three games earlier this week. Dexter Fowler is lost at the plate, and Marcel Ozuna is failing to replicate his success from a season ago. As long as O'Neill hits, Mike Matheny will find room for him in the Cardinals' lineup. There's a lot of Aaron Judge in O'Neill's game.
Willy Adames, SS, Tampa Bay (11 percent) - It was only a cup of coffee for Adames in the Majors, but he impressed. If you have a deep bench or a minor league spot, Adames won't remain in Triple-A for long.
Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Milwaukee (54 percent) - Aguilar is on fire in May, hitting .288 with six home runs and 15 RBIs. With Ryan Braun healthy again, we'll see how the Brewers navigate playing time, but Aguilar's swinging too hot a bat to stay out of the lineup for long.
TWO-START PITCHERS TO STREAM
Caleb Smith, SP, Miami (27 percent) - Smith had a nice rebound start against the Mets earlier this week and, this upcoming week, he gets the Padres and Diamondbacks on the road. He's pitching like a poor man's Robbie Ray, which is a good thing. His stuff is dominant. Walks remain his biggest issue.
Vince Velasquez, SP, Philadelphia (22 percent) - Velasquez is looking like the 2016 breakout version of himself. He has two decent matchups next week with the Dodgers and Giants on the road. With the roll he's on, you can feel comfortable putting him out there as a strikeout source.
Marco Gonzales, SP, Seattle (9 percent) - Gonzales' surface numbers paint the picture of a streamer, but his peripheral numbers show that he's been unlucky this season. The elite control pitcher faces Texas, who struggles against lefties, and Tampa Bay.
HITTERS TO STREAM
Mac Williamson, OF, San Francisco (6 percent) - Williamson is scheduled to come off the disabled list this weekend, and what a great time for it. The slugger will make his return as the Giants head to Colorado for a three-game set.
Matt Kemp, OF, Los Angeles (46 percent) -Kemp should regress but, for now, ride the hot hand. Like Williamson, Kemp will be heading to Coors for a weekend set of games.
Franchy Cordero, OF, San Diego (15 percent) - The Padres' outfielder is hard to predict, but this could be a great week for Cordero. As a left-handed bat, he has plus matchups against Miami and Cincinnati.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com
