When it comes time to set your lineup each week, a large amount of focus is often placed on maximizing pitching matchups. Now, there is nothing wrong with it, and I wrote a whole article about Two Start pitchers, but let us give some respect to the bats as well. Hitters can have both good and bad matchups and situations as well, and exploiting that could ultimately serve to be a wise strategy. With that being said, let us take a look at Five Hitters to Stream.
More great fantasy baseball advice and analysis: Waiver Wire & FAAB Recommendations | Daily MLB Injury Report | MLB DFS Picks | Line-up Analysis | Dynasty Rankings and Strategy | MLB Bullpen Updates | MLB Player Props | Prospect Rankings & Analysis | Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
2023 Hitting StreeaFive Hitters to Stream
Jordan Walker, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
After bursting on the scene in Spring Training, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Walker heading into the season after he headed north with the Cardinals. Considering he was a top prospect, it was not a complete surprise to see what the young phenom could do at the plate but the good times did not last too long. In fairness to Walker though, it is not like he was really struggling with a .274 batting average, two home runs, and 11 RBI in 20 games before being sent down to Triple-A.
We knew that there would be an adjustment period for Walker at the major league level, and he did strike out 20 times in 78 at-bats, but he also suffered from the struggles of the Cardinals as a team. The time in Triple-A proved to do well for Walker and prior to being promoted, he hit .333 in his last 11 games with three home runs and 10 RBI.
The Cardinals are committed to playing Walker on a consistent basis and he should fit nicely into your lineups once again.
Owen Miller, 1B/2B/3B/OF, Milwaukee Brewers
The fact that Miller is eligible pretty much everywhere on the diamond certainly is a plus as is the fact that the Brewers have seven games on their schedule heading into the upcoming week. Three of those games come at home against Oakland which should certainly catch your attention, but things should also go well in his one game against the Reds and three against the Orioles.
Miller has found himself batting second for the Brewers these days and to this point, the role suits him. After picking up two more hits on Friday, Miller is now batting .331 on the season with 19 runs scored and 15 RBI in 142 plate appearances. Miller has shown some power with four home runs while limiting the strikeouts (14.8%) and also adding seven stolen bases.
While there are still doubts about buying into Miller for the remainder of the season, that should not preclude us from rolling him out there in some fashion this week to plug any particular hole in your lineup.
Nick Senzel, 2B/3B/OF, Cincinnati Reds
Four of Senzel’s games come in the friendly confines of the Reds’ home park this week so that catches our attention from the start. That is not to say that Senzel has truly been dominating this season, but we do need to go where the matchups take us, and this is also another situation where positional flexibility helps and comes into play.
Senzel is hitting .258 through action on Friday with four home runs, 27 RBI, and 22 runs scored while walking 10.2% of the time which certainly comes in handy for OBP leagues. Between that and the seven games, Senzel could prove to be a sneaky option while filling out a lineup this week.
Nolan Jones, 1B/OF, Colorado Rockies
All six of Colorado’s games are at home this week, and that is sure to register on radars as it should lead to increased offensive production out of the Rockies. Jones was promoted for a second stint at the major league level, for the first time with Colorado, they did it with specific playing time in mind.
Through eight games, Jones is hitting .308 with six RBI after he drove in 42 runs over 39 games in Triple-A to go along with 12 home runs and a .356 batting average. The production has come with a high BABIP, but that has been a norm for Jones throughout his professional career as strikeouts are also something to watch out for.
When looking at this week though, we have a Coors Field advantage to exploit and it is all about riding the hot hand as there is nothing more Jones can really do at the minor league level.
Mauricio Dubon, 2B/OF, Houston Astros
Dubon did a great job filling in for Jose Altuve earlier in the season, and with the latter now dealing with an oblique injury, the former should be back at the top of the lineup. After picking up two hits on Saturday, Dubon’s batting average is up to .295 on the season thanks in part to the fact that he is striking out just 13% of the time.
While he does not bring much power to the table, Dubon does have 31 runs scored along with a strong batting average and with the Astros’ offense kicking into high gear, it should only serve to benefit the utility player as we can expect him to slide back into the lineup at second base for Houston.