This is an extremely specific blog post as it’s geared towards NFBC players who want to stream hitters. A little background about how NFBC handles starting lineups. Basically, they allow each owner to set their hitting lineup twice a week: on Monday and Friday. So if you start a player on Monday you will receive his stats from Monday through Thursday.
Streaming hitters can be a very viable option in deep mixed leagues. NFBCs rules on starting lineups allow players a great opportunity to stream hitters with favorable matchups because an owner can start a hitter for three or four games and bench him for the other portion of the week. Below are hitters I recommend picking up.
First Half of the Week Starts
I couldn’t find any matchups that stood out for the first half week. With Brandon Belt on the DL for the foreseeable future Michael Morse will likely move to first base, which means there will be a platoon in left field (Brett Pill would have been the perfect platoon partner for Gregor Blanco, but he’s playing in Korea). If Buster Posey was a big of a team player as he says he is he would spend more time at first. That would allow their best bench player, Hector Sanchez, to play more frequently, it would create a better lineup and Posey could play every day, but that’s never going to happen.
Second Half of the Week Starts
The two best matchups are for the Tampa Rays and Los Angeles Angels as they will both face three lefties.
C.J. Cron: The scouting reports suggest he has the raw power to hit 25-plus home runs, but it will likely come with a sub-.240 batting average. However, he has major platoon split against lefties and the Angels are playing him fairly regularly. Most importantly, he batted fifth against the last two lefties he faced, which is right behind Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Howard Kendrick.
Collin Cowgill: Yes, this is not a misprint. He roughly has 200 ABs against both righties and lefties and his OPS is 180 points higher against lefties. He’s batted leadoff the past two games against lefties so he’ll have plenty of opportunities to score runs.
Chris Ianneta: I’m not sure if Ianneta will play all three games because he seems to be in a platoon with Hank Conger. However, all of Conger’s playing time has come against rigthies so the odds are fairly good Ianneta plays all three games against lefties. Since 2008 his OPS against lefties is 130 points higher and he has a very respectable .255 batting average.
Logan Forsythe: He is going to play against lefties (either at third or second base) and will bat in the top half of the lineup. His OPS is 181 points higher against lefties and is a great stream option if you need a middle infielder.
Sean Rodriguez: He is also going to play and his OPS is 160 points higher against lefties. If I were to pick between Rodriguez and Cowgill I would take Cowgill because he’ll hit in a better spot in the lineup and will have Trout hitting behind him.
Jesus Guzman: In the past three games against lefties Guzman has either batted fourth or fifth in the lineup. Since 2008 his OPS is nearly 100 points higher against lefties and he’s batting .273 against them. If I were to pick between Guzman and Cron I would take Cron because he plays an extra game.
Ryan Ludwick: Even though the Reds will face two lefties, those lefties are Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee. Ludwick doesn’t have a platoon split, which means this is an unattractive matchup for him. The common assumption is Chris Heisey would be a sneaky stream play, but his OPS 75 points lower against lefties for his career. Basically, I would any of the aforementioned players ahead of Ludkwick or Heisey for streaming purposes.
Brandon Barnes & Drew Stubbs: Last week I said to pick up Barnes and since Monday he has a .455 batting average and two runs. Stubbs is playing every day , but all of his batting average is coming at home. For example, he’s hitting .167 on the road and .432 at home. In the second half of the week the Rockies face soft tossing lefties in Eric Stults and Robbie Erlin. The only concern I have is whose going to play in the outfield? Carlos Gonzalez is going to play left field and Charlie Blackom presumably will in right, which means Barnes and Stubbs may have to share at-bats. Stubbs is the true center fielder so my guess is he has the best chance to play against the lefties.
