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Weekend Streaming: Week 20

Searching for five players to help you win your Week 20 matchup.

Welcome back to another weekend streaming article where I select five players based on hot streaks, pitching/team matchups, or a combination of things to help fantasy owners acquire cheap, low-roster rate (35% or below) production to help win the last two days of their weekly matchups. This week, I’ll be highlighting five players who have been rolling production-wise heading into mid-August.

Let’s dive into Week 20…

 

Blaze Alexander, INF, Arizona Diamondbacks

 

Blaze one-thousand percent deserved the cover athlete this week… he’s on FIRE. The .264/.362/.462 season slash line seems decent, but since the month of August began, he’s levelled up to a .341/.460/.683 line with a 215 wRC+ thanks to four HR in the span of nine games. He’s also scored eight runs and driven nine this month. The underlying stuff is impressive — 50% HH, 18% barrel, 92 aEV with a 15-degree launch angle and a 46% pull rate. You love to see it.

P.S. — who knew he would be outplaying Eugenio Suarez (5 wRC+, 35% K rate since joining Seattle) at 3B post-deadline?!

Rostered: 26% (Yahoo)

 

Kyle Isbel, OF, Kansas City Royals

 

Isbel, 28, is not known for his offence at all. He’s slashing .265/.303/.384 on the year with a below-average 86 wRC+  and .299 wOBA. With that being said, he’s really started to rake lately, going 14-for-35 (.400) with five XBH and seven RBI since the month of August began, good for a monster 190 wRC+. He’s tallied hits in nine of his past eleven games, and five of those have been of the multi-knock variant. Over this span, he’s run up the HH% to 47% and added a few ticks to both the aEV and barrel%.

Rostered: 1% (Yahoo)

 

Masataka Yoshida, DH/OF, Boston Red Sox

 

Yoshida has had quite the interesting season, from rehabbing an aching shoulder post-op, being held out of play due to roster manipulation, re-joining the team on a rehab assignment post-Rafael Devers trade, and then seeing his playing time vary. Despite all of this, Yoshida has managed to put together a solid season headlined by his month of August (see below):

“Macho Man” won’t overpower the opposing team, but he does have a knack for getting on base, limiting strikeouts, and the power has started to show up more. The key is hitting the ball in the air, and when he’s done that, he’s been unstoppable.

Rostered: 3% (Yahoo)

 

Ryan Bergert, RHP, Kansas City Royals

 

Bergert, 25, came over at the trade deadline as part of the return for backup catcher Freddy Fermin and has been solid. He owns a calm 2.87 ERA, 1.09 WHIP (on .178 BAA), and a 23% K rate through 47 innings. Last time out against Minnesota, Bergert managed to throw 5.2 innings of two-run ball while turning in a season-high 8 Ks and a 37% CSW rate. In fact, his CSW% (32%) and K% (27%) have ticked up a bit since July 11.

Berget’s 5.22 PLV and ~18 iVB on his four-seamer make him super intriguing, albeit the middle-of-the-pack velo (~94 mph), not to mention he ranks in the 98th percentile among SPs in BAA, 97th in SLG, 95th in OPS, and 99th in BACON.

Rostered: 11% (Yahoo)

 

Cristian Javier, RHP, Houston Astros

 

Javier made his long-awaited return to the mound last week and did not disappoint, tossing five innings of two-run ball against a great Red Sox offense. Those two runs came before Javier managed to get an out — Alex Bregman launched a two-run bomb to start the evening — but Javier settled in and tossed five shutout innings immediately after. He allowed just three total baserunners after the HR and punched out five batters, plus posted CSW rates of 30% or higher on his sweeper, changeup, and sinker.  It’s good to see him back in action.

Rostered: 24% (Yahoo)

 

Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurt_player02 on Instagram & Threads, @kuwasemiller.bksy.social on BlueSky)

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Griffin Geissler

Known by many as “G.G.” or “Griffey,” Geissler is a staff writer and data analyst at PitcherList and QBList. He has spent several years independently covering the Boston Red Sox from the DSL to the major leagues and boasts a background in MLB/MiLB player development and data consulting. As a former pitching prospect, he has firsthand experience rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. In his free time, he’s an avid fan of movies, video games, and fantasy football.

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