Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Drohan and Alvarez Lead Wednesday's Waiver Wire Targets
Five starting pitchers with good matchups on Wednesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues.
Welcome to July! America's 250th birthday is only a few days away, and the MLB season is over halfway done based on games played by each team. While there is still time for teams and players to turn things around, we have to believe what we are seeing until evidence to the contrary shows over an extended period.
Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Wednesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
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Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals @ Boston Red Sox
Alvarez has only 60 big-league innings to his name, and he has been good in that time, walking just a few too many hitters but also holding an above-average strikeout rate and a 3.00 ERA. His outings have been short, and that generally isn't a huge issue except that Alvarez hasn't thrown five innings in any of his starts, leaving him ineligible to pick up the win. There's still value given Alvarez's strong performance.
Boston ranks as a bottom-10 offense both over the full season and the past 30 days. They are in the bottom five (or very close to it) in runs, home runs, walks, slugging percentage, and OPS, showing major deficiencies in many areas. There aren't many teams that are better fantasy targets right now than the Red Sox.
Alvarez is a mid-level streamer. Given his success, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Nationals stretch him out as he gets more starts under his belt, making him eligible for wins. His strong strikeout work also gives him a nice ceiling that helps make up for it.
Patrick Corbin, Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Mets
The Mets are another one of our top target teams, ranking all the way down in the bottom five in runs, hits, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are also another group that is equally lowly over the past month, keeping up their status as maybe the most disappointing team in baseball given their massive payroll. We'll keep going after this team every day when we can.
Corbin started the season decently but has seen his performance fall off the further we get into the season. In five June starts, Corbin allowed 30 hits, 19 runs, and four home runs in 19 2/3 innings with 10 walks and 16 strikeouts. His K rate has remained far below average, so there aren't many ways for Corbin to have a successful fantasy outing. It's tough to trust the nearly 37-year-old pitcher who hasn't been even average since 2019.
Corbin is a low-level streamer. The matchup is right, but I can't recommend putting him in your lineup unless you're in the deepest leagues and/or desperate; there are better ways to use your innings.
Shane Drohan, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Cincinnati Reds
Drohan made his first big-league appearance a week into April and has made six starts and 10 relief outings this season. He has been a little better than average with both walks and strikeouts while doing well limiting runs, hits, and homers; there's not a lot else that Milwaukee could ask for. Drohan did good strikeout work in the minors, so there's hope that he will keep up that performance also. The only thing working against Drohan is his lack of a track record.
The Reds fit today's theme of continuing to struggle over the past month while ranking low in most box stats over the full season. They are in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, and all four slash categories, and while Cincinnati is in the middle in doubles and home runs, they were previously closer to the top of the league and have now fallen toward average. The Reds also set a great ceiling for opposing pitchers because they strike out at a top-five rate, helping offset their decent walk rate.
Drohan is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is right, and he has shown success on a team that always seems to figure things out.
Trevor McDonald, San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona continues to struggle offensively, following a season-long trend of disappointing with the bats. They are much closer to average when looking only at games that teams play at home, but their home park of Chase Field is one of the best hitter's parks in baseball, leaving that standing as somewhat of a disappointment. This game is played in Arizona, lowering the value of the pitchers a bit, but the Diamondbacks are still a strong team to target any time.
McDonald is another pitcher very early into his career, totaling just 69 innings in 14 appearances since 2024. He has been a little better than average with walks and a little worse than that mark with strikeouts, and he doesn't give up many home runs. McDonald has done OK limiting hits and runs, and he did decent work in the minor leagues, bringing a little intrigue. There's not a big ceiling here, but McDonald is worth considering on the right days.
McDonald is a low-to-mid-level streamer. Another guy with a short track record, McDonald doesn't have the strikeout acumen of guys like Alvarez or Drohan, leaving him a notch lower in the streaming hierarchy. This game taking place in Phoenix rather than San Francisco hurts his value a little as well.
Colin Rea, Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres
Rea has provided a welcome bit of stability for the Cubs, as they have been hammered with injuries to starting pitchers this season. He hasn't be great, allowing more than a hit per inning with a well-below-average strikeout rate and a 4.80 ERA, but he has been close enough to average to help the team stay afloat while innings-eaters have gone down around him.
The Padres are maybe our favorite streaming target right now. They have poor numbers both over the full season and the past 30 days, and there isn't an area where San Diego really excels. They are only in the middle in strikeouts, so the ceiling isn't as high as it could be, but the Padres might set the best floor of any team in baseball right now for opposing pitchers.
Rea is a low-to-mid-level streamer. The matchup couldn't be much better, but Rea has a defined ceiling on his fantasy value that is held down by his subpar strikeout work and middling numbers overall.
Wednesday's Streamer Rankings
- Shane Drohan, MIL
- Andrew Alvarez, WSH
- Colin Rea, CHC
- Trevor McDonald, SF
- Patrick Corbin, TOR
