Hitters to stream for fantasy baseball in Week 5 of 2023 MLB season

Intro

Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Hitters to stream in Week 5

Evan Longoria, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks

Longoria isn’t an everyday player at this point in his career, but he’s excelled for Arizona as a bench bat who starts against left-handed pitching — hitting .286/.342/.514 with two homers in 11 games. Not only are the D-backs slated to face three southpaws this week, but they also get the most magical words in all of fantasy baseball streaming: a weekend series at Coors Field.

Sam Hilliard, OF, Atlanta Braves

Hilliard long tantalized fantasy owners with loud tools and a plum home environment in Colorado, but strikeout issues kept him from any real regular playing time. He’s gotten extended run by necessity in Atlanta thanks to Michael Harris II’s back injury, and the lefty is making the most of it: He’s put up a .905 OPS with a homer and three steals in 15 games so far this year.

Harris II is set to return relatively soon, but Hilliard is set up well this week, with four starts against righties and a four-game set against a Miami Marlins team that’s struggled to keep runners from going wild on the bases. If you’re streaming for speed, pick Hilliard up.

Mike Zunino, C, Cleveland Guardians

Catchers are generally not recommended streaming plays, but we’ll make an exception for Zunino this week. The backstop has been crushing the ball so far this year, keeping Cleveland’s top prospect, Bo Naylor, languishing in Triple-A. Naylor is the catcher of the future, but for this week Zunino should thrive with two lefties on tap plus a three-game set against the Rockies’ woeful pitching staff.