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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 12 of the fantasy baseball season (June 12 - June 19). My name is Nick Shlain, and I'll be filling in for Jon Anderson on this article going forward.
As the MLB season moves along, we continue to see starting pitcher prospects getting called up. Some are already making significant impacts for fantasy baseball managers, and some others can potentially emerge over the next few days and weeks. Make sure to follow our news and articles, and pay attention!
It's not even the halfway point of the season, and there's still plenty of time to make up ground in the fantasy standings and upgrade your rosters for a playoff run. With that being said, today we'll be taking a look at some promising recent prospect call-ups, some veterans arms who may be improving, and some injured pitchers who may return to help fantasy managers. Good luck on the waiver wire this week!
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size
AJ Smith-Shawver, Atlanta Braves (55% Rostered)
Smith-Shawver got a no-decision in his first big league start against the Washington Nationals. He allowed just two unearned runs in 5.1 innings while recording two strikeouts and allowed three hits and two walks. It was a solid debut, especially considering he's only 20 years old. It's impressive that a seventh-round pick from the 2021 MLB Draft is already in the major leagues.
While the hope is that he can stick in the rotation for a contending team in Atlanta, even if that happens he will have his innings limited this season. He only threw 68 innings in the minor leagues last season so it's unlikely that the Braves will push him much further than 100 innings this year. He'll face the Rockies in Atlanta this week which is a good matchup for him on paper.
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds (54% Rostered)
Abbott is another rookie, but he's older at 24 and was a second-round pick. After two starts, Abbott is yet to allow a run of any kind. He's gone at least five innings with at least four strikeouts in both of his starts as well.
Facing Houston on the road this week maybe isn't the best matchup, but winning games is going to be difficult pitching for the Reds anyway. Road starts aren't necessarily a bad thing either considering the Reds home ballpark is one of the best hitters' parks in the league.
Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies (22% Rostered)
Walker is coming off a gem in his last start. It was against the Detroit Tigers at home, but he went seven innings and had eight strikeouts while allowing only two hits and three walks.
Walker is only usable in good matchups as he has a 4.67 xFIP this season. He has another good matchup this week, though, as he's set to face the Athletics in Oakland.
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs (20% Rostered)
Taillon has been terrible this year as he has a 7.02 ERA, but his xFIP is merely 4.76. He's more of a mediocre starter that you can use in good matchups than a completely unusable pitcher.
It looked like he may have started to turn the corner two starts ago as he allowed just one earned run in five innings against the Padres, but then he allowed four earned runs in five innings against the Angels in his last start. Taillon has two starts this week against the Pirates and Orioles. There are probably fantasy teams out there desperate enough to use him for these two starts.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for deeper leagues
Yonny Chirinos, Tampa Bay Rays (2% Rostered)
Chirinos has a 2.60 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 34 innings for the Rays this year, but I'm afraid his bubble is going to burst eventually. Chirinos has just an 11% strikeout percentage and is mostly getting by on luck as evidenced by his .181 BABIP allowed and 80% left on-base percentage. His xFIP is nearly three runs higher than his ERA at 5.40.
He has pitched better than his xFIP throughout his career, though, as he has a career 3.42 ERA and a career 4.36 xFIP. Still, the gap is likely going to close on those numbers over the rest of the season. Chirinos is still a viable option this week as he has two starts including a road matchup with the offensively challenged Oakland Athletics.
Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros (1% Rostered)
Blanco has only made two starts for the Astros this year, but he was pretty good in both games. In both starts he completed at least five innings, allowed no more than two earned runs, and struck out at least five batters.
It's unclear how long the Astros might stick with Blanco in the rotation, but as long as he's pitching this way he should get a few more starts. He has a good matchup this week too with a home date against the Washington Nationals.
Daniel Lynch, Kansas City Royals (3% Rostered)
Lynch has a 4.41 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 16 innings with the Royals so far this season. Last year, he was worse with a 5.13 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 131 innings. The benefit of using Lynch in fantasy is he will get some strikeouts. Last year he had a 20% strikeout percentage and he's improved this year with a 23% strikeout percentage.
Daniel Lynch needs some more support from the #Royals defense. Through two starts, his 1.89 FIP is the 15th-best in all of MLB. Meanwhile, his 4.35 ERA is 268th.
The difference is making two elite starts from Lynch look pedestrian in the box score. pic.twitter.com/xF4DybTNVt
— The Royals Rundown Podcast (@RoyalRundownPod) June 5, 2023
Lynch is an option in deeper leagues where you need strikeouts this week because he's going to pitch twice. He's set for matchups on the road against the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays. Ideally, he'd pitch well against the Tigers and survive the Rays' start while putting up enough strikeouts to make it worth your while.
However, I'd be lying if I said using Lynch this week wasn't a risky option. If he doesn't pitch well against the Tigers, this could be an absolute disaster because the Rays are one of the best offenses in baseball. Proceed with caution here.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Stashes
Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles (31% Rostered)
Rodriguez is still in the minors for now so he's only an option if you have room to stash him on your fantasy bench. Rodriguez was dominant in his last Triple-A start so it's merely a matter of time before he's recalled to the major leagues.
Left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin was recently added to the Orioles' rotation and beat the Royals in his first start back. Irvin only went five innings in his return and the Royals are a weak opponent. Once the Orioles decide Rodriguez is ready to be back in the rotation, Irvin won't be able to hold off Rodriguez.
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