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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 9 (May 20 - May 26 ). In this weekly piece, we search for starting pitchers rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo! leagues. These are SP options to consider that might be good additions to your fantasy roster, especially for streaming.
Last week, we recommended some starting pitchers to scoop up whose rostership was lower than they should be. For those of you in deeper leagues, we will split that into another section, looking at starting pitchers rostered in less than 30% of Yahoo! leagues. We also look at pitchers beyond this coming week and look for tasty matchups a bit further down the road. One consideration for many fantasy players is that the bottom portion of your roster in deeper fantasy leagues should be churned frequently. That means you are playing matchups and looking for pitchers who can exploit weak-hitting teams. Start anybody pitching against the following teams: Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins, and Colorado Rockies.
Another caveat here: you are unlikely to find guys on the waiver wire that will strike out tons of hitters or be extremely exciting in most instances. What I look for are guys who can contribute to my bottom lines: a win perhaps (although chasing them is foolish and tricky), while not destroying my carefully manicured ratios. Keep your expectations modest; think it will do no harm and hope for the best. Let's get after it.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins (rostered in 50% of leagues)
Garrett has just returned from his bout with a left shoulder impingement and has not been great over his first two starts. In those two games, he's pitched just over nine innings and given up 11 earned runs to go with three walks and 13 strikeouts. His next start is against the Arizona Diamondbacks this week. He was shaky in Saturday's start, giving up two runs in the first, but then was okay until the fifth, when he loaded the bases and the reliever following him let all three runs in. Yet, he also had eight strikeouts, so we know the swing-and-miss is there. Garrett will have some rust, but you will never get him cheaper. Act now.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers (rostered in 48% of leagues)
Stone is flying under the fantasy radar, but it won't be for long. He's pitched at least six innings in four consecutive starts with three wins, allowing only one run in each. The knock here is the dearth of strikeouts; two, five, four, and two in those outings. But he limits hard contact (87th percentile at 86.3 mph) and gets wins. Stop looking at the blemishes and look at what he does well, and you will see a rosterable pitcher that is getting results pitching for the best team in baseball.
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals (rostered in 48% of leagues)
What do fantasy players have against MacKenzie Gore? I guess you can argue that the command issues might drive his value down with his 1.45 WHIP, which is troubling. But on the waiver wire, every pitcher will have a flaw; that's why they are not rostered. Gore pitched six strong innings last week against the Boston Red Sox, striking out nine and giving up three earned runs. He's got 51 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched this year for the Nationals and a very usable 3.38 ERA.
Erick Fedde, Chicago White Sox (rostered in 46% of leagues)
Where is the love for Fedde? The guy just keeps getting it done for the Chicago White Sox. He's 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and perhaps most surprisingly, 50 strikeouts in 52 innings. He has wins in three of his last four outings. Fedde did not come back from Korea the same pitcher he was when he left MLB; he has rearranged his grips and pitch mix, which has been very effective. Again, the blemish here is the lack of strikeouts, but as mentioned previously in this article, every guy on the waiver wire has a blemish or two. Ride the wins and ratio help as long as you can. He should be rostered in almost every league.
Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers (rostered in 40% of leagues)
Olson threw eight scoreless innings last week against the Miami Marlins, striking out six and giving up no earned runs. Olson has started eight games and has a .209 ERA and .99 WHIP, but the unfortunate thing is he has no wins to show for his efforts. He has held opposing batters to one run or less in four straight starts for the Tigers. He gets the Kansas City Royals early this coming week, so snap him up and hope he gets his first win there.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for deeper leagues rostered between 30% or less on Yahoo!
Sean Manaea, New York Mets (rostered in 28% of leagues)
Manaea is another pitcher that draws the upturned nose of many fantasy players. Yet in eight starts this year, he has two wins, a 3.05 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. He went six innings in his last start against the slugging Philadelphia Phillies, getting six strikeouts while giving up one run on four hits. Most importantly to me, Manaea has cut down the walks in the last two starts, and if he controls the free passes, he is usually a good bet to give quality innings. You can see the changes he has made to his pitch mix this season below:
Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves (rostered in 20% of leagues)
Elder seems to be another pitcher that fantasy players do not like because of the lack of strikeouts. But, he's got a clear opportunity to pitch for one of the best teams in baseball, the Atlanta Braves. He's got a win in four starts and has pitched at least five innings in three of those four starts. Elder was good in his last start against the Mets, pitching into the sixth inning and nabbing six strikeouts after giving up eight walks in his last two starts. Control the free passes, and he has a chance to win many days. Elder should be on your radar as a back-end rotation filler.
Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays (rostered in 20% of leagues)
I can hear your collective groan go up when I put his name here. I understand if you stop reading right here. But, Manoah went seven innings in his last start against a good Minnesota Twins squad, striking out six and giving up no earned runs. Manager John Schneider said after the game, "the stuff was there." This is likely to be a bit of a roller coaster ride with Manoah, but with the dearth of starting pitching options out there, maybe it's time to give him another look. I certainly can get behind those who say wait and see what he does next, but for those players not afraid to take on some risk, maybe Manoah is a guy to roster and spot start when he has good matchups. His price will go up if he continues to pitch well. He gets Tampa Bay today. Let's see how that goes.
Other Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options
- Michael Lorenzen, Texas Rangers (rostered in 18% of leagues)
- Patrick Sandoval, Los Angeles Angels (rostered in 9% of leagues)
- Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians (rostered in 19% of leagues)
Happy hunting for starting pitchers this weekend! If you have questions, you can always message me on X @mdrc0508. You can even tell me you hate these picks. Remember that fantasy baseball is supposed to be FUN above everything. Enjoy it!
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