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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 22 (August 19 - August 25). 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, both short- and long-term.
This is an interesting piece each week because you never know what you will find in your research. Are we finding boring, unsexy veterans who can help you, like Paul Blackburn? Are we finding formerly prominent starters coming back from injury, like Jeffrey Springs and Tyler Mahle? Are we finding young rookies who have inherent risk but look the part, like Zebby Matthews and David Festa? This week, it's a combination of all three kinds of starters. It makes for an exciting search for players that can help you.
Every player on my list has a flaw. It could be low strikeout rates; it could be a walk rate that is too high. It could be a lack of wins, which are hard to come by this season. Every pitcher we look at can help you but it has to be the right context for your team. Let's get into 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!
Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks (rostered in 49% of leagues)
He's not been great so far, but Rodriguez is pitching for the surging Diamondbacks, and this is essentially extended Spring Training for him. We know the team will give him a long runway to be successful, as he was one of their priciest acquisitions this off-season.
Look for Rodriguez to round into shape and be a good middle-of-the-rotation arm for the Dbacks, and maybe for you. This is a speculative play on my end.
Nick Martinez, Cincinnati Reds (rostered in 44% of leagues)
Martinez is exactly what you hope him to be: a guy who eats some innings and makes most of them worry-free. He went six innings on Friday night, giving up three runs on eight hits while striking out four. He has won a spot in the Cincinnati rotation and gets the Toronto Blue Jays next week.
The body of work has been helpful: six wins, a 3.25 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts in 97 innings. This is the exact kind of guy who can help the back end of your rotation as you wait for reinforcements from injured reserves.
Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay Rays (rostered in 42% of leagues)
While I know we cannot ignore his first two starts, let me draw your attention to his third: five innings, eight strikeouts, one run on six hits, and no walks against the mighty Baltimore Orioles. And now, his fourth: five innings, seven strikeouts, and one run on four hits.
Springs could be rounding into shape with better health and stamina now, and he could be an under-the-wire pickup for you that nets you a championship. While others ignore him based on a cursory look at his numbers, we know this is a guy who is productive when healthy. This is who he is when he is healthy:
JP Sears, Oakland Athletics (rostered in 41% of leagues)
We wrote about Sears last week and he has rewarded those with faith in him. He's gone seven innings in three consecutive starts and has wins in six of his last seven starts for the Athletics. Raise your hand if you knew he had 10 wins.
With those helpful wins, he also has a usable 4.32 ERA And 1.19 WHIP. Strikeouts are not a high part of his game, with 101 in 133 innings pitched, but he limits damage by limiting baserunners. Sears is rostered in only 41% of leagues, and that feels way too low for what you are getting here. I like to see this:
Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks (rostered in 33% of leagues)
Nelson became an afterthought when he was moved to the Arizona bullpen, and this is a speculative play because he is not assured of a rotation spot moving forward. Yet in his last two starts, he's pitched 13 innings and earned 15 strikeouts, but has no wins to show for it.
Very quietly, Nelson has put together the best stretch of his career; in his last seven starts, he has a 2.72 ERA and 52 strikeouts, yet only three wins in that time. He should be able to stay in the rotation, but with Rodriguez back and the money paid to the mostly ineffective Jordan Montgomery, he seems the odd man out, unless the Diamondbacks go to a six-man rotation. One mildly bad start over that time; see for yourself below:
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered less than 30% on Yahoo!
Paul Blackburn, New York Mets (rostered in 28% of leagues)
Blackburn blew up in his last start, only going four innings and giving up six runs to his former mates, the Oakland Athletics. A three-run homer was the big culprit there to the hot-hitting A's.
He gets an opportunity to rebound this weekend against the lowly Miami Marlins. On the season, Blackburn has five wins in 12 starts, with a 4.43 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 67 innings. He's a good back-end rotation filler for you if you need him.
Tyler Mahle, Texas Rangers (rostered in 21% of leagues)
Mahle has just two starts on the ledger so far, but the early results have been encouraging. It's important to recall that this is effectively Spring Training for him, but he's gone nine innings in two starts and has nine strikeouts, a 2.79 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP.
He's going to pitch every fifth day for a slagging Texas squad, and prove that he is healthy and worthy of being a staple in their rotation. Look for Mahle to continue getting stronger; he's flying under the radar right now and could be someone who could help your squad right now.
Yariel Rodriguez, Toronto Blue Jays (rostered in 14% of leagues)
There is a bit of inconsistency in Rordriguez's performance thus far, but I like what I have been seeing lately. On Friday the home run ball got him into trouble; he surrendered three home runs to the Chicago Cubs and was on the hook for a loss before the Jays scored three runs to tie the game in the ninth inning off the hapless Hector Neris.
In his previous two outings, Rodriguez had only given up one run in his last two starts, although he did not get wins in either. The peripherals work here: a 3.93 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 55 innings. Chasing wins is a fool's errand, but obviously, we would like to see more than one win in 13 starts. Remember, every player in this weekly column has flaws.
David Festa, Minnesota Twins (rostered in 15% of leagues)
Festa has quietly been good since his recall at the end of July. In four outings since his recall, he's gone 17 innings, recording a win with 25 strikeouts. I feel he's worth an addition. He got the Texas Rangers this weekend, who had been scuffling. Festa went five innings, striking out six. This is an arm worth adding to your rotation. See below.
Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins (rostered in 14% of leagues)
The Twins called up one of their top pitching prospects in Matthews, and he did not disappoint in his debut. Matthews is their fifth-rated prospect, and he's #86 overall in the MLB Pipeline Rankings.
The young righthander went five innings and earned a win, striking out five against the Kansas City Royals. He gets the tough San Diego Padres next time out, but Matthews is a young guy to take a flyer on if you need some help with your rotation. Why not?
Other Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options
- Osvaldo Bido, Oakland Athletics (rostered in 13% of leagues)
- Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays (rostered in 9% of leagues)
- Valente Bellozo, Miami Marlins (rostered in 7% 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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