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In this piece, RotoBaller will highlight a selection of starting pitchers owned in less than 50% of both CBS and Yahoo leagues that have favorable matchups in the upcoming week. Whether you’re suffering from injuries, poor performance, or your league’s fantasy baseball waiver wire is barren, these undervalued pitchers could prove useful in the days ahead.
5/7: Justin Grimm (TEX) @ Milwaukee Brewers (Wily Peralta)
CBS Ownership: 44%, Yahoo Ownership: 20%
Grimm entered the Texas rotation following Matt Harrison’s back injury, and so far he’s been outstanding. One of the top pitching prospects in the Rangers system, the RHP has relied on a strong fastball/curveball/changeup mix to post a 2.28 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 24/8 K/BB ratio over 23.2 IP. Grimm faces the talented but inconsistent rookie Peralta, whose 6.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP present juicy targets for the Texas lineup.
5/8: Jake Westbrook (STL) @ Chicago Cubs (Carlos Villanueva)
CBS Ownership: 46%, Yahoo Ownership: 22%
Here at RotoBaller we keep waiting for the bottom to fall out on Westbrook, but the sinkerballer continues to defy the odds. Owner of a hideous 18/17 K/BB ratio, the veteran nevertheless leads the NL in ERA at 1.07 and is a perfect 5-for-5 in quality starts. That being said, we still think Westbrook's day of reckoning is coming, but look for him to keep it going against a Cubs team whose current batters have hit just .226/.285/.278 in 144 career plate appearances against him. His mound opponent is the offspeed specialist Carlos Villanueva, who pitched well out of the gate but has shown signs of regression in his last two starts and could soon be out of a rotation spot with the pending return of Matt Garza.
5/8: Chris Tillman (BAL) vs. Kansas City Royals (Luis Mendoza)
CBS Ownership: 34%, Yahoo Ownership: 17%
Tillman continues to build on his strong 2012 campaign, as he appears to have shaken off a spotty start to the season in tallying a 1.31 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over his past three appearances. In his last outing he was simply magnificent, commanding his fastball, curveball and changeup to shut out the Angels for eight innings in what was one of the best games of his 57-start major league career. Tillman is a great play opposite the struggling Mendoza, and he’s also a guy certain to start flying off waiver wires if he continues his ascent.
5/9: Bud Norris (HOU) vs. LA Angels (Jason Vargas)
CBS Ownership: 40%, Yahoo Ownership: 12%
Norris is actually having a quietly effective year as the ‘ace’ of the lowly Astros. Sure, his 1.54 WHIP isn’t particularly attractive, but more often than not he’s kept his team in the game and flirted with or posted a quality start. Back on April 12 he faced off with the Angels and had his best game of the season in tossing seven shutout innings with just three hits allowed. While he faces a relatively quality pitching opponent in Vargas and wins are certainly no gimme with this Houston squad, Norris is a decent bet to have another solid outing.
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