RADIO
Nick Mariano's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball waiver wire targets and adds. Free agent pickups and starting pitcher sleepers for Week 23 of the 2018 MLB season.
Welcome to September, everybody! It’s the final month of the fantasy baseball season and that means there are a bunch of you looking for streamers and stalwarts to anchor your rotation down the stretch. Maybe you need to target wins and quality starts, or perhaps you’re lacking in Ks and could use a boost.
Either way, we’ve got you covered here. As always, you can find me on Twitter @NMariano53 and ask any follow-up questions or about other pitchers not touched on here.
In the interest of my being exhausted and there being plenty of names worth touching on, these blurbs will be short and sweet. Using Yahoo ownership and cutting off around 30%, here are my starting pitcher waiver wire targets for Week 23.
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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Targets
Tyler Glasnow (TB - SP/RP): 30% owned
Glasnow’s ownership has crept up from roughly 26% to 30% since I began writing this article, but I know it’s just streamers popping by to scoop his Tuesday start against Toronto. You know what? Good! Maybe you fringe folks will see what you’ve been missing as Glasnow (hopefully) replicates his last start against the Indians, where he yielded just one run on two hits and a walk with six strikeouts. He holds a 3.26 ERA and his August strikeout rate of 33% ranked sixth out of 67 qualified SPs.
Mike Minor (TEX – SP/RP): 26% owned
Once again, Minor was brilliant outside of allowing a ball to clear the fence. He would capture the win against the Halos on Tuesday night after striking out seven and yielding just two runs on three hits and a walk over five innings. In his last seven starts, he’s allowed more than two runs just once and gone at least five frames in each outing, but it’s come with seven homers allowed. Luckily, he’s walked just eight in that span (with 39 strikeouts) and has walked 32 batters and given up 23 homers in 140 total innings in ‘18. It’s a scary line to walk, but he’s been absolutely stellar lately and draws the Angels again on Sept. 10 in his next scheduled start.
Jakob Junis (KC – SP): 25% owned
I know, I know. You’ve been sucked in by Junis before and you don’t want to get caught with your hand in the cookie jar again. But Junis is much more than his last two dominant outings. He’s muscled through six rather impressive starts in a row now with a 39/5 K/BB ratio in 39 frames without any sizable pockets of luck propping him up. That said, his last two outings have been truly exceptional -- a complete-game win over Detroit on Aug. 28 and then seven shutout innings for the win against the AL Central-leading Indians. With strong control back at his fingertips, he should be a good play against the Twins in Minnesota this weekend.
Steven Matz (NYM – SP): 20% owned
Matz has allowed just four runs and 13 baserunners over his last 19 innings (three starts), posting a crispy 23/3 K/BB ratio over that span. This is especially heartwarming considering how rusty he looked in his first start off the DL on Aug. 16, yielding four runs in just two frames. Though he still hasn’t earned a win in any of these last three outings (#Mets), he has serious momentum coming off of an 11-strikeout affair against the Giants heading into Friday’s slated home start against the Phillies.
Wei-Yin Chen (MIA - SP): 11% owned
Chen continues to be a fascinating case study in splits, as eight innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays at home lowered his Miami ERA to 1.77 while his road ERA sits at 9.35. It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde over here...sort of. He actually has much better contact rates on the road, but the control seems to disappear. But he also can’t deal with righties that well -- he sports a poor 6.9% K-BB% and a 5.35 xFIP against them compared to a 25.5% K-BB% and 2.74 xFIP against lefty swingers. Perhaps that will help him conquer his road woes against Pittsburgh next, as many of their bigger bats are lefty.
Josh James (HOU - SP/RP): 9% owned
James’ MLB debut saw him fan nine Angels over five innings, with the only damage coming on a Kole Calhoun three-run homer. The three walks point to the 3.9 BB/9 from the minors this season, but the nine punchouts are tethered to an absurd 171 Ks in just 114 ⅓ IP on the farm. He gets a tough test against Boston next, but it’s worth at least stashing him before that in case he causes a FAAB riot by shutting down the best team in baseball.
Touki Toussaint (ATL - SP): 8% owned
Toussaint was cruising with four hitless innings against the Red Sox in his second big-league start when the fifth inning just got away from him. I’m not out to hold one frame against a 22-year-old arm that’s been nothing short of dominant in Double- and Triple-A this year. Boston was never going to be as easy as his strong debut against Miami (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and hopefully, the Sawx will help him adjust for his next start on Sept. 9 against the D-backs. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?
Matt Shoemaker (LAA - SP): 7% owned
Shoemaker returned from his elbow injury with five innings of shutout ball against the Rangers, needing only 62 pitches to impress in his first MLB start since March 31. He scattered two hits and a walk throughout the start and draws a road date with the White Sox on Sept. 9 next. Be aware of the pitch count -- he had made just one rehab start in which he gave up an unearned run over four no-hit innings -- but he could be a difference-maker in September.
Adam Wainwright (STL - SP): 4% owned
Once a top-flight arm that fantasy owners would fight tooth and nail over, Wainwright’s career has seen injuries derail his efforts in recent years. He held an ugly 1.83 WHIP over his first 18 innings of ‘18 before elbow and hamstring ailments saw him hit the 60-day DL. But now Waino is coming back for a start on Sept. 10 against the Pirates after quietly stringing together six scoreless rehab appearances with a beautiful 23/4 K/BB ratio over 17 innings across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A.
Felix Pena (LAA - SP/RP): 4% owned
Pena’s last month has seen him strike out a batter per inning (31 in 30 ⅔ IP) with a 3.23 ERA and 1.04 WHIP for the Halos. He sports dual-eligibility on the bump and has transitioned to a sinker from his old four-seamer to strong results, giving him a nice pitch to pair with his slider -- a pitch that batters are hitting just .163 off of in ‘18. He gets a plus matchup against the White Sox in Chicago next on Sept. 7.
Drew Smyly (CHC - SP): 1% owned
This is strictly for very deep keeper and dynasty folks, but Tuesday saw Smyly toss 23 pitches in a simulated game after he struck out all three batters he faced during his Low-A rehab appearance the week before. The Cubbies may add him to the bullpen later, but his $10 million deal over two years speaks to a starting role for 2019.
Joe Ross (WAS - SP/RP): 1% owned
Ross is set to start against the Cubs at home on Friday, which will be his first MLB appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery 14 months ago. At just 25 years old, Ross could be a useful piece in 12-team leagues down the stretch. He struck out 19 and walked eight over 26 ⅓ rehab innings, so let’s see if that sinker is working, shall we?
