X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball Week 10

Brady Singer - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Hello and welcome to Week 10! Big shout out to Thunder Dan for picking up this article for me last week!

This week, we have a bunch of rookies to talk about. We have seen some electric outings from young arms lately and that has resulted in some chances for us to capitalize before the rest of the fantasy baseball universe catches on. We also have a veteran or two to go over as a few names have impressed this year after going under-drafted or not drafted at all.

Let's get to it - here are your starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 10 of the fantasy season (June 13-June 19). Let's get to it.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:

 

Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues

George Kirby, Seattle Mariners (51% Rostered)

I think this will be the last time Kirby qualifies for this post, as we are typically looking for pitchers rostered in around or less than 50% of leagues. He has been great lately, so I imagine a lot of people will be adding him ahead of his next start.

For the year, his 23.7%-2.3% K-BB% is great. Any time the gap between your K% and BB% is more than 20 points, you're in good territory. There were serious issues with the slider early on, as he put up just a 4.8% SwStr% on the pitch in his first two outings. Since that second start, the mark on that pitch is up to 8.5% and over his last three starts it's up to 12.9%. If that continues, it's still just a league-average slider in terms of whiffs, but it goes well with the rest of his stuff.

The biggest reason to add Kirby is the command. He has always been elite at preventing walks, and that has translated beautifully to the majors. For pitchers with at least five starts this year, only Chris Paddack bests Kirby's 2.3% walk rate. Giving so few free passes is by itself enough to have some success in the Majors, but adding on to that the decent strikeout rate - you're really cooking with gas. I like Kirby a ton for the rest of the year and he should be pretty much universally rostered.

Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds (46% Rostered)

The rookie put up the best start of his career last week, striking out eight Diamondbacks while giving up just one hit over seven innings. That was his second consecutive start with eight strikeouts, and his 29.9% K% is seventh-best in the whole league for pitchers with at least 10 starts.

Strikeouts certainly aren't an issue for Greene, who has posted a 13% SwStr% with the four-seamer and a 19.1% mark with the slider. The trouble with him has been command (a 10% BB%) and predictability (those two pitches we just mentioned are 94.4% of his total pitches thrown). What he does done to counteract that is thrown more sliders. In April, he was 61% four-seamer, in May and June so far, that number has come down to 49%.

It's still tough for a guy to get by in the Majors with just two pitches, but it's not unheard of either if both pitches are very good (Tyler Glasnow comes to mind).

I think a lot of people are going to be very bullish on Greene right now, and that's probably not the right way to go either. He is likely going to have some really bad starts on days where he doesn't locate the four-seamer well. You just can't get many fastballs past Major League hitters when they know it's coming and it's not located perfectly. That said, Greene is perfectly capable of having these sparkling outings, and at the very least the strikeouts will continue to pile up.

Graham Ashcraft, Cincinnati Reds (33% Rostered)

Another Cincinnati rookie making waves in the Majors this season is Ashcraft, who we have seen make four starts since his May call-up. The numbers have been great with a 1.14 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP, but the strike rate has been egregiously low at 14%. It's hard to have success in the Majors getting so few strikeouts, but there is much reason for optimism in that regard.

Here's how his pitch arsenal has looked so far this year:

Pitch % Velo CSW% SwStr% GB% Brl%
Cutter 44% 97.8 29.7% 8.1% 59% 5.1%
Slider 30% 85.7 27..7% 12.9% 44% 0%
Sinker 24% 97.4 17.1% 3.7% 82% 0%
Changeup 1% 90.4 40% 20% -- --

I love to see the cutter/sinker combination there. If you can tunnel those pitches it makes it very tough on hitters, and that's a good formula for being a guy that can get deep into games and limit hard contact. The key for Ashcraft, I think, is the slider. In his first two starts, Ashcraft threw 22 and 23 sliders and got just one total whiff on those pitches. Something has changed in the last two starts, however, as he's racked up a dozen whiffs on his 56 sliders for a swinging-strike rate above 20%.

Given how much contact he gives up on the sinker and cutter, he absolutely needs a high SwStr% on the slider to get any decent amount of strikeouts, so this is something to keep a very close eye on. At any rate, his ground-ball rate should sustain (he has a high ground-ball rate all through the minors), and that helps him quite a bit. I like him as a decent floor play with some upside if the slider keeps humming along, he can be added in most leagues if you need a decent starter.

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves (38% Rostered)

Strider has been hit or miss with a strikeout rate well above 30%, but a walk rate north of 12%. He has spent most of the year in a relief role, but for right now, he's in the rotation and has really ramped up the pitch count lately. His profile does seem to be more conducive to the relief role, as he is really reliant on the four-seamer (65%+ usage), and he's mainly a two-pitch guy (adding a nice slider to the mix). The command is clearly an issue, and if he can't get the walk rate down to single-digits, I don't think he'll have a ton of success no matter how many strikeouts he piles up.

All that said, for now Strider can be started in good matchups where your team can use some extra strikeouts and win possibilities. I don't imagine he sticks in the rotation for long, so don't be spending many FAAB dollars on the guy - but give him a look here.

 

Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues

Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals (24% Rostered)

Over the last three weeks, Brady Singer has made four starts and walked just three batters. That's a 3.2% BB%, which goes really well with the nice 50% GB% he's posted over that same time. The downside for Singer is that he has never shown a ton of strikeout ability, but he has improved a bit in that regard this season with a 24% K% - two points above the league average.

I am being pretty nitpicky with my criteria here, but only three pitchers this season have done this:

  • 5+ GS
  • K% above 22%
  • BB% below 5%
  • GB% above 50%

Those three names:

Pitcher GS K% BB% GB%
Max Fried 12 23.2% 3.4% 52.5%
Brady Singer 5 24.1% 2.8% 53.3%
Clayton Kershaw 5 29.4% 2.8% 50.7%

Some very nice company for Singer there, although the fact that it's only five starts gives us some pause. We'll see what Singer has for us moving forward, but anybody getting this many ground balls and allowing so few walks always needs looked into, and the fact that he's gotten the strikeout rate above league average has me very interested.

Roansy Contreras, Pittsburgh Pirates (40% Rostered)

The young Bucco keeps putting up strong numbers as he's solidifying his spot in the Pirates rotation possibly for years to come. His 27% strikeout rate is very solid, and he has brought the walk rate down to league average level after he had started poorly in that regard.

His arsenal is limited, with a decent fastball (96.5 mph, 9% SwStr%, 29% CSW%) and a great slider (22% SwStr%). He needs to continue the trend of bringing and keeping the walk rate down to really have continued success, but his stuff is more than good enough to play in the Majors, and there is real ceiling here.

I imagine it doesn't come to full fruition in 2022, especially given all the trouble Pittsburgh has had developing talented pitching prospects, but he's worth the add right now to see what happens.

Michael Lorenzen, Los Angeles Angels (45% Rostered)

It's been a wild year for Lorenzen. While this isn't a DFS post, the DraftKings game logs on Lorenzen give us a pretty good picture of how it's gone.

The strikeouts haven't been great for Lorenzen with a K% of 19%, and he adds to that a mediocre walk rate of 9%. Despite that, he's had a reasonable amount of success with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. His six quality starts are tied for 17th-most in the league, a testament to how deep he's able to get into games. He has also recently shown some extra strikeout stuff, racking up 15 whiffs and nine strikeouts in a start against the Phillies a week ago, putting up most of that good production after a disastrous first inning where he gave up five earned runs right away.

The downside probably outweighs the upside for Lorenzen, but he's given us enough reason to start him in good matchups in deep leagues.

Konnor Pilkington, Cleveland Guardians (17% Rostered)

The 24-year-old has now made four starts with Cleveland after beginning the year in a bullpen role. Here is what he has done in those four outings.

Pitcher IP K% BB% CSW% SwStr% GB% Brl%
Konnor Pilkington 17.1 23.5% 15.3% 28.3% 14.5% 37.3% 11.8%

The only number that is really good here is the 14.5% SwStr% - that's an elite number for a starting pitcher. The bad news is much louder than the good, with those really scary marks in BB% and Brl%. I think the barrel rate will come down, that's just the nature of barrel rate typically, but he's really going to need to get the walks under control to have any success at all.

The reason we are talking about him here is the strikeout upside. He went for a 31% K% in the minors last year, and has a good amount of strikeouts in the Majors as well with a mark of 24% overall this year. He struck out eight Royals on June 1st before falling flat against the Athletics on Thursday. This is, indeed, a deep league recommendation given that it's seemingly more likely that he will struggle for a bit longer while he works out these walks issues, but his ability to get whiffs at the rate he does is keeping him on my radar.

JT Brubaker, Pittsburgh Pirates (6% Rostered)

Brubaker's presence here at the end of the post is indicative of my feelings about him. He's basically a throw-in piece to this here just in case you're in a very deep league where all of the other guys here are not available. For the year, Brubaker's 4.60 ERA and 1.41 WHIP are both quite bad. He has also not won a single decision (he's 0-6) and has just one quality start in 12 goes at it. That is all very ugly and it keeps him well out of the fantasy discussion in most contexts.

However, Brubaker has flashed some upside in his young career, especially so lately. Over his last five starts, he has a strong 13% SwStr%. Some bad luck and lack of execution have that translating into a strikeout rate of 21% - below the league average. In that time, however, he has brought the walk rate down to around league average as well (7.8% BB%).

His slider is legit. The 21.8% SwStr% on the pitch is fourth-best in the league for sliders amongst pitchers that have thrown at least 300 sliders this season. The only starting pitchers above him are Robbie Ray and Josiah Gray - some nice company there. The problem is that he doesn't have a good enough fastball to set that pitch up, with a bad 26.6% CSW% on his sinker and a mark of 19% on the four-seamer. I don't think he's going to be able to make enough improvements to have him being a guy you really want on your fantasy team, but he is capable of putting up some strikeouts and some really good starts when he's going right - and that's worth something in very deep leagues.

Alrighty, hope you enjoyed the piece and I hope some of these starting pitcher picks change your life forever and ever, for the better. So long!



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Chase Elliott14 mins ago

May Be A Sneaky DFS Option For Las Vegas Lineups
Artemi Panarin16 mins ago

Extends Point Streak To Eight Games
Pyotr Kochetkov22 mins ago

Shuts The Door On Saturday
William Byron23 mins ago

Expect William Byron To Compete For The Win At Las Vegas
Tyler Reddick28 mins ago

Is One Of The Top DFS Options For Las Vegas
Anthony Cirelli30 mins ago

Strikes Twice On Saturday
Denny Hamlin35 mins ago

Could Denny Hamlin Be A Quality Driver For DFS At Las Vegas?
Alex Ovechkin35 mins ago

Scores Goal, Adds Assist In Victory
Connor Dewar44 mins ago

Scores Twice On Saturday
NASCAR46 mins ago

Bubba Wallace Could Be A Solid DFS Option For Las Vegas
Brad Keselowski55 mins ago

Qualifies Deep In The Field For Las Vegas
Erik Jones1 hour ago

Is Erik Jones Worth Rostering At Las Vegas This Week?
Daniel Suarez1 hour ago

Should Fantasy Players Roster Daniel Suarez At Las Vegas?
Carson Hocevar1 hour ago

Showcases Speed And Can Be Worth Rostering At Las Vegas
Ryan Preece2 hours ago

Is Ryan Preece A DFS Fade For Las Vegas Lineups?
Joey Logano2 hours ago

Likely to Lead at Las Vegas, but Will He Lead Enough for DFS Consideration?
Michael McDowell2 hours ago

Wins Spire Motorsports's First Pole at Las Vegas
Austin Cindric2 hours ago

Qualified Third, but Almost Guaranteed to Lose Spots
Chase Briscoe2 hours ago

Las Vegas Performance Hard to Predict
Ty Gibbs2 hours ago

a Solid DFS Option in Theory, but Disastrous Recent Performance Likely Overrides That
Shane Van Gisbergen3 hours ago

Too Inexperienced at Las Vegas for DFS Consideration Despite Trackhouse Speed
Noah Gragson3 hours ago

Finished Well at Las Vegas Last Year, but Ran Worse
Austin Dillon3 hours ago

Decent at Las Vegas, but Not Worthy of DFS Play
Josh Berry3 hours ago

Poor Intermediate Record Likely to Override Strong Qualifying Result
Justin Haley3 hours ago

Spire Speed Suggests Justin Haley Is a Strong DFS Option
Cole Custer3 hours ago

Could be Valuable If Haas Has Intermediate Speed
Mitch Garver9 hours ago

Goes Hitless In Return To Cactus League Action
Austin Riley9 hours ago

Doubles In Return To Lineup On Saturday
Jordan Mason9 hours ago

Vikings Acquire Jordan Mason From 49ers, Sign Him To Two-Year Deal
RJ Barrett10 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Sunday
Immanuel Quickley10 hours ago

Won't Play On Sunday
Jerami Grant11 hours ago

Unlikely To Play On Sunday
Marcus Smart11 hours ago

Downgraded To Out
Anfernee Simons11 hours ago

Tagged As Questionable For Sunday
Christian Braun11 hours ago

Available On Saturday
Aaron Gordon11 hours ago

Unavailable On Saturday
Jamal Murray11 hours ago

Will Play On Saturday Night
Nikola Jokić11 hours ago

Nikola Jokic Cleared To Suit Up Versus The Wizards
Colby Thomas12 hours ago

Sustains Injury On Saturday
Dee Eskridge12 hours ago

Sticking With Dolphins
Josh Giddey12 hours ago

Officially Out On Saturday Night
Ja Morant12 hours ago

Ruled Out On Saturday Night
JuJu Smith-Schuster12 hours ago

Returning To Chiefs
Josh Rojas12 hours ago

Exits Early On Saturday
Tennessee Titans12 hours ago

Chidobe Awuzie Released By Titans
Thairo Estrada12 hours ago

Removed From Saturday's Contest
Damian Lillard12 hours ago

Available Versus Indiana
Parris Campbell12 hours ago

Headed To Dallas
Nick Kurtz13 hours ago

Exits After Hit-By-Pitch
Giannis Antetokounmpo13 hours ago

Good To Go On Saturday
Jamal Murray13 hours ago

Added To Saturday's Injury Report
Jiri Kulich13 hours ago

Sustains An Upper-Body Injury Saturday
Tobias Myers13 hours ago

Exits Early On Saturday
Brice Turang13 hours ago

Dealing With Shoulder Fatigue
Tyler Myers13 hours ago

Set To Return Against Blackhawks
Nikita Kucherov13 hours ago

Good To Go Against Bruins
Yegor Chinakhov13 hours ago

Rejoins Blue Jackets Lineup Saturday
Cole Anthony13 hours ago

Back On The Injury Report
Joel Armia13 hours ago

Expected To Return On Saturday
Brady Tkachuk13 hours ago

Available Saturday
Donovan Mitchell13 hours ago

Questionable Against Orlando
Adam Fox14 hours ago

Ready To Rejoin Rangers Lineup
Andre Drummond14 hours ago

Out Against Dallas
Ja Morant14 hours ago

Questionable On Saturday Night
P.J. Washington14 hours ago

Returning On Sunday
Philadelphia Eagles17 hours ago

Patrick Johnson Rejoins Philadelphia
Dante Exum17 hours ago

Diagnosed With A Fractured Left Hand
Los Angeles Rams17 hours ago

Larrell Murchison Back With The Rams
Amed Rosario17 hours ago

Returning On Saturday
Cam Thomas17 hours ago

Expected To Miss Rest Of The Season
Jose Trevino17 hours ago

Going For CT Scan
Kirk Cousins17 hours ago

Set To Receive Roster Bonus
Bryce Eldridge17 hours ago

Will Not Play On Saturday
Aaron Rodgers17 hours ago

Wants To Play In Minnesota
Blake Perkins17 hours ago

Cleared For Light Baseball Activities
Doug Nikhazy18 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Jung Hoo Lee18 hours ago

Scratched On Saturday With Back Tightness
Cody Bradford18 hours ago

Won't Throw For At Least Four Weeks
Colorado Rockies18 hours ago

Charlie Condon Out At Least Six Weeks With Broken Wrist
Bryce Miller18 hours ago

Ironing Out The Kinks In Spring Training
Logan Gilbert18 hours ago

Named Opening Day Starter
Mookie Betts18 hours ago

Missing Tokyo Exhibition Games Due To Illness
Jesús Sánchez18 hours ago

Jesus Sanchez To Miss Four Weeks With Oblique Strain
Jon Gray19 hours ago

Has A Fractured Right Wrist
Washington Commanders19 hours ago

Clelin Ferrell Returning To Washington
New York Jets19 hours ago

Kris Boyd Signs With The Jets
Los Angeles Chargers19 hours ago

Mekhi Becton Inks Deal With Chargers
Tyler Johnson19 hours ago

Links Up With Jets
Kyle Juszczyk20 hours ago

Returns To 49ers
Eeli Tolvanen1 day ago

Scores Twice In Victory
WPG1 day ago

Kyle Connor Strikes Twice On Friday
Jack Roslovic1 day ago

Tallies Goal, Assist In Friday's Victory
Leon Draisaitl1 day ago

Leads Edmonton To Victory
Liam O'Brien1 day ago

Exits With Undisclosed Injury
Josh Manson1 day ago

Exits On Friday
Atlanta Falcons1 day ago

Falcons Agree To Terms With Morgan Fox
Indianapolis Colts1 day ago

Colts Sign Corey Ballentine To One-Year Deal On Friday
Pittsburgh Steelers1 day ago

Brandin Echols Signs Two-Year Deal With Steelers
Kenny Yeboah1 day ago

Signs One-Year Deal With Lions
Avery Williams1 day ago

Signs With Eagles
Kene Nwangwu1 day ago

Jets Re-Sign Kene Nwangwu To One-Year Deal
Simi Fehoko2 days ago

Signing With Cardinals
Karel Vejmelka2 days ago

Makes Ninth Consecutive Start Friday
Dustin Wolf2 days ago

Set To Face Avalanche Friday
Mikael Backlund2 days ago

Out Week-To-Week
Roman Dolidze2 days ago

Set For A Rematch
Marvin Vettori2 days ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Chidi Njokuani2 days ago

Looks For His Third Win In A Row
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos2 days ago

Looks For His 12th UFC Win
Kurt Holobaugh2 days ago

An Underdog At UFC Vegas 104
Alexander Hernandez2 days ago

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Cody Gibson2 days ago

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Da'Mon Blackshear2 days ago

A Favorite At UFC Vegas 104
Brendson Ribeiro2 days ago

Searching For Second UFC Win On Saturday
Diyar Nurgozhay2 days ago

Set To Make His UFC Debut
MMA2 days ago

Seung Woo Choi In Dire Need Of Victory
Kevin Vallejos2 days ago

Makes Debut At UFC Vegas 104
Jacob Bridgeman4 days ago

Use Caution For Jacob Bridgeman At TPC Sawgrass
Nicolai Hojgaard4 days ago

Looks To Stay Consistent Heading Into PLAYERS Championship
Karl Vilips4 days ago

Makes PLAYERS Championship Debut After First PGA Tour Win
Taylor Pendrith4 days ago

A Sneaky Play At TPC Sawgrass
Sahith Theegala4 days ago

Out Of Form Ahead Of The PLAYERS Championship
Matt Fitzpatrick4 days ago

A Shaky Play Heading Into PLAYERS
Scottie Scheffler4 days ago

Eyeing Three-Peat At TPC Sawgrass
Aldrich Potgieter4 days ago

A Risky Play At TPC Sawgrass
Si Woo Kim4 days ago

Looks To Keep Building Momentum At The PLAYERS
Denny McCarthy4 days ago

Looks To Continue Solid Play At TPC Sawgrass
Collin Morikawa4 days ago

Poised For Another Strong Performance At TPC Sawgrass
Robert MacIntyre4 days ago

A Risky Play With Upside At The PLAYERS Championship
Jordan Spieth4 days ago

Looking To Change Fortunes At TPC Sawgrass
Cameron Young4 days ago

Avoid Cameron Young At The PLAYERS Championship
Michael Kim4 days ago

Continues Incredible Form Ahead Of The PLAYERS Championship
Justin Thomas4 days ago

Looking For More Magic At TPC Sawgrass
Xander Schauffele4 days ago

Continues Competitive Return At The Players Championship
Rory McIlroy4 days ago

Looks To Reverse Recent History At TPC Sawgrass
PGA4 days ago

Victor Hovland Looking To Find Form At The PLAYERS Championship
Brian Harman4 days ago

A Sleeper Pick At The PLAYERS Championship
Min Woo Lee5 days ago

A Hard Name To Trust At The Players Championship
Alex Pereira6 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC 313
Magomed Ankalaev6 days ago

Becomes The New UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion
Justin Gaethje6 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Rafael Fiziev6 days ago

Loses Third Fight In A Row
Ignacio Bahamondes6 days ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC 313
Jalin Turner6 days ago

Retires After UFC 313 Loss
Iasmin Lucindo6 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 313
Amanda Lemos6 days ago

Dominates At UFC 313
King Green6 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC 313
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF