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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 13 of the fantasy baseball season (June 19 - June 26). My name is Nick Shlain, and it's week two of me filling in for Jon Anderson on this article.
With just three weeks until the MLB All-Star break, the baseball season is flying by. With that being said, there's still plenty of time to make up ground in the fantasy standings and upgrade your rosters for a playoff run. We're looking to make up some of that ground on the mound here.
Today we'll be taking a look at some promising recent prospect call-ups, some veterans arms who may be improving, and the best pitcher still in the minor leagues to stash to help fantasy managers. Good luck on the waiver wire this week!
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size
Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners (55% Rostered)
Woo is now three starts into his major league career and looks promising after a rough first outing. He had a tough matchup in his debut facing Texas on the road and allowed six earned runs in two innings, but he's been impressive in his last two games. Against the Angels, he struck out seven batters in 4.2 innings while allowing just two earned runs.
In his last start, Woo beat the White Sox while striking out nine batters and allowing only two earned runs in 5.2 innings. While he still has a 7.20 ERA because of the bad debut outing against Texas, his xFIP is 2.31 showing that his skills are much better than that.
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins (47% Rostered)
Quite frankly, I have no idea how Garrett's rostership is still this low. He has struck out at least six batters in seven of his last eight starts. He has a 3.88 ERA on the season, but his xFIP is significantly lower at 2.93 showing there's still room for him to get better. Garrett has a 48% ground ball percentage this season as well.
This one is simple, Garrett gets a lot of strikeouts and ground balls. He should be rostered in all leagues as far as I'm concerned. The only real drawback with Garrett is that he pitches for the Marlins so it's tough for him to win games. He's won just three of his 13 starts, but two of those victories have come in his last three starts.
Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies (43% Rostered)
I recommended Walker last week and wrote that he should only be used in good matchups, but I'm starting to rethink that stance. While he has taken advantage of some soft matchups against Oakland and Detroit, he also shutout the Dodgers for five innings two starts ago and recorded a quality start against the Braves at the end of May.
While Walker has a 4.42 xFIP overall this season and that might be more indicative of his talent level, he has a 1.75 ERA over his last six starts. I think we at least have to ride the hot hand while he's hot like this.
Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees (26% Rostered)
Schmidt has been very steady for the Yankees recently. He hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last five starts. On the season he has a solid 3.92 xFIP, which is much better than his 4.70 ERA.
Schmidt is like a worse version of Braxton Garrett. He has a 24% strikeout percentage and 46% ground ball percentage, but also struggles to win games. Schmidt has won only two of his 14 starts this season.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for deeper leagues
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles (32% Rostered)
Kremer is the opposite of the Braxton Garrett type of pitcher this year. His strikeout percentage is only 19% and his ground ball percentage also leaves much to be desired at 36%. However, he doesn't walk many batters (5% walk percentage) and gets a lot of run support from the Baltimore offense which translates into him winning games.
Kremer has recorded seven wins this season including victories in two of his last three starts. Kremer has also struck out at least five batters in each of his last five starts.
Louie Varland, Minnesota Twins (25% Rostered)
Varland makes for a good short term pickup in deeper leagues where you need a starter this week. Varland will face the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park and pitching matchups don't get much better than that this season. Detroit is in the bottom third of the league averaging just 4.12 runs per game at home this season.
Varland has struck out at least five batters in each of his last three starts and has a 3.95 xFIP in the major leagues this season. He could lose his spot in the rotation next week when Kenta Maeda returns, though.
Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs (17% Rostered)
Hendricks has only made five starts since returning at the end of May, but it looks like he's up to his old tricks again. He's allowed two earned runs at most in three of his last four starts and has a 3.18 ERA overall. Hendricks had a near no-hitter against the Giants where he completed eight innings and allowed only one hit.
He's completed six innings in just one of his other starts as he eases his way back into the rotation. Hendricks has only struck out 16 batters in 28 innings, but he also has two wins already.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Stashes
Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles (31% Rostered)
I recommended Rodriguez last week and he's still in the minors for now so he's only an option if you have room to stash him on your fantasy bench. As one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball it's still merely a matter of time before he's recalled to the major leagues.
Some expect the Orioles to trade for starting pitching as we approach the trade deadline. While that still could happen, it makes sense to give Rodriguez another try in the rotation before the end of July. Once the Orioles decide Rodriguez is ready to be back in the rotation, he should be rostered in all leagues.
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