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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 8 (May 13 - May 19). 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, especially for streaming.
Last week, we recommended some starting pitchers to scoop up whose rostership was lower than they should be. For those of you in deeper leagues, we will split that into another section, looking at starting pitchers rostered in less than 30% of Yahoo! leagues. We also look at pitchers beyond this coming week and look for tasty matchups a bit further down the road. One consideration for many fantasy players is that the bottom portion of your roster in deeper fantasy leagues should be churned frequently. That means you are playing matchups, and looking for pitchers who can exploit weak-hitting teams. Start anybody pitching against the following teams: the Chicago White Sox, the Miami Marlins, and the Colorado Rockies.
Another caveat here: you are unlikely to find guys on the waiver wire that will strike out tons of hitters or be extremely exciting in most instances. What I look for are guys who can contribute to my bottom lines: a win perhaps (although chasing them is foolish and tricky), while not destroying my carefully manicured ratios. Keep your expectations modest; think do no harm and hope for the best. Let's get after it.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo!
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles (rostered in 41% of leagues)
Kremer continues to get very little love in the fantasy community. I get it to an extent: he doesn't have the strikeouts you hope for in a starter, and people get worked up about peripherals. But let's look at what he does well. He wins, with three consecutive starts ending in wins. He's got 20 strikeouts in 18 innings in those starts. Kremer also has a 3.57 ERA and 0.97 WHIP to go with his recent excellent streak. Some guys always pitch better than what their numbers show. Check out the stats below, specifically looking at his ERA versus his xERA. The K% ticks up a bit, while the BB% remains steady. Kremer is a great filler for the end of your rotation. Why is he rostered in only 41% of leagues?
Cole Irvin, Baltimore Orioles (rostered in 37% of leagues)
Similar to his Baltimore teammate Kremer, Irvin is another pitcher fantasy players seem to shy away from. However, he's got four wins on the season to go along with a tidy 2.90 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Okay, the strikeouts are middling, with 28 in 40 innings. But he's won four straight starts and has a 1.19 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP in his last five outings. He gets the Toronto Blue Jays this coming week. Irvin is a guy you can use amidst his recent hot stretch and then spot-start the rest of the season. See his varied pitch mix below.
Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays (rostered in 37% of leagues)
Coming off a pectoral strain, nobody knew what to expect of Bradley in his first major league start this weekend, especially against the New York Yankees. Bradley was excellent, giving up one run in six innings on four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. He gets the Boston Red Sox this week. This could be your last chance to get Bradley on the cheap.
James Paxton, Los Angeles Dodgers (rostered in 34% of leagues)
Did you know that Paxton has five wins? I didn't either. He's run off three wins in a row, pitching at least five innings in all three games. He's seriously lacking in strikeouts, with only 22 in 38 innings this year. But he's been limiting damage because he remains adept at limiting hard contact. People might look at the walk percentage and be scared away, but a deeper dive shows that he had eight walks in one horrific outing earlier in the year. Some regression might be due, but ride him for now. He gets the Cincinnati Reds at home this week.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for deeper leagues rostered between 30% or less on Yahoo!
Simeon Woods Richardson, Minnesota Twins (rostered in 25% of leagues)
Woods Richardson was not good on Saturday, only getting 13 outs and giving up five runs with just two strikeouts. This represents a buying opportunity for you. Woods Richardson gets the suddenly struggling Cleveland Guardians this coming week and should bounce back. The following week, he gets the Washington Nationals. He has a 3.24 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts in 25 innings this season. This is the way of the world with young pitchers sometimes.
Frankie Montas, Cincinnati Reds (rostered in 25% of leagues)
Montas has two wins to go along with a 3.55 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in 25 innings. Doesn't it feel as if he's a forgotten man for fantasy purposes? Montas came off the IL last week after a forearm contusion and pitched well against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing only one earned run, four hits, and a walk around seven strikeouts. If you are looking for back-end help, consider Montas for your rotation.
Cooper Criswell, Boston Red Sox (rostered in 16% of leagues)
Criswell is the rare pitcher who got away from Tampa Bay and actually improved. In five starts this year, Criswell has two wins, a 2.10 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts in 25 innings. On Saturday afternoon, he continued his recent performance with five innings and nine strikeouts against the Washington Nationals, surrendering only two runs. Keep in mind that with Criswell transitioning from the bullpen, manager Alex Cora is watching his pitch count, and he's yet to pitch past the fifth inning or throw more than 80 pitches in a game. He gets two consecutive starts against the Tampa Bay Rays next. Criswell is an interesting guy to think about adding.
Patrick Sandoval, Los Angeles Angels (rostered in 8% of leagues)
It seems like fantasy players are always looking for the next level for Sandoval, and his last two outings (granted, small sample size) give us hope. The lefty has gone 12 innings and whiffed 17 hitters. This gives him 45 strikeouts in 39 innings. The other stats don't look so hot: a 4.85 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. Egads! But Sandoval is showing the highest K% of his career at 26% and has shaved the walk rate to under 10%. His xERA is 3.44. Take a look under the hood below, and see what you think. A higher K rate coupled with an improving groundball rate has me intrigued.
Other Waiver Wire Options
- Alec Marsh, Kansas City Royals (rostered in 16% of leagues)
- Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers (rostered in 16% of leagues)
- Robert Gasser, Milwaukee Brewers (rostered in 8% of leagues)
Happy hunting for starting pitchers this weekend! If you have questions you can always message me @mdrc0508. You can even tell me you hate these picks. Remember fantasy baseball is supposed to be FUN above everything. Enjoy it!
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