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We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax.
Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform, so we'll make sure to highlight where players are the best and worst fits. We know points league players get neglected and we're here to help with all of the best streams for the week.
These fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups are for the week of May 9 - May 15, looking at players below ~50% rostered for ESPN, Yahoo!, or Fantrax. Rankings are calculated using games through Saturday, May 7.
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Know Your Scoring System
You know what I'm going to say, right? You must account for, as precisely as possible, how a player performs under your particular scoring system. Don't be fooled into believing you can just make rough adjustments in your head, bumping up guys with high on-base percentages and low strikeout rates. Every point, in every category, counts.
For example, ESPN and Fantrax are virtually identical in their scoring for hitters and roster size. The only difference is that stolen bases are worth one more point on Fantrax and ESPN subtracts one point per strikeout. That's the difference between Trea Turner being a top-five hitter versus a top-25 hitter.
If your league uses standard settings, then great! Turn to page 94 and you can skip ahead to the leaderboards. If you play with custom settings, it'll still be fine. Go back to page 43 and look below at the scoring systems of the four major platforms. I bet there's a chance that you'll find that your league's scoring is very similar to one of the four (well, not Yahoo!'s), even if it's not the platform you actually play on.
If you look above, you'll likely find a suitable mirror to your own system. While every point counts, as long as they aren't seismic changes, you can get away with some "close enough" calls. IE. If everything is the same except for HBP (or something similar), you're probably fine.
Waiver Wire Leaderboards
In addition to our overall waiver wire leaderboards, once we're deep enough into the season, we'll also start doing a 21-day leaderboard as well, giving us a window into recent production. All charts are updated prior to Saturday's games, on stats and ownerships, and clicking on a chart will open a new page with a magnified version.
*APR = Average Platform Ranking - the average platform ranking between ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, and Fantrax (standard point settings)
Updates: Chris Paddack was injured in his Sunday start, Michael Wacha has hit the IL, and Dylan Bundy got shipped to the COVID-IL
Two-Start Pitcher Waiver Wire Options
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire - The Great
Bruce Zimmermann, BAL (@ DET) - He may not get that deep in the game but it is far past time to show Zimmerman some waiver wire love. He now has a 2.59 ERA (2.79 FIP) over five starts and 24.1 IP, facing a Detroit team on the road that has been middling overall vs LHP in 2022 (15th in wOBA), with a K% that is the 6th-highest.
Martin Perez, TEX (vs KC) - I feel like Martin Perez is always trying to lure me in but a 2.25 ERA (2.83 FIP) after allowing just one total run over his past three starts is enough to trap me, I suppose. Particularly because he'll be facing a Royals team that has posted a bottom-five wOBA vs LHP.
Glenn Otto Jr., TEX (vs KC) - Otto time, baby. Part of the booty from trading Joey Gallo, Otto has a juicy matchup versus Royals (26th in wOBA vs RHP) on the horizon.
Sweet lord, are those really the best options for "The Great" this week? Tut-tut-tut.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire - The Good
Tyler Anderson, LAD (@ PIT) - After being a bulk-follower to start the season, Anderson has ascended to the Dodger rotation proper, with him and his seam-shifted cutter leading him to a 2.78 ERA (3.21 FIP) over 22.2 IP. He lines up for a start against the Pittsburgh punching bags, who have a bottom-10 wOBA vs RHP.
Madison Bumgarner, ARI (vs MIA) - The 1.50 ERA of the Bumgarnessaince isn't quite as good as it seems, as it's backed by a 4.83 FIP. But while regression may be coming soon, he has a good chance to keep things rolling against a Marlins team that has a bottom-10 wOBA vs LHP and the highest strikeout rate in baseball.
Jameson Taillon, NYY (vs TOR, @ CHW) - The White Sox continues to be a soft offense vs RHP (27th in wOBA) but a matchup with Toronto isn't ideal, even as the offense has seen some struggles in April.
Brad Keller, KC (@ TEX, @ COL) - There's no chance I'm starting him in Colorado but Keller sets up really well for a start against a Texas team that's posted the second-worst wOBA vs RHP.
Michael Pineda, DET (vs OAK, vs BAL) - Five innings might be his ceiling but Pineda gets a so-so offense in the BAL (17th in wOBA, 20th in K% vs RHP) and a cellar dweller in Oakland. Cellar of the standings but also bottom of the heap vs RHP - The A's have the worst wOBA, highest K%, and lowest BB% against them.
Dane Dunning, TEX (@ NYY, vs KC) - Dunning is coming off of his best start of the young season (7.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 K) but a start against the Yankees (5th-highest wOBA vs RHP) looks less than ideal. However, the second part of the double-tap is a lot more appealing, facing a Royals offense that has the 4th-worst wOBA against righties.
Drew Smyly, ATL (@ ARI) - Smyly has bounced back strong so far in 2022 and a matchup with Arizona (29th in wOBA vs LHP) is a good way to stay in good graces.
Nick Martinez, SD (vs CHC) - Martinez just keeps trucking along in his return from across the sea, coming off a win against Miami, allowing just 1 ER in 7 IP. The Cubs have been average versus RHP but have posted a bottom-five K% against them.
Nick Pivetta, BOS (@ TEX) - We got the good Pivetta last time out against the White Sox (6 IP, 0 ER, 8 K) and he'll face a Texas team that has posted baseball's second-worst wOBA vs RHP. Just be aware that the gas can can get trotted out any time, any place.
Zach Thompson, PIT (vs CIN) - He didn't get the win but Thompson looked sharp facing this same Cincinnati team on Sunday, pitching five shutout innings and striking out six. Seriously, the Reds are awful.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire - The Meh
Alex Cobb, SF (vs COL) - Cobb was excellent in his second start back from the IL after lasting less than an inning (5 R, 1 ER) in his return against Washington on May 1. The Rockies aren't world-beaters but also nothing like what we saw in 2021, currently sitting ahead of the Giants in the NL West even without Trevor Story. And the offense has been handling RHP, with top-10 rates in wOBA and K% against them so far in 2022.
Steven Matz, STL (vs BAL) - Matz got rocked by the Giants in his last start (2 IP, 8 ER) and faces a Baltimore team that has a bottom-10 strikeout rate vs LHP. He's been alternating good starts with bad so hopefully, the pattern continues. But Baltimore has some firepower that's been heating up so this is definitely one to be careful with.
Yusei Kikuchi, SEA (@ NYY) - Kikuchi turned in his best outing of the season against these same Yankees in his last time out (6 IP, 1 ER, 7 K) but the matchup will be in the much less friendly confines of Yankees Stadium, with New York sporting a top-5 wOBA vs LHP.
Aaron Civale, CLE (@ CHW) - Don't be fooled by the 8 K in his last outing versus Toronto, Civale still has a 9.45 ERA over five starts and faces a White Sox squad that has the 4th-lowest K% vs RHP in baseball. Civale's four-seam and sinker are both down a tick in velocity from 2022, with his secondaries also seeing dips across the board. Tick-Tick-Tick.
Jon Gray, TEX (vs BOS) - Gray gets a matchup with a Boston offense that has been subpar vs RHP but only last 3 IP in his return from the IL against the Phillies. Putting the matchup aside, it's hard to count on him for even five innings.
Austin Gomber, COL (@ SF, vs KC) - Gomber has a 3.58 ERA over 27 IP for the season but this is a tricky two-step as he gets the better offense on the road and the worse one in the thin air of Colorado.
Patrick Corbin, WSH (vs NYM, vs HOU) - Corbin has an ugly 7.16 ERA but a 3.30 FIP speaks a lot higher of the skills. The Mets (22nd in wOBA) and the Astros (19th in wOBA) have been middling versus LHP but there are too many good hitters on their squads to feel comfortable about starting the king of allowing 5+ ER.
Jake Odorizzi, HOU (@ WSH) - Odorizzi has been sharp in his last two outings, allowing just 1 ER and 5 BB over 12.2 IP but Washington has a top-10 wOBA and K% vs RHP in 2022.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire - The Ugly
Marco Gonzales, SEA (@ NYM) - This might seem like a decent matchup on paper as the Mets have struggled vs LHP, running the 8th-worst wOBA against them. And Gonzales hasn't been awful since returning from the IL, posting a 3.97 ERA over 11.1 IP in the two starts. But the 8.73 FIP in those starts (and the 7.15 FIP for the season) are making me feel like
Rich Hill, BOS (@ TEX) - Speaking of traps, Hill and his 2.86 ERA (3.81 FIP) have a matchup with a Texas team that has a top-five wOBA and K% vs LHP. I wish you luck in this endeavor.
Hunter Greene, CIN (vs MIL) - He might be able to throw his fastball through a brick wall but Greene has been getting hammered, running an 8.71 ERA over five starts, most recently allowing 8 ER in 2.2 IP in a loss to Milwaukee. Greene will face those same Brewers at home this week. No thank you.
Chris Archer, MIN (vs HOU) - Archer has a 3.26 ERA over his first five starts but a 5.77 FIP (and a limited arsenal) would make me re-eeal cautious about buying in against Houston's firepower.
Reid Detmers, LAA (vs TB) - The rookie lefthander has turned in some decent outings but you don't want any piece of him facing a Rays team that has the 6th-highest wOBA and 4th-lowest K% against them.
Elieser Hernandez, MIA (@ ARI, vs MIL) - Streaming starts against Arizona is generally a good idea but Hernandez has a 5.32 ERA (4.44 FIP) for the season, and starting him against the Brewers in the second start would be downright masochistic.
Carlos Hernandez, KC (@ TEX) - The Rangers aren't very good vs RHP but Hernandez (and his 6.00 ERA) isn't very good against anyone.
Dallas Keuchel, CHW (vs NYY) - Pray to your gods that your opponents try to stream Keuchel (8.40 ERA, 2.33 FIP) against a Yankee offense that is 4th in wOBA vs LHP.
Relief Pitchers Waiver Wire
Unless you're in a very deep league and/or have a lot of dedicated RP-only slots, most of the relievers you're going to want are the ones who are closers, have a chance to close, or elite setup guys. But I do mean elite because most scoring structures are weighted in a way that relievers almost necessarily have to get saves in order to be valuable. Although, long relievers whose usage you can reliably predict, can be useful in leagues with daily moves. But for a majority of leagues, sticking to closers is the way to go.
With that in mind, here are the best relievers on the wire for Week 5, ordered by Yahoo roster%:
Closers (and co-Closers) on the Wire
Lucas Sims, CIN - He's probably the closer? To truly know would require Cincinnati to actually get themselves into a Save situation. Sims last pitched on Saturday, picking up the win, striking out three but allowing two hits and a walk. In his previous appearance, he was blown up for 5 ER in 0.2 IP.
Josh Staumont, KC - He might be in line for some Saves but hasn't gotten one since April 19 and neither he nor Scott Barlow, have made an appearance in the past week.
Anthony Bender, MIA - Bender has the job to himself but the Marlins don't offer a lot of opportunities. He did get one on Wednesday but blew it.
Jhoan Duran/Emilio Pagan, MIN - Duran converted both of his Save opportunities this week, as Pagan did his one. They'll probably continue to be mix-and-matched but make no mistake about it; Duran has the stuff to be an elite closer.
Lou Trivino, OAK - Trivino returned from the IL on Tuesday and promptly got blown up, allowing 4 ER in 0.2 IP. Dany Jimenez performed well while Trivino was out with COVID so if he does struggle the situation might become more fluid on one of baseball's worst teams.
Chris Stratton, PIT - Stratton will still get opportunities but it's been David Bednar getting the last call lately, picking up two Saves this week with Stratton getting a pair of Holds.
Joe Barlow, TEX - Barlow appears to have seized the job, for the time being, picking up Saves on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ryan Helsley, STL - Helsley only has one Save on the season, picking up one in a two-inning outing week before last. Giovanny Gallegos still looks to be the main guy but Helsely has been too damn good to ignore. In 10 IP, Helsley has a 0.00 ERA (-0.92 FIP!) with an absolutely outrageous 64.5% K%.
Nothing has changed in the past month:
Committees on the Wire
Boston Red Sox - Welcome to Blown Save Land, with Hansel Robles, Jake Diekman, and Austin Davis all blowing one this past week.
Seattle Mariners - Paul Sewald got Seattle's only Save chance this week, blowing it, while Diego Castillo (two appearances) and Andres Munoz should remain in the mix.
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