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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 17 (July 15 - July 21). 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.
One thing I would like for all readers to consider: the bottom part of your roster, especially in deeper leagues, should see some churn. That means that the last two or three players on your roster should frequently be moved out for better players, or at least, for players with upside or favorable matchups.
Every player on my list has a flaw. It could be low strikeout rates; it could be a walk rate that is too high. But every player listed here can provide some level of benefit to your fantasy team. I look for 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.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo!
Sean Manaea, New York Mets (rostered in 50% of leagues)
Manaea just gets in under the threshold of 50%, but that still qualifies here for our exercise. The veteran lefty has pitched at least six innings in his last three starts. While only earning one win, he has 20 strikeouts covering 20 innings in those outings. Manaea now has six wins, a 3.46 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts in 96 innings. This is a helpful piece for rotations in deeper leagues. Note Manaea's pitch mix change below. Most noticeably, the sinker usage moved way up, and the four-seamer usage moved way down. It's working for him so far.
Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays (rostered in 49% of leagues)
Kikuchi is a bit of a lightning rod in fantasy baseball circles, but his last two starts have been terrific. He has thrown 13 innings in his last two starts, striking out 18, including a whopping 13 in his last start against the San Francisco Giants last week. On the season, the veteran has four wins, a 4.00 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and 111 strikeouts in 101 innings. Kikuchi should be cheap at this time based on his horrendous June and can help you at the very least with strikeouts.
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs (rostered in 48% of leagues)
Lost in the Cubs' messy season has been the resurgence of Taillon. Taillon has won three of his last four starts, pitching at least six innings in six consecutive starts as well. He now has six wins, a 2.99 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, but only 72 strikeouts in 87 innings. While every pitcher in this article has a flaw, consider that in his last four outings, Taillon has 10, five, seven, and seven strikeouts. He should be rostered far more often than he is in most leagues. Note the summary of Taillon's June and his first two starts in July below.
Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs (rostered in 39% of leagues)
Assad returned from an injured list stay to pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. He did not pitch well, only getting into the third inning before being knocked out of the box. He still has four wins on the season, with a 3.04 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, with 79 strikeouts in 83 innings before tonight's debacle. Assad should be rostered in far more leagues, despite the poor results tonight.
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered less than 30% on Yahoo!
Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers (rostered in 27% of leagues)
Heaney's 3-10 record hides that he has a useful 3.79 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 97 strikeouts in 95 innings. Yes, Heaney will likely be sent to the bullpen when Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle are back on the roster later this summer. But he is a useful piece despite the lack of wins. Below, notice the high chase percentage and whiff percentage. The swing-and-miss stuff still exists here.
Christian Scott, New York Mets (rostered in 27% of leagues)
Scott is getting another crack in the rotation for the Mets. Three of his last four starts have been good ones, pitching at least five innings with decent peripherals. The strikeouts are not there at this time, but Scott should have a long runway this time. In his last start, he allowed just one hit and a walk, but both hurt him. After he walked a hitter, Oneil Cruz took him deep, and he did not factor into the decision later. This is more of a play for later in the season.
Jose Quintana, New York Mets (rostered in 25% of leagues)
Talk about a guy who gets no fantasy love. Quintana has pitched at least six innings in four of his last five starts and has won three of them. The strikeout rate is always in question. There are times Quintana has gotten six or seven of them, and times where he has only gotten one. Yet often, he is a good ratio stabilizer, with a 3.91 ERA and 1.26 WHIP to his credit in 2024.
Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves (rostered in 21% of leagues)
The rookie Schwellenbach has been good in his last two outings, covering 13 innings with nine strikeouts and earning two wins in the process. He now has three wins and a 4.43 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 41 innings. It looks like he might be figuring some things out. This is a skill set worth rostering.
Yariel Rodriguez, Toronto Blue Jays (rostered in 21% of leagues)
There was quite a bit of hype around the highly-touted Rodriguez, but he was unable to give the Blue Jays any depth in games early on and then was injured. However, Rodriguez has looked like a different guy in his last three starts, getting 19 strikeouts in 16 innings and earning a win. Rodriguez has great upside with his strikeout rate, but he also walks batters at a 12.6% clip, which is clearly the downside. However, if you are looking for strikeouts, Rodriguez could be a good addition to your fantasy roster.
Other Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Options
- Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins (rostered in 17% of leagues)
- Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels (rostered in 6% of leagues)
- Luis L. Ortiz, Pittsburgh Pirates (rostered in 11% of leagues)
Happy hunting for starting pitchers this weekend! If you have questions, you can always message me on X @mdrc0508. You can even tell me you hate these picks. Remember that fantasy baseball is supposed to be FUN above everything. Enjoy it!
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