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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 4 (April 15 - April 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.
Last week, we recommended some starting pitchers to scoop up that were lower rostered 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 not likely going 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
Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals (rostered in 45% of leagues)
I have written about Gore before and it seems no one is taking that advice...you must have talked to my wife who will tell you I give lousy advice! Here's the thing on Gore: in both starts this season, he has pitched into the sixth inning and struck out six batters in each game.
High pitch counts and inefficiency remain part of the mix, which limits his innings, but he has been limiting the damage thus far and gets starts against the struggling Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros next. Now might be a good time to grab Gore if you are looking for some possible upside. Take a deeper dive into Gore below.
Max Meyer, Miami Marlins (rostered in 45% of leagues)
Meyer is a young starter and the struggles could be very real for him early on. Against the St. Louis Cardinals in his last start, Meyer retired the first 13 hitters he faced, going six innings, but only struck out three hitters.
The Marlins have been besieged with pitching injuries but it appears that Meyer has performed well enough to stay in the rotation at this point. Meyer has tough matchups with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves coming up next but follows those with outings against Washington and Oakland. Get him now.
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies (rostered in 43% of leagues)
Doesn't Suarez seem to always fly under the radar in Philly? Maybe it's because he resides in a rotation behind the sterling Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. Suarez is an excellent starter rostered in far too few leagues. He has started three games this season, completing six frames in two of them. In those three games, he has seven, four, and eight strikeouts.
What I like most are starters who limit self-inflicted damage, and Suarez has allowed only three walks in 17 innings in 2024. Of course, this is a small sample size, but a reduction in walk rate coupled with an increase in strikeout rate raises my interest. Suarez gets the Colorado Rockies and the Cincinnati Reds next. The Statcast page is blood red so far. Strike while you can.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for deeper leagues rostered between 30% or less on Yahoo
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles (rostered in 29% of leagues)
Guys like Kremer always seem to float on the waiver wire, but I think this is a valuable guy on most fantasy rosters. Kremer went seven innings in his last start at Pittsburgh, striking out six and surrendering only one run. Last season, Kremer threw 172 innings (that surprised me too) and brought in a 4.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, and 157 strikeouts.
This is the prototypical rotation filler at the back end that doesn't harm your precious ratios. Kremer gets the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals next. Those can be tough matchups but this guy will compete for you.
Dane Dunning, Texas Rangers (rostered in 23% of leagues)
When the Chicago White Sox traded a young Dunning for fading veteran Lance Lynn, I privately scoffed. Why? Dunning knows how to pitch. He will not wow you with big strikeout numbers or a blazing fastball, but he generally limits baserunners and provides innings stability. Dunning has 17 strikeouts in 18 innings so far this year, with a slightly bloated 4.50 ERA but a useful 1.17 WHIP.
Keep in mind he also pitches for one of the powerhouse offenses in the game, so if he gets through five, he will have chances at the ever-elusive wins we all chase. Dunning goes against the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners next.
Tyler Anderson, Los Angeles Angels (rostered in 25% of leagues)
Anderson has thrown seven innings in his first two starts this season, netting two wins in the process. You may recall Anderson was disappointing last year in his first year with the Halos, but he is off to a better start this season. One caveat of rostering Anderson: you won't get a lot of strikeouts; both starts only saw three punchouts each. When he is doing well, he limits hard contact and suppresses runs.
His next two starts are against the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. Anderson would be a good stash to spot-start on many fantasy rosters at this point. Looking at the chart below, you can see that Anderson limits hard contact and that intrigues me. He won 15 games two years ago. My point is he is flying under the radar and should be added in leagues where you need to speculate on starting pitching.
Other Waiver Wire Options
- Joe Boyle, Oakland Athletics (rostered in 7% of leagues)
- Matt Manning, Detroit Tigers (rostered in 7% of leagues)
- Ryan Feltner, Colorado Rockies (rostered in 4% 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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