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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 7 (May 6 - May 12). 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 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
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo!
Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees (rostered in 42% of leagues)
This is not Schmidt's first time on this list, but it should be his last. Schmidt picked up a win on Saturday afternoon over the Detroit Tigers, spinning five frames with seven strikeouts and earning the win. Schmidt is now 3-1 with a 3.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 36 innings. The one issue with Schmidt is that he does not pitch deep into games; he's pitched at least five innings in six of his seven starts but has never finished six innings. This may be nitpicking a little as he's largely been pretty good, at least good enough that he should be rostered far more.
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs (rostered in 37% of leagues)
This might be your last chance to get Taillon cheaply. Taillon has earned wins in three of his first four starts this season, with a 1.13 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. He was strong Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, going six innings and striking out seven in a scoreless outing. The strikeouts were encouraging as Taillon is not known for them; he's posted four, four, and one in his other three starts. Taillon gets the Pittsburgh Pirates next weekend. Now is the time to roster him. Don't believe me? Do you believe Statcast data? See below.
Jon Gray, Texas Rangers (rostered in 43% of leagues)
Gray is another underappreciated starter in most fantasy formats. A deeper dive gives us some better information: since a rocky season debut, Gray has posted a 1.24 ERA and has 33 strikeouts in 29 innings. Unfortunately, he only has one win to show for that time, but we all know chasing wins can be a fool's errand. He pitched eight strong innings against the Washington Nationals in his last outing, earning a win even though he only struck out three hitters. Add Gray now where you can. He gets the Colorado Rockies next, albeit in Denver. The chart below shows Gray's work in 2024.
John Means, Baltimore Orioles (rostered in 42% of leagues)
Means made his first start since battling elbow issues (and Tommy John surgery in 2023) on Saturday, going seven strong innings with eight strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. That start included an outstanding 19 swinging g strikes while only giving up three hits. Certainly, this was an encouraging first start for an Orioles team that sorely needs starting pitching. Means has upcoming starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners at home over the next two weeks. With the dearth of available starting pitching in most leagues now, Means would be a good addition to many rosters.
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds (rostered in 46% of leagues)
Abbott is another player who should be rostered in most leagues. While earning only one win in his seven starts, Abbott has a 3.32 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, with 35 strikeouts in 38 innings. He has 15 of those strikeouts in his last 10 innings. He pitches against the San Francisco Giants next. There is some upside here and he's a guy you should consider adding, even if he does sometimes struggle to pitch deeper into games.
Keaton Winn, San Francisco Giants (rostered in 37% of leagues)
Yes, I know his Saturday start was an utter disaster. But let's backtrack and review a moment. In Winn's last three starts, he's pitched six full innings and given up only one run each time. In those outings, he had four, six, and then five strikeouts. You would like to see more of those, but he's been a strong ratio help with a 1.50 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. Winn starts against the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the next week and then has four desirable matchups after that. Winn would be a good pitcher to use and start based on matchups. Check out Winn's pitch distribution below.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for deeper leagues rostered between 30% or less on Yahoo!
Kyle Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals (rostered in 30% of leagues)
People love to hate Gibson, which represents an opportunity for you. Gibson has two wins in six starts, with a 3.79 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He's registered 29 strikeouts in 38 innings. Gibson has gone at least six innings in every start this year, and in his last two, he had six and nine strikeouts. He gets the New York Mets this coming week, and he should be getting snatched off waiver wires. Beat your league mates to the punch. I love looking at the chart below to see the subtle changes to pitch mixes over time.
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles (rostered in 21% of leagues)
I don't understand what the fantasy baseball world has against Kremer. In his last two starts covering 12 innings, he's got 14 strikeouts, two wins, and helped in the ratio categories. On the year, he's got two wins, a usable 4.19 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 34 innings. Is he a top starter on your team? No, but he is serviceable and will give you many worry-free innings.
Bailey Falter, Pittsburgh Pirates (rostered in 19% of leagues)
Falter has been a guy I have been watching for a while now. He's got a great opportunity in Pittsburgh (much of our speculating has to do with opportunity), and he's done fine with it. The lefty has two wins, a usable 4.22 ERA, and a 0.94 WHIP. He only has 23 strikeouts in 32 innings, but 17 in his last 17 innings. Falter will get the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers in his next two starts.
Other Waiver Wire Options
- Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals (rostered in 8% of leagues)
- Hayden Wesneski, Chicago Cubs (rostered in 7% of leagues)
- Cooper Criswell, Boston Red Sox (rostered in 5% of leagues)
- Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks (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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