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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 18 of the fantasy baseball season (July 24 - July 30). My name is Nick Shlain and this is my seventh week of writing this column - I'll be sticking around for the rest of the MLB season bring you my starting pitcher recommendations.
The MLB season continues to fly on by. With that being said, baseball is the longest fantasy season, so there's still plenty of time to make up ground in the fantasy standings and upgrade your rosters for a playoff run. We're looking to make up some of that ground on the mound here.
Today, we'll be taking a look at some promising recent prospect call-ups, some veterans arms who may be improving, and the best pitcher in the minor leagues to stash to help fantasy managers. Good luck on the waiver wire this week!
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size
Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays (43% Rostered)
Bradley is mostly a five inning pitcher. He's only completed six innings in one of his 14 starts this season for the Rays. He also has a 5.29 ERA, but his xFIP is much lower at 3.31. Bradley also has 89 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched. If you need strikeouts and Bradley is available in your league, look no further because this is your guy.
Bradley should be rostered in all leagues as he's got the potential to be a fantasy difference-maker over the second half of the season.
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals (38% Rostered)
Gore allowed seven earned runs against the Philadelphia Phillies two starts ago, but if you ignore that start he's been solid lately. He has a 4.59 ERA, but his xFIP is 3.83 so he is due for some positive regression over the rest of the season. Gore is also a good strikeout pitcher as he has 114 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched this season.
Gore should be rostered in more leagues and is especially a good pickup if you need strikeouts.
Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners (44% Rostered)
Woo is another pitcher that fits the theme of this week's pitchers so far. He's another young pitcher who strikes out more than a batter per inning and has an xFIP lower than his ERA. Woo has a 4.74 ERA, but his xFIP is 3.72. He has 47 strikeouts in 36 innings. His last outing was his worst outing since his MLB debut as he allowed six earned runs to the Minnesota Twins, but he had completed at least five innings while allowing two or less earned runs in five consecutive starts before that.
Woo has only won one of his eight starts, but he should be added in more leagues especially if you need strikeouts.
Luis Severino, New York Yankees (66% Rostered)
Severino has been terrible this season. His ERA is still 6.66, but he did throw a quality start in his last game against the Los Angeles Angels. Severino allowed just one earned run over six innings. He struck out only three batters so it's not like he's back to being the Severino of old. He's recorded six or more strikeouts in only two of his 10 starts this season.
Severino's roster percentage is inflated by his name value, but if you're desperate for pitching I can see adding him and hoping he's solved some of his issues this season.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for deeper leagues
Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians (28% Rostered)
Allen is a pretty exciting pickup in deeper leagues this week. He returned from a stint in Triple-A to throw a five-inning one hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks. Now Allen has a two start week where he'll face the Royals and White Sox. It doesn't get much better than that.
Allen should be trending up in deeper formats this week, especially in weekly leagues where two of his starts can boost your strikeout totals.
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs (24% Rostered)
Taillon was one out away from having two quality starts in a row, but he was removed after 5.2 innings in his last start. In the start before that, he shut out his former team the New York Yankees for eight innings. It hasn't been a good first season with the Cubs for Taillon and with his contract it's unlikely he's traded to a better team in the next week.
Still, he's not as bad as his 6.05 ERA suggests as he has a 4.83 xFIP this year. Taillon should probably be left on the wire in shallow formats, but makes sense for desperate managers in deeper leagues.
Matt Manning, Detroit Tigers (24% Rostered)
Manning has been solid this year with a 3.19 ERA after seven starts. He's even won three of those starts despite being on the Tigers. Manning only has 25 strikeouts in 36.2 innings, but he's fine to use in good matchups as long as he's pitching as well as he has recently.
Don't expect Manning to go deeper than six innings in his starts, but he could be a solid contributor if he stays healthy the rest of the season. He's widely available.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Stashes
Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox (66% Rostered)
Sale is once again my stash of the week. He's due back in early August so if he's still available in your league go and stash him now before it's too late.
Sale had 71 strikeouts in 59 innings and a 4.58 ERA and 3.60 xFIP when he was healthy earlier this season.
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