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Welcome back! It's Week 19 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! We went through a tough stretch there where there was really nobody on waivers inspiring any confidence. We are really seeing this week how soft the ownership levels have gotten as the season gets closer to its end. Plenty of the names we are going over here should be near-universally owned, but they are well below the 50% threshold. If you play in a sharper league and most of these guys are rostered, I apologize.
As we have been all season, we'll be looking for starting pitchers with strong K-BB ratios, favoring guys that can keep the ball on the ground.
Let's get to it - here are your starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 19 of the fantasy season (August 16 - August 23).
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size
Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins (45% Rostered)
All this dude has done this year is put a 27.1% K% in the Majors with a .233 SLG allowed. There's some really bad news with the 13.1% BB% - but nobody has been able to barrel a ball up to punish him for it.
He's made five starts in the Majors, and they have gone like this:
| Date | Opp | IP | H | R | ER | K | BB | HR |
| 6/1 | COL | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 6/7 | WSH | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 6/12 | HOU | 3.2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 8/5 | CHC | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 8/11 | PHI | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
So if you do that stupid thing you should never do and remove the worst data point - Cabrera has been a stud! He's thrown five or more scoreless or one-run innings in four of his five starts.
Those walks are going to catch up with him eventually, and the home run prevention probably will as well - but man it seems like there is a ton of upside with this kid.
Jose Quintana, St. Louis Cardinals (39% Rostered)
Somewhat quietly, Quintana has given up just three runs over his last four starts. Oh, and he just put up a quality start in Coors Field, earning a win for his new team the Cardinals.
He is a pitch-to-contact guy, which heightens the chances for some bad luck ruining his week, but the 21.4% K% and 7.1% BB% are far from the worst marks you'll find out there, and he's clearly figured out a way to avoid hard contact.
Hitters have slugged just .368 against him and have homered just once every 59.6 PAs – one of the best home run rates allowed in the whole league.
In the short term, Quintana might just get your fantasy team two quality starts and two wins this week as he's scheduled to face the (road) Rockies and Diamondbacks in Week 19!
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants (37% Rostered)
Cobb has a superb 29.8% K% and a 6.5% BB% over his last five starts, allowing just a .219 batting average and a .316 SLG. That has made him one of the better pitchers in the whole league over this span by these advanced metrics.
His 61% GB% for the year is second-best in the league (Framber Valdez), and that should help him even in his remaining Coors start (scheduled for this coming weekend).
I've been beating the Cobb drum all year, and he's just ripped off his best few weeks of starts. The time is now!
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins (35% Rostered)
Since July 1st:
- 7 GS
- 33.9% CSW%
- 13.8% SwStr%
- 29.4% K%
- 5.0% BB%
- 48% GB%
He's my model's #14 SP over that time. The upcoming schedule is absolutely brutal, but one change in the rotation could improve that quite a bit - and Garrett has been pitching like a legitimate ace lately - grab a hold while you can.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Josiah Gray, Washington Nationals (38% Rostered)
Gray is one of the most talented pitchers with a rostered rate under 50%, and he's flashed his upside plenty of times this year – striking out nine or more hitters in a start on four different occasions.
It has been a bumpier road for him lately, as he has given up 15 runs over his last four starts and has pitched six innings just twice in his last six starts.
The bad starts probably aren't finished for the year, as his fastball continues to really struggle, but he should have some really good starts in the tank left as well - so he can be added on teams that need some strikeout help.
Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox (37% Rostered)
He has not been good this year, or lately - giving up at least three earned runs in six of his last seven starts. For the year, it's a 4.51 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP, pretty putrid marks.
I don't really believe in Pivetta, but he does draw the Pirates and Orioles this week - so you could make him a short-term pickup for those starts.
He also did have a run of greatness early in the year when he gave up just six earned runs over 41 innings pitched from May to early June, so there's some form of ability in there somewhere - but it's a rollercoaster ride for sure.
Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds (32% Rostered)
He's really had some trouble with walks and command, and we saw that in the Field of Dreams game last week. He might not quite be ready for fantasy relevance, but that's certainly in the cards for him down the road.
For now, he can provide some good starts when he's locating and getting a bit of luck - because the strikeout ability is great.
Other Waiver Wire Options
- Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers
- Jake Odorizzi, Atlanta Braves
- Justin Steele, Chicago Cubs
- Aaron Civale, Cleveland Guardians
- Kutter Crawford, Boston Red Sox
- Graham Ashcraft, Cincinnati Reds
- Drew Smyly, Chicago Cubs
- JP Sears, Oakland Athletics
Alrighty, hope you enjoyed the piece and I hope some of these starting pitcher picks change your life forever and ever, for the better. So long!
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