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Hey yo! It's week SIX of the fantasy season! We are back for another iteration of the starting pitchers waiver wire pickups article, which you can find here every Sunday morning. Thanks for being here!
This week, I'm beefing up the analysis a bit. I tried to include more names this week and highlight more widely available pitchers. I tend to be pretty careful with who I'm starting on my fantasy teams, but we do need to keep in mind those deep leagues where just getting innings is a pretty important thing to accomplish.
Here are your starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for week six of the fantasy season (May 16th - May 22nd). Let's get to it.
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Reminder Block:
These pitchers are probably rostered in your league already, but if they are not - they should be added
Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays (26% Rostered)
It was not a good first month in a Blue Jays uniform for Kikuchi, and he currently sits with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The underlying numbers aren't good either as the xFIP sits at 4.23.
The main problem has been walks, as Kikuchi has a 14.9% BB% right now. He has walked at least two batters in every start but one (May 4th when he walked just one Yankee), and he's had three games with three or more walks, and one game with five walks. Simply put, he is not rosterable while he's walking this many hitters.
I do think Kikuchi can manage those walks enough to justify being started in advantageous matchups for the rest of the year. His strikeout rate is on the up-and-up:
And he has the ground-ball rate up to 53%. Another bad mark that I see a lot of improvement coming for is the barrel rate, which sits at 14.3% right now. Given that he's getting this many ground-balls, that barrel rate really doesn't make a ton of sense. He has recently ditched the cutter and changeup in favor of more four-seamers and sliders, and he's getting more strikeouts and slightly fewer walks because of it.
You can also forgive him a little bit due to the horribly tough schedule he's faced. He has already seen the Yankees three times and the Astros twice, and the sixth start of the year was no walk-in-the-park either against the Red Sox. Easier matchups are ahead, and I think Kikuchi is moving in the right direction.
Jameson Taillon, New York Yankees (42% Rostered)
The strikeouts have been disappointing at just 19.4% this year. That has followed up a much better 23.2% mark from 2021, so I think he'll soon get that mark well into the twenties. The best news for Taillon this year is the walk rate, at an infinitesimal 2.3%. This is despite throwing fewer pitches in the zone (42.2%, down one point from last year). I would actually take that as an encouraging mark, because it suggests he has lowered the walk rate without just throwing more balls over the heart of the plate. That only has me feeling better about more strikeouts being on the way.
His success in 2021 was largely attributable to him getting a bunch of whiffs on his four-seamer, and that trend has continued as well as his 14.5% SwStr% is once again really impressive, and ranks #8 in the league for qualified starters.
Highest SwStr% on Four-Seamer, 2022
| Pitcher | Pitches | SwStr% |
| Eric Lauer | 167 | 21.6% |
| Alek Monoah | 227 | 17.2% |
| Brandon Woodruff | 183 | 16.4% |
| Tylor Megill | 313 | 16.3% |
| Cristian Javier | 201 | 15.4% |
| Carlos Rodon | 375 | 14.9% |
| Gerrit Cole | 254 | 14.6% |
| Jameson Taillon | 152 | 14.5% |
The bad news is that the slider hasn't been very effective with just an 8.6% SwStr%. He has really been messing around with his arsenal, however, and now he's thrown six different pitches this year, and he's used them all significantly (28+ offerings on all of them). The fastball is a good anchor, and I feel pretty good about him improving throughout the year as he figures out what works best from the rest of his pitch mix. He's also the victim of a bit of a tough schedule, already facing the Blue Jays three times (although he's also seen the Orioles twice, so that helps).
Give Taillon a look in your leagues - I think we'll have some really strong starts upcoming.
Josh Winder, Minnesota Twins (42% Rostered)
After delivering 12 scoreless innings over two starts against the Rays and Athletics with 15 strikeouts and just one walk, Winder had a rough go of it against the Astros last Thursday. He gave up six hits, three walks, and three earned runs over just 3.1 innings. I think we should be quick to forgive bad starts against the Astros lineup right now, and I'm still a bit into Winder.
A lot of people will chalk up those two great starts to just the good matchups, but I don't really want to go that far with it. It's not easy to strikeout 15 batters while walking just one against any Major League team. Winder's season SwStr% still sits at a very strong mark of 14.5%, and the CSW% is also good at 31.1%. He throws four different pitches with significant usage, and has strong marks on the slider, curveball, and changeup. The fastball isn't all that great, which will probably hold him back a bit, but I think there's enough here to be worth a roster spot. He should get continued opportunities in the rotation as well with Chris Paddack on the shelf now, so give Winder a look - he has some attractive matchups coming up.
Jordan Hicks, St. Louis Cardinals (14% Rostered)
I'm not sure the Hicks experiment is going to be a long-term success for the Cardinals given the multitude of injury problems he's had over the year, but right now he has made it through seven turns in the rotation healthy and the pitch count continues to build.
One thing we know is that Hicks can get strikeouts, and he has done so even in the stater role this year with a 26% strikeout rate. The walks have been a huge issue, so that's something that needs major improvement - but if he does throw a few more strikes I think he can be a pretty useful pitcher for fantasy purposes.
Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds (21% Rostered)
We got bad news on Lodolo last weekend as he did not return from the IL after being expected to, as the team cited lingering issues with his back. That's not good news, we have seen what back issues can do to a pitcher - especially a tall guy like Lodolo.
I think it's worth the free add and IL-stash with Lodolo right now though just in case the back does heal up fully. In his three starts before going on the IL, he posted a 27.5% K%, a 7.2% BB%, and a 46.5% GB%. He throws a heavy sinker that has generated a ton of whiffs (11.6% SwStr% - a huge mark for a sinker), which is a really great pitch for a starter to anchor his arsenal with. I believe in Lodolo, so let's stash him on the IL and hope the back issues go away for good!
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles (3% Rostered)
Things looked awful for the rookie through his first two starts as he gave up 11 hits, two homers, and four barrels against the Red Sox and Twins to start his career off on the wrong foot. However, he bounced back majorly last week with a brilliant start against the Cardinals, throwing 90 pitches and striking out 11 while not giving up a single walk.
His pitch mix starts with a hard four-seamer (94.7 mph average) that hasn't had a ton of success yet (26.8% CSW%). After that he throws a slider that has been incredible on 75 pitches with a 24% SwStr% and a 37% CSW%. He also mixes in a curveball and a changeup, so the arsenal looks pretty good.
What I like most, and the reason he's featured here, is the low walk rate. His walk rate between AAA and the Majors this season (32 innings) is just 5% - a great mark and I believe that will stick moving forward. Any pitcher that is capable of getting this many whiffs while not walking hitters is someone to keep an eye on - and I think that St. Louis start might have been a sign of Bradish turning things around.
Taijuan Walker, New York Mets (21% Rostered)
It has been a very weird season for Walker so far. Check out the box score results:
| Date | IP | H | ER | HR | K | BB |
| 4/11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4/30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5/5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 5/12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The strikeouts have not been there since the first two-inning start of the year, but all of the runs he's given up have been in one start. He has faced the tough Phillies offense three times already, so he won't have to face them again.
He was finally able to get a bit healthy last year and he fired off 159 innings. Prior to that season, he hadn't even cleared 60 innings since 2017. It was a 4.47 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP with a 22.3% K% and an 8.4% BB% last season. Those aren't great numbers, but they aren't awful marks either.
Walker has excellent marks on his four-seamer (16.7% SwStr%, 33.3% CSW%), but his slider has been terrible (5.8% SwStr%, 21.2% CSW%). One thing that could propel him forward could be increase splitter usage, he's thrown just 45 of them so far this year but to the beautiful tune of a 28.9% SwStr%. The point is, the arsenal is good enough to sustain some good starts moving forward - and I think Walker will benefit from not seeing the Phillies again and getting back in the rhythm of the season.
Bruce Zimmermann, Baltimore Orioles (22% Rostered)
The Orioles rotation has not been friendly for fantasy purposes for a long time, but Zimmermann might be sneaking into the picture. He has an excellent CSW% on the slider (42.3%) and changeup (35.5%). Those are two of the better marks in the league for their given pitch type.
The problem has been the four-seamer, as it has earned just a 7.4% SwStr% and a 20.9% CSW%. You really can't have a ton of success only throwing sliders and changeups, but any improvement on the four-seamer could result in some very usable starts in the fantasy game. He's allowed no more than three earned runs in a start this year, and he has at least four strikeouts in every outing (averaging 5.2).
Keep an eye on Zimmermann and add in very deep leagues.
Dane Dunning, Texas Rangers (12% Rostered)
The Rangers rotation is full of fringey starting pitchers, but Dunning is the one I most believe in. His 21% K% isn't anything special, but it comes with a stomachable 8.8% BB% and a great 56% GB%. He depends on pinpoint location with his mediocre 9.3% SwStr%, but I think there might be a little more unrealized swing-and-miss in his game as his career mark sits at 10.2% and he consistently went above 12% in the minor leagues.
The other encouraging thing is that the leash has been loosened. He was rarely allowed to exceed even 80 pitches last season, but he's fired 98 and 100 in recent starts, fitting more of a true starter role for the Rangers. He is just 27 years old, and there are a lot of encouraging signs around him - I would be using him in favorable matchups in deep leagues.
Glenn Otto, Texas Rangers (3% Rostered)
Another Rangers start that is available in almost every league. Otto is just 26 years old, and possesses a very strong 3.14 ERA and 0.98 WHIP to start the 2022 campaign off with in three starts. His K% is low at 21%, and the BB% is high at 10.5%. That's major cause for concern and makes the WHIP pretty hard to believe (the .167 BABIP is certainly helping).
The reason for optimism is that his four-seamer has an impressive 11.4% SwStr% and his slider is at 21.1%. Those are big-league marks, and it makes me think the 21% K% is going to be on the way up. He posted strikeout rates in the mid-to-high twenties for his whole minor league career, so I am certainly betting on more strikeouts coming his way.
His walk rate has also historically been much better than this, he went for walk rates between five and nine percent between 2019 and 2021. Maybe just watch Otto's next outing and see what you think, he's unlikely to be picked up by anyone else in your league soon - but he's an interesting character no doubt!
Sunday morning update: Otto got demolished on Saturday to the tune of eight earned runs over four innings. He gave up eight hits and walked four batters against the Red Sox. Not a good sign, we should probably hold off on adding Otto until we see some better results.
Alrighty, hope you enjoyed the piece and I hope some of these SP picks change your life forever and ever, for the better! So long!
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