X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 9

Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

It's a new week and we're back to try to accomplish the tough task of finding SP help on the waiver wire. The league ERA sits up above 4.30 right now, almost half a run higher than a year ago. We need to change some of our expectations from pitching because of that and set the bar a bit lower.

This remains a good time of the season to fill out your fantasy rotation as these rookies are being called up and MLB teams are trying different things. There are a couple of new exciting names on the list this week, and while the going has been tough – it's not too late to really upgrade our rotations on the waiver wire.

Let's get to it – here are your starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season (May 22 - May 28).

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball draft tools and resources:

 

Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues

Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size

Louie Varland, Minnesota Twins (30% Rostered)

Varland is going to be the new guy I'm banging the drum for every week here until he gets over 50% rostered. Check out what he's done so far this year:

Varland Game Logs

Date Pitches Whiffs SO BB
5/14 97 16 7 1
5/9 95 14 6 2
5/3 87 15 6 2
4/14 83 12 8 1

Double-digit whiffs every time out and a nice 27:6 K:BB ratio. His pitch mix is sweet with a four-seamer, a cutter, a changeup, and a slider all serving different purposes and performing well. He also passes the eye test when you watch him.

My man needs to be rostered in more leagues! Go get him!

Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians (35% Rostered)

He hasn't been overwhelmingly good this year with a 24.4% K% and a 6.7% BB% - those are solid marks but short of spectacular. Despite that, Allen has delivered five strong starts for Cleveland, not giving up more than three earned runs yet and giving up fewer than three in four of his five starts.

He has 29 strikeouts to eight walks and has given up just two homers, so things are going well. There might be some bumps along the road for the young lefty, but so far he's proven that he's up to the task, and he can be started in most fantasy leagues.

Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels (40% Rostered)

I don't want to ever react very much to one start. Detmers has been up and down and mostly frustrating for his short MLB career, but seeing what he did on Friday night does have been bumping him up a bit.

He struck out 12 Twins in 5.2 innings while giving up two hits and three earned runs. That brought his season K% up to 29.8% – a fantastic number. He earned a 23% SwStr% and a 53.3% strike% in that start, just dominating.

He used his slider a bit more in that start and it was an awesome pitch for him with a ridiculous 38% SwStr% on the 45 pitches.

I'm not going to say this is him turning the corner, but it was nice to be reminded of his upside. Here's hoping he can finally find some consistency and become the very strong starting pitcher we know he can be.

Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox (16% Rostered)

Bello got a vote of confidence this week as the Red Sox sent Nick Pivetta to a bullpen role. That gives him the chance to stick in a rotation that currently looks like this:

  1. Chris Sale
  2. Corey Kluber
  3. James Paxton
  4. Garrett Whitlock
  5. Brayan Bello

Kutter Crawford has been pitching well in the minors, and the Red Sox are clearly going to be more committed to the first four on the list than Bello, so there's no absolute job security here.

However, Bello has the skills to pitch his way into that job security. He recently posted a season-high seven strikeouts against the Mariners in a winning effort. He walked five in that start, but overall the walk rate hasn't been a big issue for him this year at 9.2%. That's good with a rising 24% K%, and the best part about Bello is his huge ground ball rate.

Highest GB% (4 GS minimum)

Pitcher GB%
Max Fried 64%
Alex Cobb 63%
Brayan Bello 62%
Framber Valdez 62%
Logan Webb 61%

His SwStr% is also very nice at 14.1%, so the sky is the limit with this kid. I think we could see him get the K% up above 25% with a BB% under 10% and a GB% above 60%. That would turn into a lot of success, so you might not be able to get your hands on him for very long.

 

Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues

Pitcher pickup recommendations for deeper leagues

James Paxton, Boston Red Sox (31% Rostered)

It feels weird to be writing this, but Paxton is back and pitching well! He deserves some recognition in fantasy leagues. Here's the pitch mix breakdown for the year:

The 11.9% SwStr% is low, but it's right around the league average. It is good to see his fastball velocity up above 96, but the cutter hasn't been very good for him.

I think there will be some rougher starts ahead, and I'm not overly encouraged when looking at the pitch mix, but in reality, he's just getting re-ramped up, so there could be improvement ahead.

Don't expect much, but Paxton is back in the conversation for now.

JP Sears, Oakland Athletics (3% Rostered)

He has pitched his way into this piece, most recently going six strong innings against the Astros while putting up a 7:1 K:BB ratio and a 1.00 WHIP.

It had been a great month of May even prior to that gem against the tough lineup, he was fourth in the league among qualified SPs in SwStr5 at 17.0%:

The most important thing of all is that he has now pushed his K-BB% above 20% for the season, and there's just no reason to leave pitchers that boast a K-BB% like that on waivers in this environment. There will not be many wins to be had for Sears on the Athletics, but he appears to be more than just a mediocre pitcher on a run of hot starts.

Michael Wacha, San Diego Padres (46% Rostered)

There's something to be said for the old boring veteran. They have proven to be able to stay in the rotation and deliver good starts often enough to help the team. That is Michael Wacha in a nutshell.

He currently sits a 4.06 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP to go with his 22.2% K% and 7.0% BB%. None of those numbers are very good, but none of them are bad either. The league ERA right now sits at 4.32, so he's beating that mark pretty easily. Last week he had a ridiculous 11-strikeout performance against the Royals. I mean it's the Royals, 11 strikeouts!? And he only walked one in that start – it was one of the best fantasy starts of the season.

Michael Wacha 2023 Game Logs

He'll probably not replicate that again this year, but again – there's something to be said for having a guy like this on your fantasy rotation, especially if/when that Padres offense really gets rolling in the summer.

Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals (35% Rostered)

It feels dirty to do this, but Flaherty has done enough to get himself some fantasy consideration back. In his last outing, he racked up 17 whiffs and struck out ten Brewers through seven innings. It was a fantastic start. His strike rate also hit a season-high at 54%.

Will we see those results consistently come from Flaherty in the near future? I doubt it. He will probably have another four-walk, six-earned-run start coming up soon and we'll be kicking ourselves for this. But it's still true that he has outings with 7, 9, and 10 strikeouts in his last five goes at it. You are getting some amazing starts in between the rough ones.

Tylor Megill, New York Mets (23% Rostered)

He has not done a fantastic job in the Mets rotation this year with a 3.88 ERA and a rough 1.42 WHIP. The K-BB% is also down low at 6.0% with his 17% K% and 11% BB% – but things are looking better in the last two starts.

He has a 15% SwStr% in these last two outings and has just looked like a better pitcher. I'm still not very convinced, and he's probably the lowest-priority pitcher I'm writing about here, but it's worth noting that he may have made some tweaks recently with his slider. There is also the challenge of him even staying in the rotation as he is now clearly the next man on the chopping block with Scherzer and Verlander back.

 

Other Waiver Wire Options



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Rafael Devers50 mins ago

Wilyer Abreu Starting On Saturday
Ronald Acuña Jr.60 mins ago

Ronald Acuna Jr. Could Run Less To Stay Healthy
Brooks Raley1 hour ago

Drawing Interest On Market
Miguel Ullola1 hour ago

Has Right Shoulder Discomfort
Matt Waldron1 hour ago

Diagnosed With Oblique Strain
Endy Rodríguez2 hours ago

Endy Rodriguez Expected To Begin Season With Triple-A
Eeli Tolvanen2 hours ago

Scores Twice In Victory
WPG2 hours ago

Kyle Connor Strikes Twice On Friday
Jack Roslovic2 hours ago

Tallies Goal, Assist In Friday's Victory
Leon Draisaitl2 hours ago

Leads Edmonton To Victory
Liam O'Brien2 hours ago

Exits With Undisclosed Injury
Josh Manson3 hours ago

Exits On Friday
Carlos Estévez9 hours ago

Carlos Estevez Feels Great After Cactus League Debut
Jon Gray10 hours ago

Leaves Game Friday After Being Hit By Comebacker
Kevin Porter Jr.11 hours ago

Expected To Be Available Saturday
Atlanta Falcons11 hours ago

Falcons Agree To Terms With Morgan Fox
Damian Lillard11 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Saturday's Game
Giannis Antetokounmpo11 hours ago

Probable For Saturday
Lonzo Ball11 hours ago

Remains Out For Saturday
Indianapolis Colts11 hours ago

Colts Sign Corey Ballentine To One-Year Deal On Friday
Trendon Watford11 hours ago

Will Miss Saturday's Game
Chet Holmgren11 hours ago

Resting Versus Detroit
Nicolas Claxton11 hours ago

Resting On Saturday
Pittsburgh Steelers11 hours ago

Brandin Echols Signs Two-Year Deal With Steelers
Josh Giddey12 hours ago

Not Likely To Play Saturday
Noah Clowney12 hours ago

To Remain Out Against Celtics
Kenny Yeboah12 hours ago

Signs One-Year Deal With Lions
Avery Williams12 hours ago

Signs With Eagles
Cam Thomas12 hours ago

Sits Out First Leg Of Back-To-Back Saturday
Jalen Williams12 hours ago

Still Out On Saturday
Coby White12 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Saturday
Kene Nwangwu12 hours ago

Jets Re-Sign Kene Nwangwu To One-Year Deal
Cody Martin12 hours ago

Cleared To Return Friday
Eli White12 hours ago

Appears Likely To Open Season In Utility Role
Trey Lyles12 hours ago

Misses Friday's Game Due To Back Soreness
Tommy Henry12 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Grayson Allen12 hours ago

Not Playing Friday
Trey Jemison III12 hours ago

Unavailable Against Nuggets
Blake Walston12 hours ago

To Have Tommy John Surgery
Jacob Misiorowski12 hours ago

Brewers Reassign Jacob Misiorowski To Minor-League Camp
Gabe Vincent12 hours ago

Sits Out Friday's Game
Nick Richards12 hours ago

Sitting Out On Friday
Dorian Finney-Smith12 hours ago

Sidelined On Friday
Erik Swanson12 hours ago

Diagnosed With "Median Nerve Entrapment"
Domantas Sabonis12 hours ago

Back In Action On Friday
Shane Baz12 hours ago

Not Worried About Spring Training Results
Zeke Nnaji13 hours ago

Active On Friday
Mason Adams14 hours ago

Exits With Elbow Injury
Will Klein14 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A Tacoma
Simi Fehoko14 hours ago

Signing With Cardinals
Kylen Granson14 hours ago

Headed To Philadelphia
Jared Shuster14 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Sterling Shepard14 hours ago

Remaining With Buccaneers
José Buttó14 hours ago

Jose Butto Dealing With Groin Injury
Cincinnati Bengals15 hours ago

Bengals Not Ruling Out Trey Hendrickson Extension
Wenceel Pérez15 hours ago

Wenceel Perez Receives Injection, Expected To Be Ready For Opening Day
Jose Trevino15 hours ago

Exits Early On Friday
Cooper Kupp15 hours ago

Signing With Seahawks
Jake Cronenworth15 hours ago

Not Expected To Play First Base
Karel Vejmelka16 hours ago

Makes Ninth Consecutive Start Friday
Dustin Wolf16 hours ago

Set To Face Avalanche Friday
Mikael Backlund16 hours ago

Out Week-To-Week
Sam Colangelo16 hours ago

Deemed Day-To-Day With An Upper-Body Injury
Michael Bunting16 hours ago

A Game-Time Call Friday
Dallas Cowboys16 hours ago

Dante Fowler Jr. Heading Back To Cowboys
Andrei Svechnikov16 hours ago

Expected To Return Next Week
Nikolaj Ehlers16 hours ago

Good To Go Against Stars
Buffalo Bills17 hours ago

Larry Ogunjobi, Michael Hoecht Both Facing Six-Game PED Suspensions
Tee Higgins17 hours ago

Bengals Making Headway On Contracts For Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase
Ben Skowronek18 hours ago

Back With Steelers
Minnesota Vikings18 hours ago

Eric Wilson Returns To Minnesota
Pharaoh Brown18 hours ago

Heading To Miami
Minnesota Vikings18 hours ago

Justin Skule Signs With Vikings
Mackenzie Blackwood19 hours ago

Battling Illness, Not Starting On Friday
Rasmus Ristolainen19 hours ago

Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
Lian Bichsel19 hours ago

Not Playing On Friday
Josh Norris19 hours ago

Undergoing Evaluation
JJ Peterka20 hours ago

Not Playing On Saturday
Neal Pionk20 hours ago

Viewed As Week-To-Week
Kareem Hunt20 hours ago

Chiefs Bring Back Kareem Hunt On One-Year Deal
Philadelphia Eagles20 hours ago

Eagles Open To Trading Bryce Huff
Cooper Kupp20 hours ago

Asking For $15 Million Per Year
Roman Dolidze1 day ago

Set For A Rematch
Marvin Vettori1 day ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Chidi Njokuani1 day ago

Looks For His Third Win In A Row
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos1 day ago

Looks For His 12th UFC Win
Kurt Holobaugh1 day ago

An Underdog At UFC Vegas 104
Alexander Hernandez1 day ago

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Cody Gibson1 day ago

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Da'Mon Blackshear1 day ago

A Favorite At UFC Vegas 104
Quinton Byfield1 day ago

Scores In Fifth Straight Game
Jesper Bratt1 day ago

Posts Second Straight Three-Point Performance
Brendson Ribeiro1 day ago

Searching For Second UFC Win On Saturday
Diyar Nurgozhay1 day ago

Set To Make His UFC Debut
MMA1 day ago

Seung Woo Choi In Dire Need Of Victory
Kevin Vallejos1 day ago

Makes Debut At UFC Vegas 104
Jacob Bridgeman3 days ago

Use Caution For Jacob Bridgeman At TPC Sawgrass
Nicolai Hojgaard3 days ago

Looks To Stay Consistent Heading Into PLAYERS Championship
Karl Vilips3 days ago

Makes PLAYERS Championship Debut After First PGA Tour Win
Taylor Pendrith3 days ago

A Sneaky Play At TPC Sawgrass
Sahith Theegala3 days ago

Out Of Form Ahead Of The PLAYERS Championship
Matt Fitzpatrick3 days ago

A Shaky Play Heading Into PLAYERS
Scottie Scheffler3 days ago

Eyeing Three-Peat At TPC Sawgrass
Aldrich Potgieter3 days ago

A Risky Play At TPC Sawgrass
Si Woo Kim3 days ago

Looks To Keep Building Momentum At The PLAYERS
Denny McCarthy3 days ago

Looks To Continue Solid Play At TPC Sawgrass
Collin Morikawa3 days ago

Poised For Another Strong Performance At TPC Sawgrass
Robert MacIntyre3 days ago

A Risky Play With Upside At The PLAYERS Championship
Jordan Spieth3 days ago

Looking To Change Fortunes At TPC Sawgrass
Cameron Young3 days ago

Avoid Cameron Young At The PLAYERS Championship
Michael Kim3 days ago

Continues Incredible Form Ahead Of The PLAYERS Championship
Justin Thomas3 days ago

Looking For More Magic At TPC Sawgrass
Xander Schauffele3 days ago

Continues Competitive Return At The Players Championship
Rory McIlroy3 days ago

Looks To Reverse Recent History At TPC Sawgrass
PGA3 days ago

Victor Hovland Looking To Find Form At The PLAYERS Championship
Brian Harman4 days ago

A Sleeper Pick At The PLAYERS Championship
Min Woo Lee4 days ago

A Hard Name To Trust At The Players Championship
Tyler Reddick5 days ago

Power-Steering Failure Foils Tyler Reddick's Bid For Potential Victory
William Byron5 days ago

Recovers From Being Trapped A Lap Down To Finish Sixth
Josh Berry5 days ago

Gives Wood Brothers Team Best Run Since 2021
Alex Pereira5 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC 313
Magomed Ankalaev5 days ago

Becomes The New UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion
Justin Gaethje5 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Rafael Fiziev5 days ago

Loses Third Fight In A Row
Ignacio Bahamondes5 days ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC 313
Christopher Bell5 days ago

Scores His Third Consecutive Victory Of The Season At Phoenix
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Strong Phoenix Performance Falls Short Of Victory
Chris Buescher5 days ago

Quietly Earns A Top-Five Finish At Phoenix
Alex Bowman5 days ago

Leaves Phoenix With His Best Finish At The Site Since 2016
Zane Smith5 days ago

Quietly Nabs His First Phoenix Top-10 Finish
Jalin Turner5 days ago

Retires After UFC 313 Loss
Iasmin Lucindo5 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 313
Amanda Lemos5 days ago

Dominates At UFC 313
King Green5 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC 313
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Aaron Jones - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Staying Put - Impact Players Re-signed: Aaron Jones, Zach Ertz, Jaylen Warren, more

NFL free agency is a frenzy. As football fans, we love to see the movement around the league. It allows us to dream about the possibility of our team signing a fresh player who could make a serious impact. However, one cannot overlook the impact of re-signing significant contributors. While it is not as exciting […]


Tucker Kraft - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Football Trade Targets: Wide Receivers and Tight Ends To Buy in 2025

My friend Josh used to make me listen to the Bring Me The Horizon song "Diamonds Aren't Forever," which begins with the line "We will never sleep, cause sleep is for the weak." That sentiment rings true in fantasy football dynasty leagues as well. You can't get complacent. You can't stop thinking about how to […]


Zay Flowers - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Football WR Buy or Sell: Zay Flowers, Rashee Rice, and Jordan Addison (2025)

The 2024 NFL Draft class had seven first-round wide receivers. Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze were selected in the top 10. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall, and Xavier Legette were Day 1 selections. More importantly, Nabers and Thomas finished their rookie seasons as top-7 wide receivers in half-point PPR […]


Courtland Sutton - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Sleepers, Draft Targets: Early 2025 Analysis

One of the biggest factors in winning fantasy football teams is finding middle-to-late-round sleepers. With wide receivers typically carrying the most drafted players of any position, it makes sense that taking multiple stabs at the position in search of hitting multiple-round values is the way to set yourself apart in drafts. For 2025, the draft […]


Caleb Williams - Fantasy Football Rankings, QB, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

2025 NFL Free Agency Frenzy: Biggest Winners and Disappointments at Every Fantasy Football Position

NFL franchises will have an opportunity to reshape their rosters before the draft. Fantasy managers will have a chance to read the tea leaves and make measured strikes against their fantasy football opposition ahead of rookie drafts. Savvy managers will use this period to try to get the best return on some previous investments, as […]


DK Metcalf - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Free Agency Fantasy Football Analysis: Fallers On New Teams (2025)

With the first wave of NFL free agency coming to an end, several fantasy-relevant players have signed on to new teams. The quarterback carousel still has several dominoes to fall, but Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, and Kenny Pickett have found new homes within the first few days of the new league year. The running back […]


James Conner - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Fallers - Players Trending Down In 2025

Fantasy football players trending "down" can mean a few different things. It can mean aging veterans, a new situation for players, regression in production after a stellar season, a change in coordinators, or all of the above. It doesn't necessarily mean these players won't produce; it's just a warning sign to proceed cautiously. Ultimately, marking […]


Michael Florio's Football Show - Podcast RotoBaller Network

Florio's Football Show: Free Agency Fantasy Fallout!

Michael F. Florio is back going over the any signings and trades that free agency week brought us! He discusses his winners and losers of players that changed teams - then does the same for players who were not moved but still had their value impacted! Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM […]


Davante Adams - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

NFL Free Agency Tracker - Updates On Every Free Agent Signing (2025)

The NFL offseason is starting to heat up, and the league's legal tampering period is set to begin on March 10 at noon Eastern. Free agents cannot officially sign until the new league year begins on March 12 at 4 p.m. Eastern, but deals will be agreed to, and news will be coming in quickly […]


Drake Maye - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Players To Target In Deep Leagues

Fantasy football sleepers are what make the game fun. There is nothing like landing an absolute stud in the double-digit rounds of your fantasy draft. The more teams in your league, the more important sleepers become. As the player pool shrinks, it is an absolute must to hit on at least one or two sleepers. […]


DK Metcalf - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Avoids, Busts: 2025 NFL Free Agent Signings

The 2025 NFL free-agency period is well underway, and many wide receivers, tight ends, quarterbacks, and running backs have already found their new homes. While some of them are in better landing spots, or at least should continue having solid production relative to their ADP (anticipated draft position) in fantasy football, some of them should […]


Jaydon Blue - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Picks, NFL Draft

2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Sleepers: Late-Round Prospects With Immediate Upside

Players who are thought of as less likely to succeed in the NFL are typically selected later in drafts. When a player falls through the rounds, it's generally because teams have doubts about their ability to produce. It takes a specific family of skill sets to succeed in the big leagues. But sometimes, players fall […]


Cole Kmet - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL injury News

2025 Fantasy Football Tight End Sleepers For Best Ball Drafts

Tight end is one of the most important positions in fantasy football, and heading into 2025, the position seems even deeper than it has been in past seasons. Sure, there’s the new cream rising to the top with Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, but a lot of veterans are seen much lower in best ball […]