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
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6

It is now May, so you may now panic.

Kidding. There's still a lot of season left to be played. But things are starting to take shape, and if that shape isn't to your liking, perhaps it's time to call in some reinforcements from the waiver wire. That's precisely what this column is designed to help you do. Whatever the reason - injury, ineffectiveness, speculation - every week in this space we'll discuss some of the best arms on the waiver wire.

As a reminder, this column focuses on players who are below 50% owned in Yahoo leagues, and standard 5x5 scoring. Your mileage may vary, in terms of availability or league settings. Using that cutoff point for ownership rate, however, these are your starting pitcher waiver wire targets and adds for Week 6 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season.

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

 

Pickups for Shallow Leagues

Luke Weaver (SP, ARI) — 48% Owned

Weaver didn't get much love in fantasy drafts this spring, mostly because he disappointed so many owners anticipating a breakout last year. That may have been a mistake. The 25-year-old has pitched quite well in 2019, with a 3.32 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts against just eight walks in 38 innings. He even managed to succeed at Coors Field on Saturday night, notching his third victory with 6.2 innings of one-run ball.

Chris Bassitt (SP, OAK) — 46% Owned

Bassitt had his worst start of the year on Saturday against the Pirates, but still struck out six in five innings. That gives him 22 punchouts in just 17 innings of work. His curve and changeup are both working better than in years past, which has allowed his fastball to play up as well.

Tyler Skaggs (SP, LAA) — 41% Owned

Skaggs has won both of his starts since returning from a brief stay on the injured list, allowing just two runs and striking out 10 batters in 11 innings. Keep in mind that two awful outings sandwiched around a DL stint torpedoed his ratios a year ago; remove them from consideration and Skaggs posted a 2.86 ERA in nearly 120 innings. He's at 3.12 through 27 innings this season.

Jerad Eickhoff (SP, PHI) — 36% Owned

Eickhoff emerged as a solid mid-rotation arm back in 2016. Injury and ineffectiveness plagued him over the following two seasons, though, and he opened this year at Triple-A. Nick Pivetta's struggles opened the door for Eickhoff to return to the big-league rotation, and he's hit the ground running. The 28-year-old has great ratios (2.05 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) and 27 strikeouts in 22 innings of work, which include one appearance in long relief and three starts. His slider has been fantastic, and he's accordingly using it often.

Spencer Turnbull (SP, DET) — 27% Owned

The Tigers are likely in for a long season as they're in the thick of a rebuild, but Turnbull looks like a bright spot early. Through six starts, the 26-year-old rookie has a 2.53 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 32 innings. He does a good job getting ahead of hitters and keeping the ball on the ground and in the yard, which has helped mitigate a slightly elevated walk rate.

 

Pickups for Deeper Leagues

Anthony DeSclafani (SP, CIN) — 26% Owned

Through six starts, DeSclafani has a 3.48 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 36 strikeouts in 31 innings. He's allowed just one run and nine hits in his last 18 innings of work, and one of those games was against the Cardinals, who have scored more runs than all but three other teams. The secret to his success to this point has been a newly refined curveball that is generating an elite whiff rate of 20%. His typically excellent slider hasn't been as effective as usual, and if that comes around there's some serious upside here.

Jeff Samardzija (SP, SF) — 26% Owned

The 2.53 ERA will rise along with the .236 BABIP, but Samardzija is back to getting ahead of hitters and keeping the ball in the yard. Shark won't carry your rotation, but careful deployment of his services can help you in plenty of formats. You know if he's healthy that you'll get volume, if nothing else - he averaged 210 innings per year from 2013-17.

 

For Your Radar

Pablo Lopez (SP, MIA) — 8% Owned

Lopez is notching a strikeout per inning while limiting both walks and home runs. A low strand rate is mostly to blame for his bloated 4.78 ERA. The Marlins' ineptitude will make it tough for him to earn victories, but the skills here are worth betting on anyway.

Trent Thornton (SP, TOR) — 5% Owned

Through seven starts, Thornton has been up and down and has yet to earn his first MLB victory. However, he's also struck out 38 batters in 35 innings while posting respectable ratios (4.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP). Most recently, he tossed seven shutout innings against the Rangers.

Jonathan Loaisiga (SP, NYY) — 3% Owned

At the time of this writing, Loaisiga has not yet been recalled from Triple-A. However, with James Paxton the latest Yankee to hit the injured list, the 24-year-old is the most likely option to replace Paxton in the rotation. In two starts with the big club this year, Loaisiga allowed three runs in 10 innings, with 10 strikeouts on the back of a 16.1% swinging strike rate. He also walked six batters, which isn't great. Still, the ability to induce whiffs makes Lasagna an appetizing fantasy prospect.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers


Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Carlos Ulberg20 mins ago

Looking To Cement Himself As A Title Contender At UFC Macau
Volkan Oezdemir23 mins ago

Eyes Another Knockout At UFC Macau
Gabriella Fernandes26 mins ago

A Big Underdog At UFC Macau
MMA28 mins ago

Cong Wang Puts Undefeated Record On The Line At UFC Macau
Deiveson Figueiredo30 mins ago

Looks To Extend Win Streak At UFC Macau
Petr Yan32 mins ago

A Favorite At UFC Macau
Yves Missi58 mins ago

Listed As Questionable For Friday
CJ McCollum1 hour ago

Not Likely To Play Friday
Alexander Mattison1 hour ago

Zamir White Miss Practice Again
Brandon Ingram2 hours ago

Questionable For Friday
Shohei Ohtani2 hours ago

Named National League MVP In 2024
Aaron Judge2 hours ago

Wins American League MVP Award
Ja'Kobe Walter2 hours ago

Ready To Go Thursday
Donte DiVincenzo2 hours ago

Available Thursday
Mike Conley2 hours ago

Will Not Play Thursday
Jordan Clarkson2 hours ago

Sits Out Thursday's Game
Ausar Thompson2 hours ago

Won't Play On Thursday
Zach Collins2 hours ago

Cleared To Play Thursday
Domantas Sabonis2 hours ago

Gets Through Full Practice
Chris Paul2 hours ago

Good To Go Thursday
Brock Purdy2 hours ago

Limited Again On Thursday
Malik Monk3 hours ago

Making Progress
George Kittle3 hours ago

Limited Again On Thursday
Tre Mann3 hours ago

Good To Go On Thursday
Miles Bridges3 hours ago

Won't Play On Thursday
Vince Williams Jr.3 hours ago

Out At Least A Month
Scottie Barnes3 hours ago

Returning On Thursday
Alex Ovechkin3 hours ago

To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Fractured Fibula
Paul George3 hours ago

Out At Least Two Games
Aaron Gordon3 hours ago

Availability In Question For Friday
Zach Hyman3 hours ago

Expected To Miss 4-7 Days
Kent Johnson3 hours ago

Back For Blue Jackets Thursday
Dorian Finney-Smith3 hours ago

Uncertain To Face The Sixers
Yaroslav Askarov4 hours ago

Makes Sharks Debut Thursday
Jalen Hurts4 hours ago

Practices In Full On Thursday
Nicolas Claxton4 hours ago

Questionable Versus Philly
Nikola Jokic4 hours ago

Absent From Practice On Thursday
Mikael Granlund4 hours ago

Good To Go Thursday
Alexandar Georgiev4 hours ago

Returns To Action Versus Capitals
TB4 hours ago

Nicholas Paul Will Miss Thursday's Game
Frederik Andersen4 hours ago

To Miss 8-12 Weeks
Jake Ferguson4 hours ago

Still Not Practicing
Sam LaPorta4 hours ago

Looking Good For A Week 12 Return
Sam Darnold4 hours ago

Upgrades To Full Participation, On Track To Play
Isiah Pacheco5 hours ago

Remains Limited On Thursday
D'Andre Swift5 hours ago

Upgrades To Limited Participant On Thursday
CeeDee Lamb5 hours ago

Sidelined During Thursday's Practice
Ladd McConkey5 hours ago

Does Not Practice On Thursday
Mike Evans5 hours ago

Logs Full Practice On Thursday
DeVonta Smith6 hours ago

Misses Another Practice
Cody Bellinger7 hours ago

Cubs Looking To Trade Cody Bellinger?
Brandin Cooks7 hours ago

Preparing To Play In Week 12
CeeDee Lamb7 hours ago

Not Seen At Thursday's Practice
7 hours ago

Blake Snell Has Met With Red Sox, Dodgers
Aaron Rodgers8 hours ago

Jets Owner Suggested Benching Aaron Rodgers
Mike Evans9 hours ago

Practicing Again On Thursday
Chandler Stephenson10 hours ago

Registers Three Assists Versus Predators
Jason Robertson10 hours ago

Totals Three Points In Wednesday's Win
Nils Lundkvist11 hours ago

Exits Early With A Lower-Body Injury
Matthew Knies11 hours ago

Sustains An Upper-Body Injury
Mikael Granlund11 hours ago

Exits Late With Injury Wednesday
Patrik Laine11 hours ago

Returns To Practice
Chris Sale22 hours ago

Wins National League Cy Young Award
Tarik Skubal22 hours ago

Wins 2024 American League Cy Young Award
Austin Eckroat1 day ago

Heads To The RSM Classic After Win
Harris English1 day ago

Finding Form Heading To The RSM Classic
Ben Griffin1 day ago

Continues Playing Well Heading To The RSM Classic
Denny McCarthy1 day ago

Returns to The RSM Classic
Josh Jacobs1 day ago

Limited With Multiple Injuries
DeVonta Smith1 day ago

Misses Practice On Wednesday
Seth Jones1 day ago

Expected To Miss Four Weeks
Sam Darnold1 day ago

Limited With Foot Injury
Max Domi1 day ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Jalen Hurts1 day ago

Limited On Wednesday
Connor Ingram1 day ago

Out Day-To-Day With An Upper-Body Injury
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen1 day ago

Returns To Action Versus Kings
Alex Tuch1 day ago

Available Wednesday
Tage Thompson1 day ago

Remains Out On Wednesday
Jordan Eberle1 day ago

To Remain Out On Wednesday
Ludvig Aberg1 day ago

Looks To Defend RSM Classic Title
Si Woo Kim1 day ago

An Intriguing Option At RSM Classic
Maverick McNealy1 day ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of RSM Classic
Eric Cole1 day ago

Chasing First Tour Victory At RSM Classic
2 days ago

Guardians' Stephen Vogt Named AL Manager Of The Year
Milwaukee Brewers2 days ago

Pat Murphy Named NL Manager Of The Year
2 days ago

Nick Pivetta Declines Boston's Qualifying Offer
Jose Siri2 days ago

Mets Acquire Jose Siri From The Rays
2 days ago

Phillies To Meet With Juan Soto
2 days ago

Luis Severino Rejects Qualifying Offer From Mets
2 days ago

Willy Adames Declines Brewers Qualifying Offer
2 days ago

Teoscar Hernandez Declines Qualifying Offer From Dodgers
2 days ago

Juan Soto Declines Yankees' Qualifying Offer
Luis Gil3 days ago

Wins AL Rookie Of The Year Award
Paul Skenes3 days ago

Named 2024 NL Rookie Of The Year
Brady Singer3 days ago

Reds, Royals Discussing Jonathan India, Brady Singer
3 days ago

Sean Manaea To Reject Mets' Qualifying Offer
3 days ago

Braves Have Interest In Walker Buehler
3 days ago

Astros Interested In Willy Adames
Charles Oliveira3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Chandler3 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 309
Karine Silva3 days ago

Suffers Her First UFC Loss
Viviane Araujo3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Mauricio Ruffy3 days ago

Extends His Win Streak To Six
James Llontop4 days ago

Loses Clear-Cut Decision In Thrilling Fight At UFC 309
Paul Craig4 days ago

Loses Decision At UFC 309
Bo Nickal4 days ago

Remains Undefeated With Lackluster Performance At UFC 309
Stipe Miocic4 days ago

Retires After UFC 309 Loss
Jon Jones4 days ago

Gets TKO Win At UFC 309 To Defend Heavyweight Title

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP