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Starting pitcher waiver wire adds for second half of the 2021 fantasy baseball season. Jon Anderson identifies SP pickups for shallow and deep leagues.
We have reached the All-Star break, and we have four cold days of no regular season baseball ahead of us. That makes it a good time to review our pitching staffs and check the waiver wire to see who we can add to it for the second half.
If you read this article weekly, you are once again going to see a lot of repeat names in this post. Some of the guys I mentioned last week have really made their case even stronger as we look towards the stretch run. The young rookie call-up dominates this post, but for good reason - there is way more upside with these types of pitchers than the solid-but-boring veterans that are also available.
Let's talk about a handful of pitcher names to check your waiver wire for.
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Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Zach Thompson, Miami Marlins (43% Rostered)
We have seen a sharp uptick in the rostered percentage on Thompson since last week, so the time is now to dive in and grab him if he's available. Like his young counterparts on the Marlins pitching staff, his pitch count has been limited. I wouldn't expect him to exceed 100 pitches this season, which definitely hurts you in quality start leagues and things of the like.
The appealing part of Thompson is the elite swinging-strike rate. That number sits at 15% right now, which would be among the league leaders if he was qualified. He has put together a few really impressive starts against tough competition already this year, such as striking out 11 Nationals over six innings. Thompson is an impressive young arm. The ceiling is lower on him given the pitch count and the questions about how they will use him in September, but for right now he should be picked up.
Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays (45% Rostered)
This is another guy who has seen his percentage shoot up recently. He has made back-to-back encouraging starts against the Blue Jays now, and he's been very useful for fantasy ever since the Rays let his pitch count reach up into the nineties.
Much like Thompson, McClanahan isn't the guy who is going to go out and throw seven innings a bunch of times over the second half. There are fewer questions about how they will use him down the stretch, however, since he is probably the Rays best starter right now and they figure to be right in the thick of the playoff race. McClanahan is a must-add for the second half.
Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers (60% Rostered)
The Dodgers starting pitching situation is dire right now. They are without Dustin May (elbow) for the rest of the year, and they figure to not have Trevor Bauer for the foreseeable future as well. That has led them to add David Price back to the rotation. The biggest fantasy beneficiary of all of this is Gonsolin, who threw 5.1 innings in his last outing and dominated the Marlins in that time, giving up just two hits and one walk.
It seems logical that Gonsolin would get stretched out with the idea in mind for him to give the Dodgers as many second-half innings as possible down the stretch. That should result in him being a very useful fantasy pitcher, and he will likely soon be universally rostered (his rostered percentage was below 40% a week ago, and now you see it at 60%). He should be picked up if he's available in your league.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners (40% Rostered)
Gilbert had shown us some good signs without a really great result in the box score early on, but he checked that box on Thursday night, throwing seven scoreless against the Yankees. He struck out eight batters in that game while allowing just a single hit. He used 103 pitches to get through seven, so this was an incredibly encouraging start for the young'un.
He has really impressive stuff and has not had much trouble striking out batters all season long. He seems to have improved in every outing, so I'm excited to see what he can do in the second half as he gets more and more experience on a Major League mound.
David Price, Los Angeles Dodgers (27% Rostered)
As we mentioned earlier, Price will spend at least some time in the Dodgers rotation here after spending the whole first half as the highest-paid bullpen arm in the league. It's unlikely that Price comes out and dominates like he used to, but his arm still has quite a bit of juice in it and he should give us some solid ratios as we move forward.
It will certainly take a few outings for him to get stretched out, as we saw evidence of on Friday. I would say by August you should have a guy that can throw 90+ pitches, and that could be really good for your fantasy team, especially with that Dodgers offense behind him. You should even be able to play him in your relief pitcher spot on your fantasy team, which is a huge advantage in a lot of league setups.
Drew Smyly, Atlanta Braves (36% Rostered)
Smyly was a popular cheap SP option on draft day, and after a few exciting starts to begin the year he really struggled. After a stint on the IL, he's back and he has ripped off a few nice starts in the lead-up to the all-star break. His 11% swinging-strike rate on the year is solid enough, and he's been limiting walks well enough since June started (striking out 27 and walking 11 in those starts).
He is unlikely to be a guy that makes you happy every time he starts, but his arm is strong enough to post a handful of really good starts as we move towards the fall.
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