RADIO
Digging Deep and Buying Cubbies
Welcome to week 8. With Memorial Day upon us, we have reached the point where the standings tend to take shape in fantasy. You should have a sense of where you stand in the thick of things.
If you've been following along, hopefully you've grabbed some solid guys for your rotation. If you still need some help, you've come to the right place - every pitcher mentioned this week is available in 64% of leagues or better. Let's get to it.
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options for starting pitchers, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily.
Shallow Leagues
Tanner Roark (WAS, SP)
OWNED IN: 36% of Yahoo leagues
BALLER MOVE: Add in 10 + team leagues
Roark was the odd man out coming into 2015 in the loaded Nationals rotation. Early on, we thought it would be Stephen Strasburg who would suffer an injury to open a spot, but it’s Doug Fister who has made Roark an asset once again. Roark put up excellent numbers in 2014 including a 2.85 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 31 starts.
He’s only given up one run over eight innings in May and I fully expect him to become a solid fantasy contributor until Fister returns. He’s expected to be limited to 75 pitches in his outing Monday at Chicago but with a two-start week (@CHC, @CIN) in store I have no problem rolling him out in weekly leagues. Available in 64% of leagues, feel free to give him a spin in mixed leagues.
Roenis Elias (SEA, SP)
OWNED IN: 5% of Yahoo leagues
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12 + teams
Elias was a sneaky play in fantasy in the second half of 2014, and he's maintained that success to since joining the rotation in the end of April with a 2.76 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 25/9 K/BB ratio. He's yet to allow more than three runs since July 9th of last year and hasn't walked more than three batters all season. He was fantastic in his last outing at Baltimore, limiting the Orioles to one run with six hits, no walks, and four strikeouts over 7.2 innings. None of his advanced statistics scream regression so I'm buying him in deep leagues. In shallow leagues I highly recommend streaming Elias for his outing Monday at Tampa, and if he puts up a solid line considering make a spot for him in your rotation.
Deeper Leagues
Kyle Hendricks (CHC, SP)
OWNED IN: 11% of Yahoo
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14 + team leagues
Hendricks earned himself a spot this week after his masterful complete game at San Diego. It was his first start to eclipse six innings this season while he finished with no walks and seven strikeouts. This was more along the lines of what owners expected from Hendricks after his solid 2014 stint (13 GS, 2.46 ERA, 1.08 WHIP). He's never been a high strikeout pitcher, but he has solid control and keeps himself in ballgames. His 1.77 BB/9 rate is 15th among qualified SP and it's actually up from his 1.66 BB/9 rate last season. He's not a must add by any means but he's worth keeping an eye on in shallow leagues to use in advantageous matchups. He has a matchup this week with Washington; play him at your own risk.
Tsuyoshi Wada (CHC, SP)
OWNED IN: 6% of Yahoo leagues
BALLER MOVE: Add in NL-Only / Stream in Mixed
Wada was a personal favorite of mine for streaming purposes in 2014. In his 13 starts, he compiled a 3.25 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 57 K over 69.1 innings. Wada, who just returned from a groin injury and will be replacing Travis Wood in the Cubs rotation, only lasted 4.2 innings at San Diego and gave up two runs with one walk and nine punchouts. The issues limiting Wada are his inability to go deep into games combined with his poor splits vs righties, considering the righty dominant teams in the NL Central (STL, PIT, MIL). That said, Wada is a great addition for NL-only teams and should be on the streaming radar for shallow leagues. He's got a two-start week (WAS, KC) coming up as well, although I only recommend rolling him out for the KC game.
Other Pitchers Previously Highlighted to Consider
Noah Syndergaard (NYM, SP / 64%) ; Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL, SP / 63%) ; Tim Lincecum (SF, SP / 57%) ; James Paxton (SEA, SP / 55%) ; Mike Leake (CIN, SP / 48%) ; Wily Peralta (MIL , SP / 38%) ; Jesse Chavez (OAK, SP / 36%) ; Jimmy Nelson (SP, MIL / 27%) ; Chase Anderson (ARI, SP / 19%)
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