Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Starting Pitcher Pickups-August 7, 2014
Thursday has a wide-ranging slate of baseball as many teams are playing getaway games before heading to their weekend series. The first pitch will be at 12:35 ET so make your fantasy baseball changes early, but you’ll have to stay up late to see the end of the MLB day with the last West Coast games getting underway at 10:05 ET and easily giving us over 12 straight hours with baseball to watch and fantasy teams to follow.
If you’re in the market for starting pitching, there are three options to consider who are available in over half of ESPN leagues. Each afternoon, you can find my starting pitching pickups here on Fansided (archive here) to help you build your starting rotation and make your fantasy team a success. Here are the three widely available options who are scheduled to start Thursday at some point during the MLB marathon.
player. 135. McHugh continues to produce solid outings and has been racking up strikeouts even in his rougher outings. His last time out, he held the Blue Jays to one earned run in 6.1 innings while striking out five and walking just one. On the season, he has 107 K’s in 95 innings which are unusual numbers to be able to grab off the waiver wire. Don’t be scared off by the fact that he’s on the road for this start–McHugh has actually been much better on the road where he has a 2-3 record but a 1.96 ERA (compared to 4.36 at home). This will be his first outing of the year against Philadelphia, and I think he’ll be able to get another high-strikeout start and probably a win as the Astros face Roberto Hernandez and the struggling Phillies.. 10.2% owned. @ Philadelphia Phillies. Collin McHugh. 1
9. Hendricks will face the tough task of pitching at Coors Field, so there is definitely risk in grabbing and playing him, but his last three starts since the All-Star break show the upside in the Cubs 24-year old righty. In his last three outings, he’s allowed a total of two earned runs in 20.1 innings on 16 hits while walking four and striking out 11. His last start out he pitched well in LA against the Dodgers and improved to 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA on the year. The Rockies lineup isn’t a juggernaut at home this season, so Hendricks is worth a look if you can afford a little risk.. 3.0% owned. @ Colorado Rockies. Kyle Hendricks. 2. player
Elias has a 4.19 ERA on the season, but he’s allowed just one earned run in each of his last three starts two of which came against the hard-hitting Orioles. On Thursday night, he’ll be at home against the White Sox looking to even his record at 9-9 with a win. When Elias has been bad, he’s been pounded, but he has shown enough promise as of late to be a high-risk, high-reward option as he takes Scott Carroll in a game where a win should be a distinct possibility.. 5.9% owned. vs Chicago White Sox. Roenis Elias. 3. player. 62