Starting Pitcher Pickups-Spot Starters for July 1

Finish your fantasy baseball week and start the month of July off right with soem good starting pitching you can find on the waiver wire in most leagues. As the MLB continues to push toward the All-Star break, every team is in action across the country which means there are plenty of good pitching matchups where the starter is owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues. Here’s the picks for Sunday with the ownership percentage from ESPN in parentheses.

The Pickups

Francisco Liriano – Min: (23.7%) Since returning to the rotation Liriano has allowed zero or one run in four of six starts. He got the win over the White Sox last time out improving to just 2-7 and helping his ERA to 5.30 with a 1.46 WHIP. In June though, He’s has a 2.87 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 31 innings. He seems to be back on track and facing the light-hitting Royals will only help him continue his resurgence.

Felix Doubront – Bos: (48.2%) Despite his recent struggles, Doubront makes a good pickup before he faces the Mariners in Safeco. Aaron Cook and Franklin Morales have looked great against Seattle and Doubront will look to get things turned back around after getting battered by the Blue Jays his last start. In 15 starts this season, the first-year starting pitcher sits at 8-4 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He does average just over a strikeout per innings as well if you are on the K-hunt.

Travis Wood – ChC: (0.8%) In his eight starts, Wood has been credited with five quality starts and has an ERA of 3.54 with a 1.20 WHIP. His strikeout numbers are typically low (35 in 48 innings), but the Cubs host the Astros who have been struggling to score and Wood has been efficient lately. His last two starts have covered 13 innings while he’s allowed just one earned run and nine hits while picking up 11 strikeouts. Wood is a player you can grab in almost any format but he’s becoming a viable fantasy option.

Joe Blanton – Phi: (9.4%) Making his third start of the year against Miami, Blanton brings a 7-6 record and an unseemly 4.87 ERA into Sunday’s game. He matches up with Ricky Nolasco who has been taking a beating lately and could be in line for a win if he can manage damage control. In two of his last three starts he’s allowed two earned runs or fewer. He has been giving up home runs and not dominating, but he’s in a good matchup and could turn in another solid outing like last time against the Pirates or when he pitched a complete game against the Twins June 14. He’s an option if you need a W and can take a little hit in WHIP and ERA.

The Payoff

Here’s the results of the picks for the past week. Click here for Saturday’s picks