Five Starting Pitchers to Target for August 1 – Fantasy Baseball

If you’re starting the month trolling the waiver wire for starting pitching, you may be in for a long haul to the end of your fantasy baseball season, but don’t worry; there are options out there. There’s five good choices scheduled to start Wednesday who are available in most ESPN leagues. Check out our picks and our track record and then drop a bookmark and come back each day for more starting pitchers on the waiver wire who can deliver above-average results.

Pickup Possibilities

Carlos Villanueva – Tor: (17.4% owned) Villanueva allowed just two runs to the Tigers in his last start and moved to 6-0 while winning his fourth consecutive start. He’s been a huge boost to the Jays in his five starts  and enters his start Wednesday in Seattle with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He’ll face a Mariners team that’s playing well since the trade of Ichiro, but it’s still a favorable matchup for the Blue Jays righty. He hasn’t gone extremely deep into the game yet in any start but has a solid 65 strikeouts in 61.2 innings this season in 27 games both out of the ‘pen and in the rotation.

Jeff Karstens – Pit: (8.6%) Karstens didn’t have his best stuff last time out giving up four runs to the Astros but will look to bounce back against the Cubs (those who didn’t get traded) at Wrigley Field. He enters his 10th start of the year with a 3-2 record and a 3.88 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP and 38 K’s in 51 innings. He won’t get tons of K’s but logs innings and has a good shot to get the W. He and Villanueva are the best options available depending on what you need most from your pickup.

Stephen Fife – LAD: (0.1%) If you’re in a deep league or someone has already added Karstens and Villanueva, Fife is an intriguing option. He’s only made two starts in his Major League career, but they’ve both been good starts. He has pitched 6 and 6.1 innings while allowing one earned run in each game. The Dodgers face the D-Backs who have been hitting better in hitter-friendly Chase Field, so it isn’t an awesome matchup for Fife. The Arizona batters haven’t seen him though, so he’ll have that fact in his favor. I think Fife will contribute another quality start even though he won’t pile up K’s and may give up two or three runs.

Zach McAllister – Cle: (8.7%) McAllister has been a solid part of the Tribe rotation for the past month. In July he made five starts with a 2-1 record and a 2.56 ERA. He struck out 31 in 31.2 innings and had a solid 1.20 WHIP. McAllister has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his starts since being recalled and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his starts since May 12. He’ll face teh Royals in KC as the Tribe tries to stay in the hunt for the AL Wild Card.

Bronson Arroyo – Cin: (5.4%) Arroyo’s season has been up-and-down, but he’s turned in five quality starts in his last six and finished July with a 3-1 record in five starts. He had a 2.64 ERA over that time with a 1.14 WHIP. He’ll face the Padres lineup who have been hitting better lately but are still near the bottom of most offensive categories. If the Reds offense continues to fire on all cylinders, Arroyo is a good bet to get a win as he looks to continue his Summer success.

Payoff Pitch

Here’s our results for the past week. Click here for our picks for July 31.