Starting Pitchers for April 18 Available on the Waiver Wire-Fantasy Baseball

One of the top four pitchers to consider adding from the waiver wire for Thursday is Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez (50) who in this picture pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday’s in the Majors can sometimes get a little shallow with the streaming starter options as many teams take a travel day to head to their weekend series. This Thursday, there are 11 games scheduled giving some solid options to anyone searching on the wire for a starting pitcher to plug in and help their staff. Here’s four options I like for Thursday’s games across the MLB:

Pickups to Ponder

Apr 13, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (45) pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Jhoulys Chacin-Colorado Rockies: (39.9%) Chacin makes his fourth start of the year coming in with a nice 2-0 record and a 1.96 ERA to go with a 0.98 WHIP. He’s faced only the Brewers and Padres, but gets another nice matchup agains the Mets even though it is at Coors Field. Chacin isn’t as good as his first three starts have made him look, but should be able to have another solid outing at home against the Mets. He’ll be opposed by fellow two-game winner Jonathon Niese in what should be a nice pitchers-duel.

Miguel Gonzalez-Baltimore Orioles: (1.4%) Gonzalez starts his first game at home this season after a pair of solid road starts. His first start of the year was against the same Rays he’ll face Thursday night and he lasted 6 1/3 while allowing just five hits and two runs. He got the win in that start, but lost his last one in New York with almost an identical line. He did have five walks which is a bit troubling, but I think he’ll bounce back and pitch well against Tampa. He’s opposed by David Price, so a win might be a bit of a long shot, but the Tampa lineup has been struggling so Gonzalez should have solid WHIP/ERA contributions.

Patrick Corbin-Arizona Diamondbacks: (1.0%)If you like to walk on the wild side, you can roll with Corbin who faces New York in Yankee Stadium. Corbin has looked great in his first two starts allowing just three hits in six shutout innings against LA his last time out to improve to 2-0 and drop his ERA to 1.50. He’ll be up against Phil Hughes in this one who comes in at 0-2 with a 10.29 ERA so the D-Backs offense should be able to get him the runs he needs as long as he can hold the powerful Yankees in check. I expect a decent start from him, and I think he’s got a decent shot at a W.

Sept 15, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Tony Cingrani (52) throws during the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Tony Cingrani-Cincinnati Reds: (12.5%) If you want to go risky with big upside and avoid going against the Yankees, take a look at Reds prospect Tony Cingrani. A solid prospect overall, Cingrani got off to a nice start in Triple-A and had picked up 26 K’s in just 14 innings so far this season. He takes the spot of Johnny Cueto in the Reds rotation and gets a nice welcome to the Bigs in his first MLB start as the Reds host the light-hitting Marlins. Cingrani is a great pickup for the long haul, but it’s always risky grabbing a guy straight out of the minors for just a one-time start. If you’re looking for K’s and to fill a roster spot for a few weeks, Cingrani is the guy to grab.

Payoffs From Picks From the Past Week

Here’s how my picks have done in the past seven days: