Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Pitching Pickups, 4/26/13

If you’re on the waiver wire looking for starting pitching, here’s four options including Milwaukee Brewer pitcher Hiram Burgos. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

With a full Friday slate, there’s plenty of ways to start your weekend off right if you’re looking for help on the waiver wire for your fantasy baseball team. Whether you’re looking for a one time fill-in, a streaming starter, or an upgrade in your rotation, here’s the top four options scheduled to start Friday who are available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues.

Possible Pickups

Apr 11, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Justin Grimm (51) fields a Seattle Mariners hit ground ball during the 2nd inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Grimm-Texas Rangers: The Rangers visit Minneapolis and send Justin Grimm to the mound as he looks to build on his two starts against Seattle. Overall, Grimm is 1-0 with 11 K’s and four walks. He has a 2.70 ERA coming into play tonight when he’ll be matched against Scott Diamond. Grimm can bring the strike outs (nine in his las start) but needs to work on his full repertoire of pitches which would make him a more viable fantasy option full-time.

Hiram Burgos-Milwaukee Brewers: (0.6%) Burgos in 1-0 in his MLB career after going five innings to beat the Cubs last week in Miller Park. Friday, he faces the Dodgers and the still-winless Josh Beckett. Beckett enters the game against the red-hot Brewers 0-3 with a 4.68 ERA. Burgos is a reach in all but deep leagues, but he’s worth keeping an eye on to see the rest of his story and how he could help in the future.

Wei-Yin Chen-Baltimore Orioles: (8.1%) Chen could be high-risk since he’s facing the A’s who have been hitting the ball well. Chen got his first win of the season in his best start as he threw six innings of one-run, three-hit baseball against the Dodgers. Last season, Chen made two starts against Oakland and was 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA. He’ll look to continue his dominance Friday against Tommy Milone and the Athletics.

Apr 21, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick (38) delivers to the plate during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Kendrick-Philadelphia Phillies: (3.8%) Kendrick starts against the Mets on Friday after beating them three starts ago in Phily. In that start he allowed just two runs in six innings, but has been even better since with two starts in which he allowed a total of two runs in 13 inning while striking out 10 and walking just three. He was roughed up by the Royals in his first start of the year but has had three solid outings since then and comes in 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA.

Past Performance

Here’s my last week of picks: