Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Pitching Pickups, 5/6/13

One starting pitcher to look at on the waiver wire for Monday’s games is Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nick Tepesch as he prepares to take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Monday’s the start of a new week, and it couldn’t come soon enough after last week’s bumpy ride for pitching pickups. Each day, we highlight some of the better bargain options for starting pitching available on over half of ESPN’s Waiver Wire. Last week’s selections didn’t fare to well aside from a few bright spots like Jeremy Guthrie on Saturday.

Hopefully, this week things go better starting with these pickup options for Monday. There’s only nine games on the schedule meaning options are limited, but these are worth considering:

Possible Pickups

Nick Tepesch-Texas Rangers: (2.9%) Tepesch got knocked around at home in his last start against Chicago but will look to bounce back as the Rangers travel to Wrigley to take on the Cubs. The loss last time out dropped him to 2-2 but he still has a decent 3.54 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Tepesch will be pitching against former-Ranger Scott Feldman who has won his last two starts including a great performance his last time out. I don’t see Feldman duplicating that start against the Texas lineup though, so I think Tepesch is the better pickup. The Rangers rookie could easily pick up the win as the Rangers who are playing well take on the constantly strugglingCubs.

May 1, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Andrew Cashner (34) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Cashner-San Diego Padres: (6.9%) Cashner looked like a goos start last time but struggled with control against his former teammates in Wrigley Field and took the loss to the Cubs. This time he again looks to be in a position to succeed as he takes the hill at home against the Marlins and Wade LeBlanc (0-4, 6.23 ERA). In his last home start, Cashner limited the Giants to a run on five hits in six innings to earn his first win of the season. He should be able to produce some decent numbers against the punchless Marlins on Monday.

Ubaldo Jimenez-Cleveland Indians: (1.5%) Saying Ubaldo is risky is like saying James Harden has facial hair. Besides the obvious high-risk, Jimenez does have some to offer. His last time out he dominated the Royals throwing seven shutout innings while striking out four and allowing just three hits. He’s had two great starts this season sandwiched around three horrible ones. He faced Oakland at home on Monday and will be matched up with Jarrod Parker who is also off to a disappointing start but also showing signs of coming out of his slump. Jimenez is high-risk but could be worth it if he delivers like his last start.

Past Performance