Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Pitching Pickups, 5/08/13

One of the best Fantasy Baseball starting pitching options on the waiver wire is Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman who here pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday is always a good day to add some help for your starting rotation to get you through the middle of the week. If things do fall apart faster than Roy Halladay, there’s still time to recover before the end of the week and get wins in your pitching categories. Another reason Wednesday’s a good day to make moves is that there is usually a full, 15-game slate which is against the case this Wednesday, May 8. Here’s the top options available in more than half of ESPN leagues and how my picks have done over the past week:

Possible Pickups

Chris Tillman-Baltimore Orioles: (5.2% owned) Tillman goes for the O’s at home in the middle game of their three-game set against the Royals. KC will counter with Luis Mendoza who has been crushed in his last two starts and enters the game 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA. Tillman hopes to continue his recent success having allowed a total of three runs in his last three starts spanning 20.2 innings. His last start out was his best as he hurled eight shutout innings against the Angels. The Royals bats can be potent, but Tillman should get some decent run-support against Mendoza. He’s the top option for Wednesday.

May 3, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Bud Norris (20) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Bud Norris-Houston Astros: (5.0%) Norris is about the only Astro worth owning these days and only in the right situations. Wednesday he takes on the Angels who he threw seven shutout innings against earlier this season on his way to one of this three wins. He’s a good strikeout option and has only been lit-up once this season, in a start at Oakland. Expecting a win is always a stretch with any Houston pitcher, but Norris can help with K’s and a solid outing especially if he can rediscover the form he showed in Anaheim in his first outing against the Halos.

Jake Westbrook-St. Louis Cardinals: (31.6%) Westbrook takes on the Cubs in Wrigley on Wednesday as he takes on Carlos Villanueva who has also been a hot pickup recently. Westbrok makes the better pickup here though since he only has to deal with the Cubs while Villanueva has to deal with the red-hot Cardinals lineup. In his five starts this season, Westbrook has pitched at least six innings and comes in at 2-1 with a 1.07 ERA. He was sharp in his last outing picking up a win over Milwaukee while only allowing one run in six innings. He isn’t typically a high strikeout guy, but can produce in the wins, WHIP, and ERA categories.

Jason Marquis-San Diego Padres: (0.3%) Marquis is strictly a matchup play as he and the Padres conclude their series with the Marlins. He’s been solid but not spectacular with a 3-2 record and a 4.25 ERA. In all but one of his starts, he’s completed at least five innings and has only allowed more than three earned runs once. Marquis against the Marlins could easily result in  a W and some decent numbers, so consider him if you need a one-day pickup.

Past Performance