Dixon’s Picks: Waiver Wire Additions for the Week of June 10

Photo courtesy of Mike LaChance.

Last week was better for me than the week before was. That’s not saying too much, but I’m actually pretty pleased with the results, especially in the early week. Let’s take a look at where my guys stand overall:

Before we go on, I’ll also direct you to Michael Wacha of the Cardinals, and Julio Teheran of the Braves. Neither have quite the availability to be listed here, but they are both waiver wire options in a decent amount of leagues. Both are two-start guys this week and both, especially Wacha, have favorable matchups. If you have a spot available and they’re on the waiver wire, at least give them a long look.

• Scott Feldman, Chicago Cubs — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Cincinnati Reds, Saturday at New York Mets

I wrestled with this one for a few minutes before ultimately deciding to go with it. There were two big issues that I had to get around.

1. Feldman barely makes the cut here. By the time you read this, he may be available in fewer than half of the leagues. 
2. The Reds are one of the more dangerous offensive teams in the league.

Here are the answers to those issues.

1. Act fast and sign him. Obviously there are no guarantees that anyone will be available. 
2. At home this year, Feldman has a 1.64 ERA, 0.939 WHIP, a 5:17/1 K/BB ratio, a K rate of nearly one hitter an inning, and a 4-1 W-L record. Similarly, the Reds are a much better offensive team in Cincinnati than they are on the road. Well, this game is in Chicago.

Feldman has been one of the best pitchers in the National League so far. Actually, the Cubs rotation has been well above average all year. So, if he can stomach the early week game in Cincinnati, he’ll get a very favorable matchup in New York against a weak Mets’ offense over the weekend.

Feldman’s Projections for the Week

• Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds — Probable Starts: Tuesday at Chicago Cubs, Sunday vs. Milwaukee Brewers

I normally don’t like young arms. They’re on tight pitch counts, meaning their innings are limited, meaning anything that happens against them does heightened damage on the ERA and WHIP. But here’s why I like Tony Cingrani, at least for this week.

He’s already made an appearance in the majors this year. His ERA and WHIP clearly weren’t damaged irreparably, as he had marks of 3.27 and  1.03 in 33 innings. I love his K rate, of more than 11 per nine innings. I love that he struck out more than four hitters for every walk. Most of all, I love these matchups.

The Cubs and Brewers aren’t terrible offenses. They’re miles ahead of the Marlins and White Sox, who just can’t ever seem to generate anything. But despite guys like Anthony Rizzo, Alfonso Soriano, Starlin Castro, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura, and Aramis Ramirez, they’re scoring runs at a below average level.

Cingrani has great stuff and even if his innings are limited, it’s a pretty safe bet that he’ll at least get you a lot of strikeouts. When you weigh that against a solid walk rate, you have yourself a good two-start pitcher.

Cingrani’s Projections for the Week

• Bartolo Colon, Oakland Athletics — Probable Starts: Tuesday vs. New York Yankees, Sunday vs. Seattle Mariners

Much like Scott Feldman, the ownership rate of Bartolo Colon is rapidly rising. So, act fast. I chronicled Colon last week, so I’m not going to repeat myself too much. But it can’t be stated too often that a pitcher who doesn’t hurt himself by issuing free passes is rarely, if ever, a bad play.

As for their opponents, we all know that these aren’t the normal Yankees. This lineup is significantly depleted from the team that scored only 22 runs in nine postseason games in 2012 (seven in one game, four in another). They’re a middle-of-the-road offense right now. The Yankees have traditionally done very well getting on base, but not so much by way of the hit. Those teams tend to struggle against pitchers who don’t walk hitters. That’s Colon.

The Mariners are a Bottom-10 offense in pretty much any category. They don’t get on base enough, and don’t do enough when men are on. Even their wins generally come in low scoring games on the strength of their pitching.

Colon’s been incredibly solid and consistent. His performance hasn’t deviated much pre and post suspension. Give him two starts in Oakland against middle-of-the-pack offenses, and I foresee a good week.

Colon’s Projections for the Week