Fantasy Waiver Wire Pitchers: Dixon’s Picks for Week of June 30

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to Dixon’s Picks, our weekly look at fantasy waiver wire pitchers. The season is halfway over now and Tuesday will bring July. The seasons seem to go faster and faster each year. Before you know it, it will be August, so I guess we’d better get to this week’s guys.

Before we look at this week’s fantasy waiver wire pitchers, let’s look at my season stats after the weeks of Edinson Volquez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Kyle Gibson.

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• Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals — Probable Starts: Monday at Minnesota Twins, Sunday at Cleveland Indians

He’s been pitching well for most of 2014 but over his last five outings, Danny Duffy has been on fire.

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The walk totals are high, but he’s striking a lot of guys out and obviously, hitters aren’t exactly finding the holes when they do make contact.

Now, the Twins offense generally ranks in the average to below average range in most categories, while the Indians are average to above average. So, this is really a matter of taking a hot pitcher as opposed to riding hot match-ups.

Even with the opponents, Duffy is worth a look if you’re into streaming. Actually, even if you’re not, he might be worth paying attention to.

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• Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants — Probable Starts: Tuesday vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday at San Diego Padres

If you’re confused by the first outing, just wait. Obviously the Cardinals aren’t what you’d call a typical streaming opponent, but Tim Lincecum had been pitching decent before the no-hitter and while he’s had his struggles this year, those have mostly come away from AT&T Park. In San Francisco, he’s been fine.

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So, if the Cardinals scare you, I don’t blame you, but do consider that.

The Padres are pretty self-explanatory. I’m not going to predict a third no-hitter against them, but they’re as good a team to stream against as MLB has to offer.

Lincecum is a nice streaming candidate because even at his worst, you can usually count on him for a good strikeout total. As we’ve seen, he’s not the old Tim Lincecum, but he is still capable of pitching that way in a given outing.

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• Henderson Alvarez, Miami Marlins — Probable Starts: Tuesday vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday at St. Louis Cardinals

No, I didn’t randomly decide to start hating the Cardinals offense this week. But unlike Lincecum, Alvarez gets St. Louis in his second start, which is always preferable. Also, while the Cards offense is dangerous, I like Henderson Alvarez.

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I don’t love the WHIP, but that ERA is just too good to ignore at this point.

Alvarez is a great streaming pitcher. He doesn’t beat himself with walks and even if the hit total seems high, a pitcher that doesn’t offer free passes will generally have a solid ERA. Alvarez’s ERA is solid, and them some.

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