Fantasy Waiver Wire Pitchers: Dixon’s Picks for Week of 8/18
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Another Sunday gives us another Dixon’s Picks, our weekly look at some fantasy waiver wire pitchers that could very well be worth streaming this week. While the end of the season poses unique challenges for pitchers, now is the time for some of you to stream, as there’s only a little more than a month left to pick up stats and now you can get a good idea of what you need.
Before we get to this week’s guys, let’s see what the season stats are for my selected fantasy waiver wire pitchers after the outings of of Tom Koehler, Jeremy Hellickson, and Collin McHugh last week.
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Now, on to this week’s guys.
- Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds — Probable Starts: Monday at St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday vs. Atlanta Braves
I don’t quite get what fantasy owners seem to have against Mike Leake. No, he won’t be winning the Cy Young Award or anything like that this year, but he’s pitched very well and has manageable WHIP, ERA, and strikeout rate, especially over the last month.
Still, Leake goes unowned in many leagues.
I admit that coming into the year, neither the Cardinals or Braves would have exactly been teams that you look to stream against. But the way things are going this year, those are both at worst, neutral assignments for the pitchers.
Given Leak’es overall consistency and the less than daunting oppoents, Leake should really be owned in more leagues. But the fact that he’s not is a good break for us fantasy players, at least this week.
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- Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants — Probable Starts: Tuesday at Chicago Cubs, Sunday at Washington Nationals
The Giants have given him virtually no run support throughout the season, but Ryan Vogelsong has been a quality start machine for most of the season — certainly since April.
The Nationals may not qualify as a typical streaming opponents, but Vogelsong has been rock solid against pretty much all offenses in 2014. Of course, you head-to-head players, especially, can decide if you need him for the riskier outing on Sunday.
But given the way he’s been pitching, I’d say that Vogelsong a pretty safe bet to take you into the sixth or seventh inning.
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- Chase Anderson, Arizona Diamondbacks — Probable Starts: Tuesday at Washington Nationals, Sunday vs. San Diego Padres
While we’re on the subject of quality start machines, let’s take a look at Chase Anderson.
I’ll start with a question that some of you — especially the Nationals fans — might be wondering. No, I don’t think the Nats are a bad team. As we went over above, nothing about them screams “streaming opponent”, but they rank in the middle of the pack in just about every offensive category. Nothing about that tells me to stay away from them either. Considering that and the stream of solid outings that both Vogelsong and Anderson have had, I’m calling them good streaming plays this week.
Anderson has been one of the only bright spots on the Arizona roster this year, but he’s pitched exceptionally well, even notching a good W-L record for a team that’s not winning.
Given how well he’s been throwing, the risk with Anderson is pretty limited, at least going into the week. If you need the help, he’s not a bad way to go.
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