Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Starting Pitcher Pickups-August 20, 2014
If you are still in your fantasy baseball race, you know how important every start can be coming down the stretch during the fantasy regular season. On Wednesday, you can get some good starts from pitchers on the waiver wire, but you’ll have to act early since the MLB day starts at 12:40 in Miami when most leagues lock their roster. We’ll have another full day of baseball with four games on tap for the afternoon and 11 more throughout the evening.
My starting pitching pickups have been rolling along through the early part of August (archive and new posts show up here). In 320 innings this month, my picks are a combined 24-13 with a 3.01 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and a 7.73 K/9 rate. As always, my picks are available in at least half of ESPN leagues when they are selected the day before their scheduled start.
Here are my top options to look at if you’re hitting the wire for Wednesday starts:
62. Paxton is one of the Mariners top pitching prospects and has been showcasing his top-flight stuff in his last two outings. Against the White Sox and Tigers, Paxton allowed just two runs total in 12.1 innings on 11 hits and one walk while picking up six strikeouts. By beating Detroit, he improved to 3-0 on the season in the Majors with an impressive 2.20 ERA. Paxton should be lined up for another good start on Wednesday afternoon against the Phillies as long as the ball isn’t jumping out of Citizens Bank Park too much. He’ll be opposed by Cole Hamels, so a win may be hard to come by although I do expect another quality outing.. 36.0% owned. @ Philadelphia Phillies. James Paxton. 1. player
43. Pineda made a solid return from the DL in his last outing allowing just one run on two hits in five innings against Baltimore. On the season, Pineda is 2-2 with a 1.82 ERA in five starts. On Wednesday, he’ll face the Astros offense which has been heating up lately, but it’s still favorable matchup as he faces Scott Feldman who was just hammered in his last outing at Fenway.. 49.0% owned. vs Houston Astros. Michael Pineda. 2. player
11. Chen has three quality starts in his last four outings and has been effective since the All-Star break going 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA in five starts. He’ll be going for his 13th win of the year when he takes on the White Sox Wednesday night who he faced earlier this season allowing three runs in 5.2 innings. I think he’ll have a better outing this time and has a good shot at a “W” as he faces Hector Noesi who is 7-8 with a 4.84 ERA.. 44.9% owned. @ Chicago White Sox. Wei-Yin Chen. 3. player
15.3% owned. vs Texas Rangers. Nathan Eovaldi. 4. player. 82. Although he’s been up-and-down this year, Eovaldi makes a nice pick as he faces the injury-depleted Rangers lineup in the earliest game of our Wednesday schedule. In three starts this month, Eovaldi is 1-1 with a strong 1.29 ERA and 16 K’s in 21 innings. He had a rough July but has bounced back nicely as of late. Eovaldi has been on the streaming fringe all season, but this matchup is a good one and his recent form makes him an attractive option.
vs San Diego Padres. Roberto Hernandez. 5. player. 71. In his first home start since being acquired from the Phillies, Hernandez will face the light-hitting Padres looking to turn in his third straight quality start. Since being acquired, Hernandez has made two starts allowing a total of three runs on six hits in 12 innings. He usually doesn’t pile up K’s, but if you need a win Hernandez gives you a chance to poach one off the wire.. 8.4% owned