Fantasy Baseball Week 7: Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Adds

As week 7 approaches, there are still some teams in need of an extra boost. Here are the top 3 starting pitcher waiver wire adds for this week.

The season is truly starting to get underway as week seven of the fantasy baseball season begins Monday. Players are beginning to settle in and hit their stride. Pitchers on the waiver wire will be the focus this week. There are still a few fantasy studs remaining hidden out there. If your staff needs some help this week here are some waiver wire pickups that can help your team for this week 7 match-up and maybe for the rest of the season.

Jon Gray (SP) Rockies

Some may recognize the name and rightfully so. Jon is the younger brother of Sonny Gray, starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Sonny has made his name known over the past couple of seasons, and that is what Jon Gray is trying to do now.

Gray is currently owned in only 12.3% of ESPN leagues and can be a great waiver wire snatch. Grab the young right hander while you can. In just five starts this season, Gray has thrown 28.2 innings. While his 4,71 ERA does not look great on the stat sheet, Gray only has one negative point start out of his first five.

After surrendering 11 runs in his first two starts, the 24-year-old has only given up 4 runs while striking out 24 over his last 20 innings pitched. Gray has shown tremendous control these past three start for Colorado as he appears to be settling in this season. Gray has a dominating upper 90’s fastball which results in a lot of swings and misses. Great news for fantasy owners out there.

Gray will be facing the St. Louis Cardinals this upcoming week. He will look to keep his K rate up, especially against players like Brandon Moss, Randal Grichuk, and Stephen Piscotty.

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2. Matt Andriese (SP) Rays

Matt Andriese has opened many eyes in his first two starts this season. Andriese is currently the fifth starter for the Tampa Bay Rays. In his two starts, Andriese has thrown 16 innings, giving up just six hits and one earned run, including a complete game, two-hit shutout on Saturday against Oakland. He will bring his 2-0 record and 0.56 ERA to Detroit this Friday to face off with the Tigers lineup.

Andriese is great against right-handed batters. He is not your powerhouse, strikeout pitcher, but can give you length. With his sinking fastball, he can develop a lot of ground ball outs. This is encouraging for the Rays and for fantasy owners. Andriese may also have a reliever pitcher tag in your league. This can be beneficial if you can’t squeeze him into a starting pitching spot.

Andriese showing such composure through his first two starts is a good sign. He did not seem to fear baseball’s big names in Mike Trout and Albert Pujols when he faced off against the Angels in his first appearance. This may be the start to what can be a bright season for Andriese. He is currently owned in a mere 13.8% of ESPN fantasy leagues and should be picked up soon, especially for teams in need of a pitching boost. If Andriese can keep this up, the Rays will be hard pressed to send him back down to Triple A.

3. Colby Lewis (SP) Rangers

Colby Lewis is surprisingly owned in only 20.2% of ESPN leagues. This should be good news for other 80% of you who do not have him. Lewis is in the latter portion of his career as he is 36 years old, but is still worth a pickup. He has four straight starts with seven innings pitched. Unfortunately for Lewis, he has only recorded one win in that span. The rest have been no decisions as the Rangers have struggled to score runs for him in many of his starts so far this season.

If the Rangers can get him more run support, Lewis would be dominating this season. He has no losses through the first 6 weeks, however he only has two victories. He has pitched for at least six innings in every start and has not given up more than four earned runs in any start. These stats have helped him accumulate his current 3.12 ERA.

I do not project Lewis to uphold these stats as the season rolls on, however. Lewis can often times be a hit or miss pitcher. This being shown throughout his career and over the past two seasons especially. Since 2014, Lewis has an ERA of nearly 5.00. Ride him while he his hot, but don’t expect it to last for terribly long. He will be pitching against Houston this upcoming week. Houston has been struggling this year and is a lineup with a lot of strikeout potential.

Next: J.A. Happ is a Must Add in Week 7

All of these starting pitchers can have direct fantasy impact for the week ahead. Waiver wire pickups like these can have other owners in your league scratching their heads wondering why your team is succeeding with such unknown players. The future is now for fantasy owners indeed. Grab these young studs while you still can.

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