Red Sox Doug Fister’s resurgence: Waiver wire add?

Doug Fister has fired off three consecutive spectacular starts for the Red Sox. But, is he worth now being a waiver wire add?

The Red Sox have a healthy lead in the AL East, yet there are still some questions that remain about the club. While starting pitching has been one concern, the recent performances from Doug Fister have quieted most doubts. Fister has dominated his last three opponents but is he worth a waiver wire add?

Fister’s 2017 season is interesting, to say the least. The Red Sox claimed him from the scrap heap in June and his initial outings justified why he was without a job in the first place. He could not go deep into ballgames when he first came to the club, and he was even worst out of the bullpen.

The best thing that could have happened to Fister was the month turning to Aug., and his continued installation in the Red Sox rotation. Over four starts last month, he posted a 3.71 ERA/1.08 WHIP/25 K.  While the arsenal has not changed, his fastball still will not break a plane of glass, the command has come back into form.

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For fantasy owners, Fister’s last three outings are worth fantasy interest. He has tossed 23 innings, surrendering only four earned runs, walking five, while striking out 18. What is more impressive is that those starts came against the solid lineups of the Orioles, Indians, and Yankees.

Fister has everything working again, his off speed stuff still has a ton of life, and a shift on the rubber is serving as a great mechanical adjustment. He is making his money off getting RHB batters out while surviving against LHB. Righties are not touching Fister right now, posting a .185 AVG/.552 OPS against him. Lefties fare better, .295 AVG/.835 OPS, showing that Fister still has to navigate around some trouble.

The reasons that Fister should be a waiver wire add is that he is hotter than ever on the mound and his next two matchups shape up to be solid starts. He gets the Blue Jays his next time out, a right-handed heavy lineup that he pitched well against the last time he faced them. After that outing, his next start would line up against the A’s, who are also right-handed heavy.

Next: Astros trade for Justin Verlander: Fantasy fallout

Doug Fister is not a name that fantasy owners ever thought they may need to rely on this late in the 2017 fantasy season, but here he is racking up solid outing after solid outing. His current hot streak and potential matchups, provide fantasy owners all the reason they need to add him off the waiver wire.