Fantasy Baseball 2018: Top 3 starting pitchers to add in week 5

There are a few starting pitchers playing well but fantasy owners aren’t noticing. You need to take advantage of that.

Finding the right starting pitchers to add off the waiver wire comes with a lot of risks. These aren’t the star pitchers you drafted or the consistent names you added within the first couple of days of the season. These are the consensus bottom of the barrel names that could give up six runs in two innings at any given moment.

However, there are a couple of pitchers that have been passed on for too long. These pitchers need to be owned in more leagues and it starts with you. Whether you are looking for wins, low ratios or a high strikeout rate, these pitchers can help you in any of the pitching categories.

CC Sabathia

The veteran pitcher earned his first win of the season in an excellent start on Tuesday. He pitched six shutout innings against the Twins while allowing two hits and one walk and struck out four batters. CC Sabathia has a 1.86 ERA and 0.98 WHIP but just 12 strikeouts over 19.1 innings. His 5.6 K/9 would be the lowest of his career.

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Sabathia makes his next start on Sunday against the Angels. By the time you read this, it could be another quality start or the second bad outing of the season. Regardless, he is still someone worth adding for his potential to limit damage.

Sabathia may not pitch deep into games but he will get the five innings needed to qualify for a win. He may even reach quality-start status.

Miles Mikolas

Miles Mikolas spent the last three seasons in the Japanese Pacific Coast League before returning to MLB. The Cardinals made the move and it looks like the right one after the first month of the season.

He is a perfect 3-0 in his first five starts with a 3.27 ERA, 0.970 WHIP, 7.4 K/9 and 0.5 BB/9. The ERA may seem a little high but that is due to a couple of four-run outings to start the season. Since then, Mikolas has three straight seven-inning outings, all quality starts, with a combined four runs allowed, two walks and 17 strikeouts.

Mikolas will make his next start on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs pitching staff has been good as of late but the offense has been quiet, scoring eight runs in their last four games. Mikolas has been almost perfect with his pitch location and should continue the hot streak in Week 5.

Michael Kopech

This is more of a long-term stash but White Sox prospect Michael Kopech could make an appearance within the next month.

Kopech is pitching well in Triple-A so far this season. In four starts, he has a 2.14 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 12.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 with a 0-1 record. I don’t take much stock into the last stat. What I do like is the limited free passes and ability to get out of bad situations, 79.2 strand rate.

The White Sox are 8-18 so they are likely in no rush to call Kopech up. However, they can’t keep him in Triple-A for longer. The 22-year-old has pitched well in all levels and deserves a spot. I’d stash him in hopes of a late-May, early June call-up date.

Next: Franchy Cordero worth adding?

There are a couple of other starting pitchers worth adding for both the short and long-term. Guys like Chris Stratton (despite his recent outing), Tyson Ross, Junior Guerra and Trevor Cahill all need to be owned in more leagues. It’s better if you make the first move or risk losing out on some potential late in the season.

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