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5 fantasy baseball waiver wire pivots to replace Triston McKenzie

By Brad Berreman

Aug 19, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 19, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie will be sidelined for a while, so here are five pivot options to consider off the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball league.

Many, if not all, 2023 fantasy baseball drafts are complete now, a day out from Opening Day as I write this. So Tuesday’s news that Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie will miss eight weeks (at least?) with an injury to his pitching shoulder is certainly bad news for managers who already selected him as an upper-end-of-the-rotation arm for their fantasy pitching staff.

McKenzie had a breakthrough season in 2022, with a 2.96 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP over 191.1 innings. While his strikeout rate (8.9 K/9) lands disappointingly, he cut his walk rate in half compared to 2021 (2.1 BB/9, from 4.4 in 2021).

A high fly ball rate (49 percent) and low BABIP against (.237) last year added a hint of risk for this year, but he still drafted an SP2 for those who took him in fantasy drafts with the potential to outperform that this year.

Those who drafted McKenzie in fantasy should stash him in an IL spot if their league has one. Leagues without an IL spot means McKenzie just has to be pushed to the bench until he’s able to pitch. He is not to be dropped, if at all possible as roster concerns will naturally surface unless the news of his injury grows far worse.

In any case, McKenzie’s fantasy owners now need to add someone to replace him while he’s out. Actually, it’s more, fill the starting spot than outright completely and seamlessly replace.

Here are five fantasy baseball waiver wire options to fill in for McKenzie.

Note: Rostered rates are as of the afternoon of Wednesday, Mar. 29.

Fantasy baseball waiver wire options to replace Triston McKenzie

5. David Peterson, New York Mets

Peterson is taking the spot in the Mets’ rotation vacated by the injured Jose Quintana, who is expected to be out until July after rib surgery in mid-March.

Apart from the idea of compiling wins starting games for a Mets’ team that is expected to be very good, Peterson combined a high ground ball rate (49 percent) with a high strikeout rates (10.7 K/9, 27.8 percent) last season. His slider was especially filthy, with a 47.9 whiff rate according to Statcast.

Control/command is certainly a bit of a thing here, with Peterson posting walk rates north of 10 percent and BB/9 marks around 4.0 each season thus far in his career. But a starting spot for the first three months of the season puts him on the immediate radar in mixed leagues. Relief pitcher eligibility, if Quintana bumps him out of the rotation, adds to his season-long value.

Yahoo! Ownership: 19%
ESPN Ownership: 9.5%

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