Three Waiver Wire Starting Pitchers from the National League

June 4, 2014

Matthew Vazin analyzes three waiver wire starting pitcher sleepers that can be very used in NL Only and deeper leagues. These sleeper pitchers should be owned.

Three SP Sleepers Flying Under The Radar

Jonathon Niese (NYM) - 39% Owned

Jonathon Niese has quietly strung together an effective season as he has posted a 3-3 record with a 2.69 ERA. He has yet to give up more than 3 earned runs in any start this season. Over his past 5 road starts, Niese has pitched 33.1 innings while only giving up 9 earned runs. Unfortunately, his 2.44 ERA over this stretch has resulted in just one win due to the Mets’ lack of run support.

Despite this,  Niese has been a reliable starting pitcher for fantasy owners the entire season. His eight quality starts in 11 outings shows that he has done a fantastic job of making it deep into games. After his eight inning, two earned run and six strikeout performance on Sunday against Philadelphia, it is safe to say that Niese should be owned in all formats.

Ryan Vogelsong (SF) - 29% Owned

Since his horrendous start on April 21^st where he couldn’t get out of the second inning, Ryan Vogelsong has gone at least 6 innings in his past 7 starts, with 5 of them being quality starts. Over this stretch, he has given up over one earned run just twice. The Giants sit in first place and if Vogelsong continues to pitch at the level he has since April 21^st, expect his win total to rise. As for strikeouts, his current 7.32 K/9 has been his highest since his 2012 campaign. Over his past 7 starts, he has struck out at least five batters in all but one start, which is something that fantasy owners must be happy with. If Vogelsong is a free agent in your league, it would be wise to pick him up in all formats.

Jacob deGrom (NYM) - 10% Owned

Similar to Jonathon Niese, Jacob DeGrom has pitched wonderfully, but has lacked the help from his bullpen and offense. DeGrom is coming off the best start of his career against Philadelphia, where he went 6.1 innings, gave up three runs and struck out an incredible 11 batters. The Mets blew the lead in the ninth, meaning that DeGrom will have to wait until at least Thursday to pick up his first win of the season.

DeGrom is set to face the Chicago Cubs in his next outing, which is a favorable matchup. Since being called up, DeGrom has gone 26 innings in four starts, giving up just seven earned runs in the process (2.42 ERA). The 11 strikeouts on Sunday may not be replicated, but expect DeGrom to record a quality start again, as he has done in every start so far this season. More importantly, he showed that he can be effective on the road, as this was his first road start of the season. If you are in desperate need of a pitcher, DeGrom is a wonderful candidate to add.