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Mike looks at three sneaky fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for starting pitchers in Week 10 (2024) who are off to hot starts and sees if they can sustain their success.
As we approach the month of June, it’s not always easy to find viable starting pitching options on the waiver wire. Several star pitchers are still on the injured list, which makes the pool of available options on waivers even thinner.
Streaming pitchers with favorable matchups is a good way to help offset injuries to your fantasy squad. Are MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams, and Ryan Weathers just viable streaming options, or could any of them be worth rostering for the long haul?
Let’s dig into the stats for these three starters and discuss if they can sustain their early-season success.
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MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
After acquiring Gore in the deal that sent Juan Soto to the Padres, the Nationals gave him 27 starts last year. The top prospect struggled, finishing with a 4.42 ERA and a 4.89 FIP. Part of the problem was him giving up 1.8 HR/9.
Gore has been a different pitcher this season, allowing 0.8 HR/9 on his way to recording a 3.04 ERA and a 3.15 FIP. His WHIP still isn’t spectacular at 1.29, but opponents have just a 7.7 percent barrel rate against him. Last year, he gave up a 12.1 percent barrel rate.
An encouraging stat for Gore is his 27.6 percent strikeout rate. He has relied more on his changeup, which has a 42.6 percent whiff rate. He has thrown that pitch 10.8 percent of the time this season, compared to 2.9 percent of the time last year.
MacKenzie Gore, Filthy 92mph Slider. 😷
5th K thru 3 pic.twitter.com/JWRhxLrYWq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2024
Gore is somehow still available in 49 percent of Yahoo leagues. It’s very difficult to find starting pitchers with his type of strikeout upside on waivers this late in the year. If he’s still available in your league, add him. He’s much more than just a streaming option.
Trevor Williams, Washington Nationals
While the Nationals hope that Gore is their ace of the future, they want to get viable innings out of the veteran Williams. While he made 30 starts for them last year, they weren’t great, leaving him with a 5.55 ERA and a 5.98 FIP. He allowed a whopping 2.1 HR/9, with opponents recording a 10.2 percent barrel rate against him.
Williams hasn’t been anything special, but his career 4.36 ERA and 4.56 FIP indicate that 2023 might have just been an off year for him. He has been much better this season, posting a 2.29 ERA and a 2.78 FIP over 10 starts. One stat that stands out is he has given up just two home runs over 51 innings.
Last year, Williams toyed with a sweeper that he only threw 2.8 percent of the time. This year, he has thrown it 19.0 percent of the time, which is the second most of any of his pitches. Given that he has a 48.1 percent whiff rate on it, it is another one of the main reasons why he has performed so much better.
Williams is not one to provide a lot of strikeouts. Even with the positive results from his sweeper, he has an overall strikeout rate of 21.4 percent this year. Among the streaming options that are readily available on the waiver wire in most leagues, Williams is one of the more appealing targets.
Ryan Weathers, Miami Marlins
The Marlins’ starting rotation has been decimated by injuries. Despite his 6.55 ERA and 6.03 FIP last season, they have needed Weathers to give them innings. He has already made 10 starts, posting a 3.16 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has certainly improved his control, lowering his walk rate from 11.3 percent last year to 7.6 percent this season.
Ryan Weathers' last three starts: 21 IP, 9 H, 1 ER. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tSBz53nZUn
— MLB (@MLB) May 26, 2024
It’s encouraging to see Weathers have better command of the plate, but his strikeout rate is still just 20.2 percent. His FIP isn’t as impressive at 4.23 and he has been a bit lucky with opponents having just a .236 BABIP against him. His 8.3 percent barrel rate allowed is actually slightly higher than his mark from last season.
The big concern with Weathers is him giving up too many home runs. In 2022, he allowed 2.3 HR/9 at Triple-A. Last year, he gave up 1.9 HR/9 in the majors. This year, he has shown improvement in the area by allowing 1.0 HR/9. Still, with his FIP and lack of strikeout upside, it’s best to view him as a streaming option for when he has matchups that work significantly in his favor.
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