Week 2 is almost in the books and the fantasy baseball madness is in full swing. That means we’re all out here frantically panning for waiver wire gold.

Starting pitchers have the most rollover during the season and the incredible depth of pitchers that are going across the league mean there are almost always candidates to look at with dreams of striking it rich. I’m here to put together some starting pitchers for your waiver considerations.

Protocol dictates sticking to players who are owned in <50% of leagues.

Editor’s Note: RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups list is updated every single day. Our awesome writers bring you analysis on hot or emerging starting pitchers, and also all other fantasy positions. You can also download our waiver wire iPhone app for free, and easily stay updated.

 

Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Targets:

Jerad Eickhoff (PHI, SP) – 48% - Eickhoff was able to beat up on the Padres in his second start and now has a strikeout per inning (12 in 12) alongside a nice 1.50 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. His 1.91 FIP is crispy as well. His swinging strike rate has taken a bit of a step forward thus far from 10.4% to 10.9% while his command looks strong. This is all with the “small sample size” caveat, but most encouraging is the flip flop of his ground ball and fly ball rates from last year. In 2015 he was more of a fly ball guy, whereas this season he’s generating grounders as his most frequent outcome.

Matt Moore (TB, SP) – 42% - Moore has shown some of the brilliance that put him on fantasy radars back in 2013, sort of. He’s struck out 11 in 12 innings thus far so that’s vintage Moore, but he has a neat 3.00 ERA and 1.08 WHIP - both better than we’re used to seeing. His control is a little better thus far but his FIP through the first two starts is still 4.49. I’d advise some caution when chasing him. That said, if he can be had for free on waivers then why not speculate?

Brandon Finnegan (CIN, SP) – 34% - When you take a no-hitter deep into a game you’re going to be noticed, let alone one against the Chicago Cubs. Finnegan’s control is his biggest bugaboo and that has showed so far as he’s walked six in 12.2 innings so far, but he’s also struck out 14. He pitched around 100 innings last season so don’t expect more than 130-140 innings out of him, but he makes for an intriguing flier.

Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS, SP) – 31% - Just a friendly reminder is all. He threw 50 pitches in a simulated game on Wednesday as of the latest report.

Ross Stripling (LAD, SP) – 30% - The whole Finnegan thing? Yeah, that again. Almost throwing a no hitter in your debut and stringing together some more scoreless innings in the second start will put you on the map. Stripling’s FIP is 2.93 through his first two starts, though his SIERA is 4.46. He doesn’t deserve to be ahead of names that follow at lower ownership rates, but the hype is understood. For now he has a spot in the Dodgers’ rotation and is performing well, so feel free to stream him but don’t count on him as a fixture.

Anthony DeSclafani (CIN, SP) – 25% - Again, this is one of my favorite short-term DL stashes. He showed major improvements in the second half last season as he started to rack up more Ks alongside significantly fewer walks as his secondary offerings really stepped up. He should be solid in four of five categories (I won’t pretend that the Reds are going to give him wins).

J.A. Happ (TOR, SP) – 22% - Happ is trying to retain the Ray Searage magic that he was blessed with during his stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season. His first start in 2016 saw him give up two runs in six innings while he struck out four. His second start was against the Yankees and saw him pitch six innings of one run ball where he danced around seven hits and three walks. He didn’t look particularly sharp in either start but he got the job done. Pitching for Toronto means you’re facing some serious offenses. I prefer others lower than this ownership percentage, but it’d be disingenuous not to include him.

Adam Conley (MIA, SP) – 20% - Conley’s first start went horribly, but his second start saw him post six shutout innings where he struck out nine Mets. He has 11 strikeouts in seven innings so far and a 12.9% swinging strike rate means the whiffs are legitimate thus far (again, seven innings). He’s had decent strikeout stuff in the minors, but I don’t think he should be viewed as a major strikeout guy moving forward. He’s a solid streamer/end of rotation guy who has room for growth though that is worth playing in the NL East against weaker opponents.

Bartolo Colon (NYM, SP) – 20% - Bartolo Colon just keeps on chugging. He pitched six innings of one run ball with seven strikeouts in his first start against the Phillies and followed that up with 5.1 innings where he struck out five and gave up two runs against the Indians. He isn’t going to do anything special, but the Mets give him solid chances of picking up the W and his elite control allows him to keep a lid on potential damage.

Kevin Gausman (BAL, SP) – 20% - Again, just a friendly reminder. He might rejoin the Orioles on April 21.

Mat Latos (CWS, SP) – 18% - I feel the need to include him here just so I can temper any expectations people may have in seeing the surface statistics, as the 0.75 ERA and 0.50 WHIP are going to draw you in alongside the two wins.

Josh Tomlin (CLE, SP) – 14% - He finally had his first start of the season on Saturday after being pushed back thanks to scheduling issues and pitched five innings of one run ball against the Mets before having to leave due to a hamstring cramp. He struck out six on the day and had good command working for him. He makes for an intriguing deeper league starter who you play in favorable matchups.

Nick Tropeano (LAA, SP) – 11% - Tropeano made his 2016 debut against the Athletics, going five scoreless innings and striking out six. He did allow six hits and walk two, so his WHIP was 1.60 after the outing but he showed the plus putaway stuff in his secondary offerings that he flashed last season when he struck out 38 in 37.2 innings. He becomes an intriguing option for as long as he gets the opportunity to pitch, and hopefully when Andrew Heaney is ready to come back the Angels will have recognized that Tropeano is better than guys like Jered Weaver and Matt Shoemaker.

Shane Greene (DET, SP) – 9% - Greene turned in a solid outing against the Pirates on Wednesday where he allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in six innings while striking out seven to pick up the win. Manager Brad Ausmus said that if Greene pitches well then he’ll stay in the rotation. We’ll see what comes of that but Greene certainly pitched well in his only start of the year. He’s slated to take on the Royals on Tuesday night for his next start.

Chase Anderson (MIL, SP) – 7% - Anderson is riding improved command thus far to some early season success as he’s pitched 11 scoreless (okay he allowed three unearned runs) innings to open 2016. These starts were not against scrubs either as he’s taken on the Astros and Cardinals. Anderson isn’t a world beater but his secondary offerings, a good changeup and curveball, give him some options to attack hitters. He’ll take on the struggling Twins on Monday so he makes for a good target.

Chris Bassitt (OAK, SP/RP) – 5% - His second start of the season went better as he pitched seven innings and only allowed one unearned run against the Mariners in a no-decision. Bassitt did struggle with command as he walked five that night, but he only allowed three hits to balance that. He is an AL-only guy who can be streamed effectively, but should not be a staple on your squad unless you’re in a deep league.

Kendall Graveman (OAK, SP) – 3% - Graveman is a groundball specialist who can also not be a total zero in the strikeouts category (77 in 115.2 IP last season) that also happens to pitch in Oakland’s spacious park. He allowed two runs in his first start against the White Sox and only surrendered one run in six innings against the Angels in his second start, so the ratios are what you’re valuing here. He allowed an odd (read: large) amount of homers last season given his groundball-inducing ways, and can hopefully correct that this season to the point where he can be truly helpful to mixed leaguers. For now he’s more of an AL-only type.

Jon Gray (COL, SP) – 3% - Gray may not have opened the year on the active roster thanks to an abdominal strain suffered towards the end of March, but he has already thrown some successful bullpens where he ironed out some mechanical issues and reportedly rediscovered his curveball. Gray can mix that in with a mid-90s fastball and slider to log about a strikeout per inning. His command isn’t the best but he still posted a nice 3.63 FIP last season (against a brutal 5.53 ERA that may drive potential owners away) and you can strictly pitch him away from Coors if you’d like, at least to start.

Chad Bettis (COL, SP) – 3% - Two Rockies pitchers?! What kind of starting pitcher article is this? Just hear me out. If you can use him wisely and navigate around the harsh home starts at Coors then he can be quite effective. Bettis has pitched 18.1 innings thus far and is 2-0 with 14 strikeouts, a 2.95 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. His skill based ERAs are all over four so tread carefully, but he posted a 3.18 ERA in the second half last season and could be very useful if deployed correctly.

Logan Verrett (NYM, SP/RP) – 1% - Spot started admirably for the Mets to fill in for Jacob deGrom, throwing six shutout innings against the Marlins. He might get another look if you need a cheap streamer next week as he should draw the Phillies.

 

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