BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams
ROSTERED IN: 13% of leagues
ANALYSIS: While he may not have high strikeout numbers, Houser has been having a good month in July where he's gone 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA, 1.273 WHIP and 16.7 percent strikeout rate over 22 innings of work. He'll look to kick things off in August with his fifth appearance of the season against Pittsburgh, after going 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA, 0.771 WHIP and seven strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings of work against the Pirates in July. The Pirates had been hitting well recently, but their offense has come to a grinding halt over their last three games where they are slashing .158/.216/.253 and averaging 1.3 runs per game. They are also hitting worse on the road (.235/.298/.361) than at home (.240/.319/.375) this season, which is another point in Houser's favor.
He'll close out the week against the Giants, who have struggled over their last 10 games by hitting .222 while averaging 3.7 runs per game. On top of that, they have been hitting considerably worse on the road (.235/.311/.430) than at home (.252/.343/.436).
The only real concern with Houser is that he has not reached five innings pitched in two of his last four starts, so there's the potential that he could put up good rate numbers but miss out on wins. That matchup with the Pirates should be about as sure a thing as you can predict in fantasy, and if he can put up even an OK performance with the Giants, he should provide solid value in Week 19.
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups
Gregory Soto - Closers and Saves Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 2% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Gregory Soto picked up the save this past Wednesday in a 2-1 victory over the Angels, which was his second save of the year. Notably, Jose Alvarado pitched the eighth inning, giving way to Soto in the ninth. Technically speaking, Alvarado's task was... Read More
Shane Baz - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Stashes (Week 7)
BALLER MOVE: Stash in Deeper Leagues CALL-UP ETA: June ANALYSIS: One of our favorite pitching prospects is Shane Baz. Depending on where you look, Baz has graduated off lists that use service time, but he's still under the 50-inning threshold and worthy of discussing in an article such as this. After missing all of 2023 due... Read More
Alex Lange - Closers and Saves Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Adds
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 44% of Leagues ANALYSIS: After recording 26 saves for the Detroit Tigers in 2023 as the team's primary closer, Alex Lange was expected to be the team's closer heading into 2024. A somewhat rough spring for Lange prompted manager A.J. Hinch to use Jason Foley in the... Read More
Joe Kelly - Closers and Saves Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Analysis (Week 7)
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-14+ Team Leagues / NL-Only Leagues ROSTERED IN: 3% of Leagues ANALYSIS: Los Angeles Dodgers closer Evan Phillips (hamstring) was placed on the 15-day injured list on Sunday with a Grade 1 hamstring injury. Although Phillips is expected to remain sidelined only for a minimum stint, several save opportunities will now be... Read More
Paul Skenes - Fantasy Baseball Prospects Waiver Wire Analysis (Week 7)
PROSPECT: Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates ERIC CROSS' LATEST PROSPECT STASH RANKING: #3 CALL-UP ETA: May ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitching prospect Paul Skenes has been lighting up Triple-A and is on the verge of making his major league debut. The former number-one overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft has posted an incredible 0.39... Read More
Download Our Free Waiver Wire App
Like what you see? You can download our free fantasy baseball mobile app for iPhone and Android which includes more waiver wire recommendations at every position, 24x7 player news, notifications, injury alerts & daily articles.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!Check out RotoBaller's entire fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and sleepers list, updated daily!