Dane Dunning is a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup for Week 17 of the 2021 MLB season. Consider adding the starting pitcher if he's free agent in your leagues.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
ROSTERED IN: 12% of leagues
ANALYSIS: Dunning got off to a good start this season but then went through a rough patch in late May through early June. Over his last six starts though, things have picked up as he's posted a 3.33 ERA and 25.6 percent strikeout rate over 27 innings of work. He'll kick off the second half against the Tigers, who have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games while slashing .249/.325/.407 and averaging 5.4 runs per game. They've also averaged 10.9 strikeouts per game in that span, and have the worst strikeout rate in the majors at 27.2 percent. After Detroit he'll head out to Houston, where the Astros have struggled a bit at the plate recently, slashing .215/.286/.361 and averaging 4.2 runs per game over their last 10 games. Dunning will also benefit from the fact Houston is hitting worse against right-handers (.262/.341/.437) than against left-handers (.282/.351/.440), and they're also hitting worse at home (.259/.339/.425) than on the road (.279/.349/.452).
Based on how they've performed this year, one would think Detroit would be an easier matchup for Dunning than Houston. However, it's looking like it could be the opposite case in Week 17. The biggest concern really is that Dunning has only pitched at least five innings in a game four times out of his last 10 starts. That seems to be more of a workload issue than performance issue though, as it appears the Rangers are holding him to a rough limit of about 80 pitches. So there's a chance he may miss out on a chance at earning a win this week, but his other numbers should make him a solid play in deeper formats.
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