Garcia, Anderson, Wandy: Week 11 Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups and Analysis

What's up readers. I'm back with another edition of scouring the waiver wire to help you make that next step with your fantasy roster.  If you've been following along with this series all season, you know the drill. If not, this article is to help you uncover starting pitcher options that may have been overlooked in your league or dropped after a poor start.

This weeks edition includes a group of deep guys who are still available in over 97% of leagues along with some pitchers that shouldn't be sitting out there in shallow mixed leagues. Extra note: I've started including the change in ownership week-by-week for the "Additional Pitchers" section so you have a better indication of how the market is moving for each pitcher.

Don’t forget to check out our Starting Pitcher Matchups & Streaming Tool for expert guidance during the week too, including what pitchers to start/sit for seasonal and DFS leagues. Let’s get to it.

Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options for starting pitchers, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily.

Starting Pitchers Waiver Wire - Shallow Leagues

Jaime Garcia (STL, SP)

OWNED IN: 35% of Fleaflicker Leagues

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10+ team leagues

It blows me away how much resistance there is to grabbing a share of anyone in the Cardinals rotation. Yes, Jaime Garcia has shown he consistently comes down with an ailment that stalls his season, but at this point you aren't paying more than a FA transaction. If you're in a competitive league, chances are someone has snagged Garcia at this point. If not, you need to listen up.

Garcia, the #15 pitcher among qualified SP in the past 30 days, has now gone five straight outings with a quality start and has yet to record a walk since his debut against the Mets. In his last turn, Garcia had easily his best outing of the year. He stifled the Royals (8 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K). Garcia isn't going to put up 6+ Ks a night but he has shown effectiveness in limiting his free passes throughout his career (6.8 BB%).

His groundball rate is at a career high 65%, but he usually is in the high 50s and had a 63% GB rate as recently as 2013 (he only lasted nine starts that year). His .247 BABIP combined with the fact that hitters are still making solid contact 87% of the time tells me the numbers are due for regression. That isn't to say he wont' be useful for mixed leagues; just think SP60 instead of SP40.

At this point I would advise to buy Garcia while he's upright and enjoy him until the DL stint comes, but be aware a hiccup is due. I would advise sitting Garcia his next outing at Minnesota considering his career splits on the road and some of the righties in that lineup. Regardless of his next matchup, he shouldn't be able available in 65% of leagues. Act accordingly.

Chase Anderson (ARI, SP)

OWNED IN: 16% of Fleaflicker Leagues

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10 + team leagues

Not going to lie, I'm not sure what I else I have to do to get Chase's ownership levels up. This is the third time I've included Mr. Anderson in this feature and since he's available in over 80% of leagues it's worth revisiting the subject.

Mr. Anderson wants your attention

Anderson was phenomenal in his duel with Madison Bumgarner this weekend, picking up the win while holding the Giants to no runs and one hit in a Dbacks 1-0 win. That brings his ERA and WHIP to a respectable 2.82/1.13 line over 73.1 innings. His 6.01 K/9 rate is down from last year and his minor league track record (around 8) but he's limited his free passes substantially (from 3.15 BB/9 to 1.96), a trade-off that most fantasy owners will take.

So is Anderson going to maintain his current rate of success? I don't think so. His HR/FB rate has dropped from 13.6% to 4.3% even though his hard hit contact and FB rate haven't seen any drastic adjustments, and both ZiPs and Steamer anticipate the walk rate and WHIP to creep up.

That doesn't mean Anderson won't still be of value in mixed leagues. His changeup has been extremely effective this year, throwing it 22% of the time and limiting hitters to a .157 AVG and .187 SLG. Pitchf/x tends to agree; his changeup scores a 5.2 (last year it was 7.0). I'm not saying Anderson is a must add, but I'll bet at least half of the 84% of owners with Anderson on the wire could use his services. Maybe then I'll stop writing about him.

Starting Pitchers Waiver Wire - Deeper Leagues

Wandy Rodriguez (TEX, SP)

OWNED IN: 16% of Fleaflicker Leagues

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ team leagues

Wandy the Wizard just doesn't want to leave the fantasy landscape. Now 36, Rodriguez put together a solid spring for Atlanta until they surprisingly released him to roll with Eric Stults. Texas was happy to scoop him up on a minor-league deal and he's proven to be a steal, compiling a 3.03 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 49/21 K/BB ratio over 59.1 innings. He's been pitching particularly well of late; since May 21st he owns a 2.30 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, including just three free passes in his last 19.2 innings.

Can Wandy keep this up? I tend to lean on the optimistic side, mainly due to the adjustments he's made. Check out his pitch usage percentages from just last year to now.

Wandy Rodriguez Pitch Usage 2014/2015 (Brooks Baseball)

He's basically dumped the changeup, and good riddance; since 2010 the Pitchf/x value on his changeup has ranged from -1.8 to -8.0. As a veteran pitcher it is imperative to be realistic about your shortcomings and make the adjustments necessary to succeed in the bigs. I think Wandy's done just that. His knuckle-curve has been particularly effective; hitters have been limited to a .173 AVG and .204 SLG vs the pitch since the beginning of May. I'm buying Wandy in deeper leagues hoping owners have been scared off by his poor 2014 and his injury history. Again, worry about injuries later when the player costs nothing to add now.

Williams Perez (ATL, SP)

OWNED IN: 3% of Fleaflicker Leagues

BALLER MOVER: Stream Watch / Add in 14+ team leagues / NL-Only

Told you we were going deep. Perez has performed respectably after climbing through the Atlanta farm system, compiling a 2.78 ERA over 32.1 innings albeit with a 1.42 WHIP and a 29/17 K/BB ratio. If you dig a bit deeper you'll see that since Perez began starting for Atlanta (May 20), he owns a 2-0 record and 1.80 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP. His last start vs San Diego was quite impressive, completing seven innings with one unearned run in a 4-1 win. It was the fourth time in five starts he limited the opponent to one run or less.

So Perez has shown he can produce results, but can he be a regular of your rotation? The 4.73 BB/9 rate prevents Perez, a predominantly ground-ball pitcher with low K rates, from being useful for mixed leagues. But he's also done a good job of keeping the ball in the park (0.56 HR/9 this year). The high WHIP is due to his erratic control from game-to-game, but he's shown he has streamer potential and is an option for NL-Only leagues. I wouldn't advise streaming Perez for his next start at Boston, but I'd give him a go when he sees the Mets the turn after.

Matt Andriese (TB, SP)

OWNED IN: 0% of Fleaflicker Leagues

BALLER MOVE: Add in 16+ team leagues / AL-Only

These ownership levels are malarkey because I can't grab a share in one deep league. Andriese took over Jake Odorizzi's (Oblique) spot in the rotation this past week and pitched well enough to secure the win against the Sox, going 5.2 innings with two unearned runs and a 5/1 K/BB ratio.

His arsenal consists primarily of a fastball/cutter combo while mixing in a changeup but it isn't fooling hitters too much to this point; his BABIP is .333 with 37.6% of the balls in play being classified as hard hit. The key to Andriese's success is his ability to limit free passes; even in the minors he's never had a BB% above 7.2.

It's likely Odorizzi is going to miss more than the minimum 15 days, which means Andriese should see a couple turns in the rotation. I'm not comfortable endorsing Andriese for streaming purposes in shallow leagues considering the matchups (vs WAS/@ CLE) but if you in a really deep league in need of some pitching help, consider Andriese when you evaluate your consideration set.

Other Pitchers Previously Highlighted to Consider

Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS, SP / 70% ; up 14%); Noah Syndergaard (NYM, SP / 61% ; down 8%); Ubaldo Jimenez (BAL, SP / 52% ; down 3%); Jesse Chavez (OAK, SP / 48% ; down 5%); Tim Lincecum (SF, SP / 47% ; down 7%); Taijuan Walker (SEA, SP; 44%); James Paxton (DL) (SEA, SP / 42% ; down 3%); Mike Leake (CIN, SP / 32% ; up 1%); Jimmy Nelson (MIL, SP / 19% ; no change); Charlie Morton (PIT, SP / 17% ; up 1%); Matt Moore (DL) (TB, SP / 17%); Chase Anderson (ARI, SP / 16%); Roenis Elias (SEA, SP / 16% ; up 3%); Tsuyoshi Wada (SP, CHC / 6% ; down 10%)

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