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Nicho's H2H points fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for pitchers in Week 11 (June 9 - June 15). Free-agent pitchers to add in points leagues.
Happy June, RotoBallers! As summer kicks off, I wanted to thank all of you who have tuned in to this weekly column. It's been an honor to write for you all, and I hope I've been able to help you improve your pitching staff throughout the first 10 weeks of the season.
As we look forward to Week 11, I have discussed 44 pitchers to this point, and I will do my best to continue mixing it up. However, just like in life, change is inevitable, and I may discuss a starting pitcher for the second time if I feel strongly about buying low on them. My goal is to continue helping your team identify the best starting pitchers in points leagues who are owned in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues, which is the focus of this weekly column. Luckily for this column, we will not be double-dipping on any players.
Keep following @RotoBallerMLB and me, @NichoRoessler, on X to stay updated with the latest content. You can always message me with your fantasy baseball questions; I'm happy to provide input! Bookmark this page if you want to look back at any of my weekly recommendations or other RotoBallers' recommendations for MLB streamers to stay ahead of other teams in your league. Best of luck this week, and let's keep swinging for the fences!
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Mick Abel, SP - Philadelphia Phillies
45% rostered
Phillies' right-hander Mick Abel burst onto the scene in his MLB debut on May 18, with six shutout innings and nine punchouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Abel stepped in for Aaron Nola (ankle) and left the Phillies with the impression of "I belong here". Well, the Phillies sent him back down to Triple-A after that start, but on June 1, they moved Taijuan Walker to the bullpen and recalled Abel to the big leagues, and he is now lined up to be the No. 5 starter for the time being.
In his second career start on Wednesday, June 4, Abel was solid again, throwing 5 1/3 innings, allowing no walks, three hits, and one earned run against the Toronto Blue Jays. Although his swing-and-miss stuff was absent (he only generated five whiffs), he could still give the Phillies a strong start. He has yet to walk a batter through two starts, has a 0.79 ERA, .71 WHIP, and is filling up the strike zone.
Mick Abel has yet to walk a batter in his first 2 MLB starts. That’s a recipe for success.
Holy command. pic.twitter.com/wKiyTLXAIl
— Phillies Central (@philscentral_) June 5, 2025
With Nola still slated to be sidelined for another few weeks, Abel will continue to get opportunities to prove he belongs in the big leagues. Abel is a former first round pick in 2020 (15th overall), and has had his struggles at the minor league level (6.46 ERA in Triple-A in 2024), but 2025 he has flipped the script, with a 2.21 ERA in 57 innings in Triple-A, and a 0.79 ERA in 11 1/3 innings in MLB.
Abel has good stuff and location, evident by his 109 Stuff+ and 108 Location+. He features a four-seam fastball (averaging 95.9 mph and 16.3 inches of rise), a curveball with 7.3 inches of break and 8.4 inches of drop, a sinker, slider, and changeup. Throughout his first two MLB starts, he has used all five pitches, but none more than his four-seamer and curveball (45.7 and 22.8 percent, respectively).
Recommendation: I like what I'm seeing from Abel, and he's backed by a potent offense, which improves his chances of racking up some wins. He will likely be sent down once Nola is healthy, but until then, he should get a few more starts and could be back in the rotation with any injuries to the Phillies' rotation. I would recommend allocating 5% of your FAAB to add him to your team for his next few starts, which are tentatively scheduled to take place against the Chicago Cubs at home in Week 12 and the Miami Marlins in Week 13, resulting in a two-start week.
Eury Perez, SP - Miami Marlins
41% Rostered
The 22-year-old phenom out of the Dominican Republic is back and is slated to start Monday, June 9, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. For starters, the matchup couldn't be any better. However, the No. 13 MLB prospect in 2023 is back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2024 during Spring Training; he is now back in the rotation, having made eight starts in the minors, where he posted a 1.99 ERA.
I had Perez in my stashbox section below, and for those of you who stashed, congratulations. For those who still have Perez on the waiver wire, go pick him up immediately. He is one of the best young arms in baseball, boasting elite Stuff+ (111). In 2023, Perez's first year in the big leagues, he logged 91 1/3 innings over 19 starts, with a 3.15 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, a 28.9 percent strikeout rate, a 33.7 whiff rate, and a modest 8.3 percent walk rate, all in his first year in the big leagues.
Eury Perez will make his return next week after missing all of 2024 and the first two months of 2025.
I still have him as a Top-10 dynasty SP right now which should speak volumes. It wouldn't surprise me if he's the dynasty SP3 at the end of the season.pic.twitter.com/3xhZHzjbRx
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) June 4, 2025
Perez features an elite four-seamer (94th percentile in fastball velocity), a slider (held opponents to a .183 BA in 2023), a curveball (.093 opponent BA in 2023), and a changeup (.045 opponent BA in 2023). His four-seamer had 18.1 inches of rise and 9.0 inches of tail in 2023. In addition to his pitch arsenal, he gets excellent extension (85th percentile), which increases the perceived velocity.
Recommendation: There isn't much else to say about Perez, as I was surprised to find that he was owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues during my research. He has the upside to be a league-winner, he is matchup proof, gets the Pirates in Week 12, and fantasy managers should plan to spend 30-35% of their FAAB or their waiver wire bid to secure him on your team for the long haul.
Mitch Keller, SP - Pittsburgh Pirates
39% Rostered
I considered featuring Mitch Keller last week, but I like his matchup better in Week 12 against the Miami Marlins. Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander is a very average pitcher by all metrics, with a career 4.55 ERA since 2019, but is putting together one of his better seasons in 2025 with a 4.13 ERA through 76 1/3 innings pitched.
Keller is a pitch-to-contact kind of arm and has reasonable control (102 Location+) and a 6.4 percent walk rate (76th percentile). His pitching, fastball, and breaking run value are all above average, and he features six pitches to keep hitters off-balanced. Defenders love playing in the field for pitchers like this.
Over his last six starts, he has logged at least six innings and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his six starts. He is your guy in points leagues that credit pitchers for quality starts. That being said, being backed by a bottom-5 offense in the Pirates, he has a (1-8) record, meaning he could be negatively impacted by getting tagged with a loss.
Mitch Keller, 93mph Sinker and 83mph Sweeper, Overlay pic.twitter.com/PTugsFRXfE
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 31, 2025
His sweeper, curveball, and changeup generate the most movement and are above average in movement compared to the rest of the league. The sweeper has 18.5 inches of break, while his curveball has 12.7 inches of break and 14.2 inches of drop. Both pitches are being thrown more frequently in 2025 compared to 2024, which could be the reason he is finding more success thus far this year.
Recommendation: Listen, Keller is not going to rack up a ton of strikeouts for you, or present you with extremely high upside, but he is a veteran arm that can eat up innings and produce quality starts. Keller has little competition in the rotation, so he is here to stay. As long as he provides quality starts, he will remain a reliable SP5 in your rotation. I'd recommend spending about 5-10% of your FAAB. Don't use a top waiver wire bid.
Lance McCullers Jr., SP - Houston Astros
18% Rostered
Welcome back, Lance McCullers Jr.! This guy had his fair share of injuries over the years and has not pitched in MLB since 2022. A once very promising arm for the Astros has built his way back and produced back-to-back quality starts while flashing some serious upside. It was tough for him through his first four starts, with a 6.57 ERA in only 12 1/3 innings pitched.
However, in his last two starts, he has pitched 12 innings, allowed seven hits, two walks, and struck out 19. Giving him a 28.9 percent strikeout rate on the season. Personally, I am a sucker for pitchers with good swing-and-miss stuff, because in points leagues, that's how pitchers can have high upside, by earning two points for a strikeout instead of one point from a recorded out (flyout or ground ball, etc.).
Lance McCullers, Wicked 83mph Slider. 🤢
19 inches of break. 6th K pic.twitter.com/WIzpWFh4ky
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 4, 2025
Although McCullers still has areas for improvement, such as his walk rate and limiting hard contact, he has shown improvement over his last few starts. We had to imagine he would be rusty after missing the previous two and a half seasons, right? On the season, he now has a 4.44 ERA and 1.40 WHIP; however, his SIERA is 3.49, and his xFIP is 3.63, showcasing potential signs of positive regression.
His Stuff+ is currently sitting at 103, with his Location+ sitting a few ticks below (94) his career average of 98. What this tells me is that if he can regain some of his control, his stuff is good enough to compete, evidenced by his 3.51 career ERA. The most prominent thing fantasy managers will want to keep an eye on is that his fastball velocity is down a few ticks from when he was a top arm for the Astros, but I mean, there's a reason he's only owned in 18 percent of leagues.
I'd be willing to bet on him maturing as a pitcher, leaning on his offspeed as he gets older, and producing at a high enough level to give fantasy managers production as a back-end starter.
Recommendation: McCullers comes with a history of injuries and is still working off the rust, but he has put together a few good starts in a row, and I want to buy in before it turns into a string of good starts. I wouldn't spend more than 5-10% of my FAAB or a top waiver wire bid, but I am willing to roster him and roll him out in Week 12, and then adjust from there.
Honorable Mentions - Others To Prioritize
I understand that deeper leagues may not have the players listed above available, so check out the list below for pitchers to add to your watch list or stream this week based on their matchups (Tier 2).
Tier 1: Team Streamers
Pitchers Who Could Stick Around, But We Need to See More Consistency From or Improved Underlying Numbers
- Tony Gonsolin, LAD
- Brayan Bello, BOS
- Noah Cameron, KCR
- Charlie Morton, BAL
- Adrian Houser, CWS
- Lucas Giolito, BOS
- Edward Cabrera, MIA
- Cade Horton, CHC
- Aaron Civale, MIL
- Will Warren, NYY
- Kyle Harrison, SFG
- Clayton Kershaw, LAD
- Nick Martinez, CIN
- Tyler Anderson, LAA
- Jose Soriano, LAA
- Michael Soroka, WSN
Tier 2: Plus Matchup Only
Great matchups for the week (Picking on teams in the bottom fifth in runs scored)
- Ryan Gusto, HOU (faces CWS)
- Colton Gordon, HOU (faces CWS)
- Cal Quantrill, MIA (faces PIT)
- Jameson Taillon, CHC (faces PIT)
- Mitchell Parker, WSN (faces MIA)
- Trevor Williams, WSN (faces MIA)
Tier 3: Desperation Tier
You've Probably Made Some Bad Choices Already
- Kyle Freeland, COL
- Ryan Feltner, COL
- German Marquez, COL
- Antonio Senzatela, COL
- Sean Burke, CWS
- Jonathan Cannon, CWS
- Most Athletics pitchers at Sutter Health Park.
Tier 4: The Stashbox
If you can stash these players on your IL or NA spot, I recommend doing so as soon as possible.
- Bubba Chandler, PIT
- Brandon Woodruff, MIL
- Jacob Misiorowski, MIL
- Logan Henderson, MIL (optioned to Triple-A but has been awesome in his handful of starts at the MLB level)
- Justin Verlander, SFG
- Luis Gil, NYY
- Andrew Painter, PHI (Made Triple-A debut on May 8)
- Max Scherzer, TOR
- Sean Manaea, NYM
- Spencer Arrighetti, HOU
- Kutter Crawford, BOS
- Yu Darvish, SDP
- Max Scherzer, TOR
- Shane Bieber, CLE
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