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Mike's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 10 of 2025 (June 2 - June 8). These are his top free-agent pitchers to add and stream.
Welcome, everyone, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 10 of the 2025 season (June 2- June 8). In this weekly piece, we search for starting pitchers rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues. For deeper leagues, we try to find pitchers rostered in less than 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
As I write these weekly pieces, I often think about ridding myself of the inherent bias I might feel towards specific players. This includes players I think I know well, and have lofty expectations they no longer meet. Several of those guys are featured here, like Mitch Keller and Luis Severino: veterans we should take a longer look at this week. There are some young guns to review here as well, like Jack Leiter and Noah Cameron.
Let's see what is on the waiver wire this week. There are options for any league here. Keep in mind, many of these players will be rostered at the end of this weekend. At the end of the article, you will see players rostered in less than 15% of leagues that could help your squad.
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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo!
Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals (44% rostered)
Wacha is that stable veteran on the waiver wire that no one wants to roster unless there is injury trouble with their pitching. However, Wacha continues to perform and often fly under the radar. He has three wins in 11 starts, along with a tidy 3.21 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.
Again, his flaw is the lack of strikeout power. Wacha has 44 strikeouts in 61 innings, so his rate is only 17%, which is below the league average. However, he has also thrown at least five innings in 10 consecutive starts, so you are getting the consistency of worry-free innings on your roster without much concern for a disastrous outing. There is safety in that, even if it's not the sleekest of profiles. You could do way worse than Wacha.
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates (39% rostered)
Keller is another pitcher who gets a bad rap. People want the guy who struck out 210 batters in 2023, not the guy who has only 56 strikeouts in 70 innings in 2025. They want wins; Keller had 13 in 2023, 11 in 2024, and only one thus far in 2025. But let's focus for a minute on what Keller is right now: he has three consecutive years of at least 29 starts, and he eats innings.
Keller has evolved as a pitcher. As seen in the chart below, he was primarily a fastball pitcher, featuring a four-seamer and a cutter, when he first came to the big leagues. Now he throws the fastball about half the time he did in 2019, eliminating the cutter, while adding in other pitches to his mix and relying on them more. Keller doesn't walk hitters, doesn't give up barrels, and doesn't give up home runs. His profile shows stability and should be rostered in far more leagues.
Ryan Weathers, Miami Marlins (34% rostered)
He has been excellent in three starts for the Marlins in 2025 and has a long runway here. The only two earned runs on his record were both home runs, which is something to watch for in his profile. Weathers is primarily a fastball and changeup guy, but he has added a sweeper to the mix the last two seasons. People forget he had five wins and a very usable 3.63 ERA in 2024. Grab him if you can.
Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers (34% rostered)
I was high on Leiter coming into 2025 despite his rocky beginnings in Texas last season. He may never live up to being the number two pick in the 2021 draft, but I do not care about that in the least. Why? Because he is useful to my teams. Leiter has pitched at least five innings in five consecutive starts while never surrendering more than four runs.
The flaw is that he is often inefficient and walks too many guys; he has games with four and five walks this month. He has a high-velocity fastball but also mixes in a slider and a sinker, and is starting to use his changeup more. It will be interesting to watch his development this season.
Luis Severino, Athletics (32% rostered)
Severino suffers from the same misperception as Keller does above. Players want the "Sevvy" of 180+ innings and 200+ strikeouts, but that is not who he is anymore. Instead, Severino limits hard contact and walks, while throwing a fastball, a sinker, and a sweeper at 23-26% of the time for each pitch. He mixes and matches, and he gets outs.
Severino will surprise you occasionally with some strikeouts, but five or six is usually the high line, and that's usable on most teams. He's not getting wins, but we know how foolish it is to chase wins. Severino can still help fantasy teams. Ditch your perceptions.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered in less than 30% on Yahoo!
Noah Cameron, Kansas City Royals (26% rostered)
The rookie Cameron has been a lifeline to the Kansas City Royals, and he should continue to get an opportunity there, even with Seth Lugo coming off the IL on Friday. There could be some juggling where he gets an extra day or two of rest, but I expect him to stick in the rotation.
The knock here is the lack of strikeout stuff, but he did strike out eight Minnesota hitters last week, so maybe it is there. Below you can see his movement profile. He has pitched into the seventh inning in each of his four starts, with a paltry 1.05 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He's worth a gamble on the waiver wire despite not knowing how long he will remain in the rotation.
Cade Horton, Chicago Cubs (19% rostered)
Horton has looked the part for the Chicago Cubs in his first four major league starts. He is 2-0 with a 3.98 ERA, 1a 1.23 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 20 innings.
What has impressed me is the command; he doesn't walk batters while pitching to contact. I think more strikeouts could be coming, but even if they do not, his ratios will help you, and pitching for a slugging Cubs team, he should be in line to get some wins. Horton has pitched at least five innings in his last three starts.
Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins (16% rostered)
The strikeout potential is what grabs me for Cabrera. See below. While his current ERA hovers near an unsightly 5.00, his last four starts have been usable and, with a 2.53 ERA and 17 strikeouts in his previous 10 innings, perhaps Cabrera is becoming a must-start in many fantasy leagues. I held on to him in my Tout Wars mixed auction league and am glad to have him.
Lance McCullers Jr., Houston Astros (15% rostered)
I feel your eyes rolling. While you may look below and criticize this selection based on the cold blue colors permeating here, I see three things I like in McCullers. The first is the strikeout rate; he has struck out eight and 12 hitters in his last two starts. The other two things: the whiff percentage tells me he is getting the swing and miss stuff back, and the groundball percentage is on the way up. Since many of us in leagues are pitching-starved, McCullers is worth the risk.
Slade Cecconi, Cleveland Guardians (13% rostered)
It's time for me to admit that I have always been higher on Cecconi than most in the fantasy baseball realm. Cecconi is a guy who has never really gotten an extended run or been healthy. He is a first-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, so the pedigree is there.
Going to Cleveland, the staff suggested some changes to how he used his fastball while adding a sinker and cutter to play off that fastball. Cleveland seems ready to give Cecconi some runway here. Consider him if you need rotation depth.
Other Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Options
- Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox (7% rostered)
- Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves (5% rostered)
- Adrian Houser, Chicago White Sox (4% rostered)
Happy hunting for starting pitchers this weekend! If you have questions, you can always message me on X @mdrc0508. You can even tell me you hate these picks. Remember that fantasy baseball is supposed to be fun above everything. Enjoy it!
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
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