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Welcome back RotoBallers to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups recommendations for Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season (July 17 - July 23). My name is Nick Shlain and this is my sixth week of writing this column, but I should be sticking around for the rest of the season.
The MLB All-Star break was earlier this week, so there were only three games over the weekend. With that being said, baseball is the longest fantasy season, so there's still plenty of time to make up ground in the fantasy standings and upgrade your rosters for a playoff run. We're looking to make up some of that ground on the mound here.
Today, we'll be taking a look at some promising recent prospect call-ups, some veterans arms who may be improving, and the best pitcher in the minor leagues to stash to help fantasy managers. Good luck on the waiver wire this week!
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Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for leagues of any size
Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles (62% Rostered)
Kyle Bradish has a 3.80 xFIP and 3.32 ERA this season. He's also helpful in the strikeout category as he has 79 strikeouts in 84 innings this year. He's only won five of his 16 starts overall this season, but he's won three of his last four starts. There are certainly worse teams than the Baltimore Orioles to be on to get wins going forward, as they have a good supporting cast in their lineup and bullpen.
Bradish should be rostered in all leagues as he's got the potential to be a fantasy difference-maker over the second half of the season.
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels (66% Rostered)
Reid Detmers can be a frustrating pitcher to roster in fantasy baseball. He's definitely someone you should add if you need more strikeouts. Detmers has 113 strikeouts in 91.2 innings this season. His xFIP is 3.89, but his ERA is 4.42. There is certainly reason to believe he can improve over the course of the rest of the season. He's only won two of his 17 starts for the Angels, though.
Saturday night was another frustrating outing for Detmers as he was just okay, striking out six batters in six innings while allowing four earned runs and getting another no-decision.
Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals (47% Rostered)
Jack Flaherty hasn't had the best season so far. He has a 4.27 ERA and a 4.46 xFIP, but he hasn't allowed an earned run in each of his last two starts totaling 12.2 innings. Since May 9, he has a 3.09 ERA over 10 starts. Flaherty hasn't thrown even 100 innings since 2019. As he approaches that number this year, he seems to be regaining his footing as a solid member of the Cardinals rotation.
Flaherty only has six wins this season, but he's struck out 89 batters in 92.2 innings. He's been a reliable strikeout pitcher all year. With the Cardinals falling out of contention, Flaherty is a name to watch around the trade deadline as he could be moved to a contending team.
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies (47% Rostered)
Ranger Suarez has a 3.84 ERA and 4.05 xFIP this season with 62 strikeouts in 68 innings. He's only won two of 12 starts for the Phillies. I still think he's a good addition for the rest of the season. Suarez typically pitches deep into games. He's completed at least six innings in seven of his last nine starts. That should give him a better chance to pick up some wins over the rest of the season.
Aaron Civale only has three wins in his nine starts. Cleveland will push for the playoffs in the second half and he's completed at least five innings in eight of his nine starts.
Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Pitcher pickup recommendations for deeper leagues
JP Sears, Oakland Athletics (25% Rostered)
JP Sears has only won one of his 18 starts this season, but that's what you get with the Oakland Athletics in 2023. He's been solid with a 3.97 ERA. His recent form has been quite good as he's completed at least seven innings in three of his last five starts and recorded at least seven strikeouts in two of those games.
Sears has 93 strikeouts in 99.2 innings this season, so he should probably be rostered in more leagues. There's always the chance that he gets traded to a better team at the trade deadline.
Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays (52% Rostered)
Yusei Kikuchi has won seven of his 18 starts for the Blue Jays this season. He has 96 strikeouts in 93.1 innings and a 4.24 ERA with a 4.07 xFIP. Kikuchi is probably best used in the right matchups. In his last two starts, he allowed four and five earned runs against the White Sox and Red Sox, respectively. In his two starts before that, he allowed one and zero earned runs against the Athletics and the Marlins, respectively.
Kikuchi should be rostered in more leagues just based on his strikeouts, but he can also provide good ERA and WHIP in the right matchups.
Matt Manning, Detroit Tigers (10% Rostered)
Matt Manning didn't allow a hit over six innings while striking out five against the Blue Jays in his last start. He might not help much in the wins category being on the Tigers. He has managed to win three of his five starts this season, though. Manning also has a 3.72 ERA in those starts.
Don't expect Manning to go deeper than six innings in his starts, but he could be a solid contributor if he stays healthy the rest of the season. He's widely available.
Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Stashes
Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox (?% Rostered)
Nick Lodolo was my stash in last week's article. His timeline is similar to Chris Sale's as both are due back around the same time in early August. Sale threw his first bullpen session earlier this week on Tuesday.
Sale had 71 strikeouts in 59 innings and a 4.58 ERA and 3.60 xFIP when he was healthy earlier this season.
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