RADIO
I can’t tell if it feels like this season has been going on for six months or just six days. Everything still feels rather topsy-turvy with the increased turnover due to the 10-day DL, but I suppose that just leaves room for more intrigue and new characters to enter the limelight. For this week’s post, I’m going to switch tracks and give rather brief blurbs on many names since there really aren’t any standouts.
For our purposes, we’re going to use Yahoo ownership levels and try to cut things off around 35%.
Here are my starting pitcher waiver targets for Week 10.
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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Targets
Jaime Garcia - (ATL, SP): 27% owned
Garcia just went 7 2/3 innings against the Phillies, allowing three runs (in a loss) to turn in his fourth consecutive quality start. Now, three of those have come against the Angels, Giants and said Phillies -- these teams all rank in the bottom seven as far as team wOBA goes over the last 30 days. We know Garcia isn’t a power arm, but a home date against the Mets on June 11 isn’t so bad.
Jeff Hoffman - (COL, SP): 25% owned
Hoffman has dazzled over his last two starts, posting nearly identical box scores by taking home the win after twirling seven innings of one-run ball and scattering three base runners. The only difference was he struck out nine Padres versus just seven Phillies. Yet again, those teams are both playing terribly so take this with a grain of salt. The rookie will face the Cubs at Wrigley on June 10, which will be his real test. If he passes, I bet he sticks in the rotation and will be worth many FAAB dollars.
Zack Godley - (ARI, SP/RP): 23% owned
Unfortunately, Godley missed out on facing the Padres due to a rude procedural move that helped preserve innings or some malarkey like that, but at least he’s due to face the Brewers on Saturday now instead. While the Brew Crew are middle of the pack in wOBA over the last 30 days (17th), their 26 percent strikeout rate is the second highest over that same span. Godley will need to keep the ball down, but the chances of him striking out 8-10 over six or seven solid frames in a win is higher than you think.
Mike Foltynewicz - (ATL, SP): 20% owned
Or if you’re feeling super bold, you can go scoop the guy who did just that in his last start. Folty mowed down 10 Reds over seven scoreless innings on June 2 and gets to face the hapless (but trying!) Phillies today (June 7). He’s been pretty hit-or-miss this season, but the matchup and momentum combo isn’t going to get much better than this.
Joe Biagini - (TOR, SP/RP): 15% owned
Biagini just stepped against a tough Yankees lineup and allowed just five base runners over seven innings with six strikeouts. He also hit 100 pitches for the first time, so any worries about the ex-reliever not being stretched out are well in the past. His 43-to-10 K/BB ratio makes him a solid gamble for a June 9 start against the Mariners at Safeco.
Nate Karns - (KC, SP/RP): 13% owned
There are no guarantees when comes to pitchers returning from arm injuries, but at least Karns now has a timeline. He’s long-tossing up to 150 feet right now and should progress to throwing off a mound in the coming days before making a rehab start or two. This should take more than three weeks or so. In case you forgot, Karns’ last four starts yielded a 2.01 ERA with 32 strikeouts over 22 1/3 innings. Decent.
Jesse Hahn - (OAK, SP): 10% owned
Hahn was activated from the 10-day DL on Tuesday and wasted no time in cutting through a rolling Toronto lineup for his first victory since April 19. The lack of wins hasn’t been his fault, as his overall 3.40 ERA is backed by a pristine 2.87 FIP that is in love with the fact that he's allowed just one homer all season. That FIP of his is buying in all the more because of his 22.1 percent soft-contact rate thus far. He’ll take on the Rays in Tampa Bay next in a June 11 start.
Randall Delgado - (ARI, SP/RP): 9% owned
It was just announced that Delgado would remain in the rotation, which likely means that Patrick Corbin is close to being removed or they’re really worried about Taijuan Walker and don’t want to lean too hard on their other arms. Regardless, Delgado owns a crisp 3.24 ERA with an identical 3.24 FIP and stellar 3.34 SIERA alongside a healthy 8.42 K/9. Armed with a legit 11.4 percent swinging-strike rate, it looks as though the 27-year-old is finally making good on his top prospect label from long ago in Atlanta.
Eric Skoglund - (KC, SP): 9% owned
Skoglund’s second start was cut short by rain, though it may have ended up being a merciful thing as the Indians had put up four runs in two quick innings on June 4. This came after shutting out the Tigers in his Major League debut though, which is good enough for me as the rookie heads into a favorable start against those pesky Padres at Petco on June 9.
Jacob Faria - (TB, SP): 8% owned
Faria is likely just getting a quick cup of coffee here, but will face the White Sox in his Major League debut today after impressing with 84 strikeouts in just 58 2/3 Triple-A innings this season. His 3.07 ERA and 1.13 WHIP alongside the K’s don’t paint him as some Ricky Vaughn-type either, so those in deeper formats looking for a fun, buzzy, short-lived high could chase Faria down. Those in keeper formats should have already had him pinging on the radars.
Luke Weaver - (STL, SP): 4% owned
And if you didn’t have him pinging, then maybe it was because Weaver was drowning him out. The 23-year-old has gone 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over eight starts (44 innings) at Triple-A, striking out 49 with a pristine 1.43 BB/9 to boot. He’s done everything right and simply needs an opportunity to bring his refined stuff up to the bigs again. If only someone like Michael Wacha had been torched in all three of his most recent starts…
Brian Johnson - (BOS, SP): 2% owned
Johnson reportedly made it through his mid-week bullpen session with no issues and is the prime candidate to take Eduardo Rodriguez’s rotation spot. In case you missed it or it’s slipped your mind, Johnson was called up for a spot start on May 27 and twirled a complete-game shutout in which he struck out eight and walked none. The age-26 southpaw is no ace, but has decent put-away stuff and has a good track record of limiting homers in the Minors. With a start against the Tigers coming up, one could do a lot worse than an emerging Boston arm.
Chance Adams - (NYY, SP): 2% owned
Chance the Pitcher sparked a fire in the fantasy world by striking out 12 batters in six innings of shutout ball on May 31, and now owns an overall 7-1 record with a 1.24 ERA and 59 K’s against 22 BB’s in 58 innings (10 starts) between Double- and Triple-A. The Yankees may very well be placing Masahiro Tanaka on the DL soon with some random oblique strain and while Chad Green would likely get (and deserve) the first crack, Adams should find his way to the bigs soon. He has very little left to prove on the farm.
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