August is here. Woah. Alright so technically it’s July 31 but the overall point is that there are officially two months remaining in the fantasy baseball season. The trade deadline is also bearing down with runaway speed. Stoves are red-hot and there are several players who could find themselves in new unifoms come Monday night. We’ll keep this in mind, but for now we’re focusing on pitchers that you should bring onto your own squad.

Ownership levels are a bit deceiving as time drags on, since inactive owners/leagues can really skew things, but we’ll try our best to check in on guys that should be available in 10 teamers as well as deeper options. Perhaps someone is streaming a guy who should be straight-up owned, and others are worth streaming who are being outright ignored. Let’s get to it.

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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Targets

Zach Davies (MIL, SP) – 34% Owned – The story remains the same as Davies won his latest start against the D-backs to improve to 6-1 since the calendar flipped to June. In his 10 starts since then he owns a 2.40 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 3.68 xFIP, 3.66 SIERA and stellar 56:12 K/BB ratio. Buy, buy, buy. He takes on the Padres in San Diego next on Aug. 2.

Tyler Skaggs (LAA, SP) – 32% Owned – In case you missed it, Skaggs struck out 26 in his final two rehab starts before making his first Major League start in two years. All he did in that was toss seven scoreless frames for the win over the defending champion Royals while striking out five. Yeah, that’s pretty good. He’ll get another serious test at home against the Red Sox next on July 31 before a road date against the Mariners.

Ervin Santana (MIN, SP) – 29% Owned – Santana owns a 1.96 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in his last 30 days, but has only secured one win despite logging four quality starts. He still has an outside chance of being traded, but the Twins apparently won’t move him unless they’re overwhelmed. He’s looked like a brand new pitcher since making a mechanical adjustment to his delivery, as his fantasy owners are acutely aware of. He’s slated to face the White Sox at home next on July 31.

Kevin Gausman (BAL, SP) – 27% Owned – Gausman was hit around by the Blue Jays in his latest start on July 29, but that’s what happens when you draw an @TOR matchup. His next start comes at home against Texas, where he’ll look to keep the ball in the yard more and pitch more like he did in his previous start where he twirled seven scoreless frames against the Indians on July 23.

Bud Norris (LAD, SP) – 24% Owned – Norris has carried over his success from Atlanta to his new home in L.A., tallying 32 strikeouts over his last 28 2/3 innings with a 1.19 WHIP alongside a meh 4.40 ERA. That said, he did just hang 6 1/3 scoreless frames against the Rays on July 26. He’ll face the D-backs at home on July 31 next.

James Paxton (SEA, SP) – 19% Owned – After destroying a strong Toronto Blue Jays lineup in Toronto, J-Pax lost after allowing three runs over five innings (while striking out six). He’s looked stronger lately and still has nice peripherals that point to a more skilled pitcher underneath the surface stats. That said, his next start isn’t a plus-matchup as he takes on a potent Red Sox lineup at home on Aug. 1.

Robbie Ray (ARI, SP) – 14% Owned – His incredible K/9 march continues as he’s struck out 43 in his past 28 2/3 innings, but he also owns a 4.71 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over that stretch. If you need Ks then he’s your man, but don’t rely on him to be a consistently “good” pitcher just yet. He’ll face the Nationals at home on Aug. 2 next.

Kendall Graveman (OAK, SP) – 12% Owned – Graveman suffered his first loss in over two months on July 29, yet still logged his fifth consecutive quality start in the process. A ground-ball specialist, he won't attack hitters with crazy stuff, but induces poor contact and lets his defense work for him. He’ll face the Angels on the road on Aug. 3 next in a decent start.

Jose Berrios (MIN, SP) – 12% Owned – Ready, set, ADD. Late Saturday night is was revealed that Berrios was going to be called up for the Twins’ next series. Get it while the gettin’s good.

Dan Straily (CIN, SP) – 11% Owned – Straily has five quality starts in a row and has won his last two decisions, with his last being a stellar one-run effort against the Giants in San Francisco. In his last 30 days he owns a stellar 2.41 ERA and 0.86 WHIP, and while he isn’t that good, he does have a good thing going and has shown stretches of brilliance before. He’ll face the Cardinals at home on Aug. 3 next.

Sean Manaea (OAK, SP) – 9% Owned – Over the last 30 days Manaea has a 3.13 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with essentially a strikeout per inning (31 in 31 2/3 innings) amidst three quality starts, but unfortunately for him he has zero victories in that span. Life as an Oakland pitcher can be cruel. He’ll look to get back into the win column on Aug. 2 against the Angels on the road.

Miguel Gonzalez (CWS, SP) – 7% Owned – Oh my gosh, it’s a Christmas-in-July miracle Charlie Brown! Gonzalez had been sitting around 1-2% ownership until this week, so I guess that’s what shutting down a reputable Cubs lineup can do for a guy (6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks). That was his fifth quality start in a row, and his seventh QS in his last nine outings. Well guess what? He did it yet again on Saturday, allowing two runs (one earned) with one walk and five strikeouts over seven strong innings against the Twins. Those in QS leagues should definitely scoop him, as his increased usage of a cutter has really taken his game to new heights. He’ll face the Orioles at home next on Aug. 5.

Chad Bettis (COL, SP) – 6% Owned – Bettis has twirled four straight quality starts, going 3-0 in that stretch. Now one does have to keep in mind that three of those games came against the Phillies and the Braves (x2), but he then went to Camden Yards and shut down a powerful Orioles lineup in his last start. He’ll face the Mets on the road on July 31 next before a home date against Miami. Last season Bettis posted a 3.18 ERA in the second half, so keep him in mind.

Homer Bailey (CIN, SP) – 5% Owned – Bailey is set to make his 2016 debut on July 31 in Petco Park against the Padres. Expectations should be tempered, but at 5% owned he should be widely available for many to speculate on.

Matt Boyd (DET, SP) – 3% Owned – Boyd’s most recent start wasn’t his greatest, but he did enough to get the win and still only had a 1.00 WHIP and struck out six in his five innings of work (3 ER). He’s now 2-0 with 23 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings (four starts) since being recalled, owning a sub-one WHIP at 0.98 as he looks to provide sneaky fantasy value for savvy owners. Those in quality start leagues will be disappointed as he’s still struggling to work deep into games, but perhaps that will come as he continues to build up his starts. He’ll face the White Sox at home on Aug. 3 for his next start.

Logan Verrett (NYM, SP/RP) – 3% Owned – Verrett has stepped into Matt Harvey’s rotation spot for now, and tossed seven strong innings (allowing three earned with seven Ks) against the Cardinals in his latest outing. This came after looking strong against the Marlins in his start before that, making him an intriguing deep-league streaming type. He’ll get the Yankees at home on Aug. 1 next.

Luis Perdomo (SD, SP/RP) – 1% Owned – Perdomo has quietly improved his game of late, owning a 3.99 ERA, 1.36 WHIP with three wins and three quality starts over the last 30 days. He’s slated to face the Brewers at home on Aug. 2 next.

 

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