Dixon’s Picks: Waiver Wire Additions for the Week of June 17

Photo courtesy of SBoyd.

Another Monday, another set of Dixon’s Picks. I hope that all the fathers out there had a great day with their kids. I also hope it was a good week of fantasy baseball for everyone out there.

Before moving on to this week’s picks, let’s see what my total numbers look like after last week’s picks of Scott Feldman, Bartolo Colon, and Tony Cingrani.

Cingrani got sent down with the activation of Johnny Cueto, so I didn’t get six starts. Still, last week was generally a good one.

• Andrew Cashner, San Diego Padres — Probable Starts: Tuesday at San Francisco Giants, Sunday vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Let’s start with the variables other than the starting pitcher. The Giants will be without at least Pablo Sandoval and possibly Angel Pagan and/or Marco Scutaro, as well. The Dodgers will definitely be without Matt Kemp. Also, both AT&T Park and Petco Park are pitcher’s yards.

So going into the week, you already know that Andrew Cashner is in a situation pretty ideal for performing. He’s also taken the ball 10 times as a starter this year and gotten through six innings eight times. One of the two times he failed to do so was his first start after spending much of April as a reliever, so it was predicted. The second time came only two starts later. Over the subsequent eight starts, Cashner has posted a 3.17 ERA with a WHIP just under 1.10. He’s even been 4-1 over that stretch, despite pitching for a fairly average Padres team.

Cashner does allow a lot of hits, but doesn’t allow the damage from those to be compounded by walks. Whether that’s sustainable all year or not remains to be seen. But this is a week with favorable matchups. Even if Cashner goes 0-2, you can realistically expect two pretty solid outings.

Cashner’s Projections for the Week

• Bud Norris, Houston Astros — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Chicago White Sox, Saturday at Chicago Cubs

I’m not sure that I’ve ever mentioned the Astros in a Dixon’s Picks as anything other than an ideal opponent, but Bud Norris has done enough over the past month to show that he deserves some consideration in a week with favorable matchups.

On May 13, Norris didn’t have his best day. Against the Tigers, a pitcher not incredibly sharp could well have a rough day, and he did. In the five starts since then, Norris has gone against the Royals (home), Rockies (home), Angels (road), Orioles (home), and Mariners (road). In those five outings, he’s recorded five quality starts, with an ERA of 2.18 and WHIP of 1.24. Over the last three outings, the normally contact heavy Norris has even struck out nearly a hitter an inning.

Now, throw in that both the White Sox and Cubs are Bottom-10 offenses, and you’re looking at a favorable week for Norris. Lastly, it doesn’t hurt that he’s a potential trade commodity. The Astros may be better than expected, but they’re still well on pace to lose 100 games. Even relatively early in the year, that can make finding motivation a little hard. But when you consider that Norris could conceivably be moved to a contender any time between now and July 31, you have to think that focus won’t be a problem. That’s not a bad thing.

Norris’ Projections for the Week

• Dan Straily, Oakland Athletics — Probable Starts: Monday at Texas Rangers, Sunday at Seattle Mariners

The theme this week seems to be hot pitchers, and Dan Straily qualifies. On May 15, the Rangers roughed Straily up in Oakland. In five starts since then, Straily has a 2.20 ERA. Actually, that seems a little high when it’s weighed against a 0.765 WHIP. Included in that was a seven inning, no-run, two-hit performance in Texas, where he picked up the win. So, that matchup doesn’t scare me a lot and while the Mariners can break out the bats, it’s hard to be scared of a team that ranks in the Bottom-10 of pretty much every major offensive category.

Additionally, not only is Straily hot, but his team is, too. They have been for the better part of the last month, actually. So at the very least, you’re looking at two possible wins if Straily gets through five innings.

I don’t have much more to add here because it’s pretty simple. Straily is not only hot right now, but has excelled at every level of professional ball. He belongs on your fantasy team, at least for the week.

Straily’s Projections for the Week