Dixon’s Picks: Waiver Wire Additions for the Week of September 9

Photo courtesy of femaletrumpet02

September keeps moving along. The good news for those of you contending is now that the NFL (and fantasy football) has started, deadbeats are in full force. I don’t like deatbeats, but when they’re in my league, I LOVE to take advantage of them.

Anyway, we’re here for some stream picks this week. Before we get to that, let’s look at my numbers after the contributions of Paul Maholm, Andrew Albers, and Travis Wood last week.

One last note before moving on, two of the three guys listed this week were featured in last week’s piece detailing three pitchers who should at least be looked at closely for the rest of the year — not just this week.

Now, let’s get to this week.

• Randall Delgado, Arizona Diamondbacks — Probable Starts: Monday at Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday vs. Colorado Rockies

In some weeks, you have to take some chances on streaming, and this is one of those weeks. I don’t like the Dodgers and Rockies as streaming opponents, as they both have a lot of weapons that can put up crooked numbers in a heartbeat. Here’s what I do like about Randall Delgado.

• His ERA (3.67) and WHIP (1.20) have been pretty decent this season, especially for those of you in deeper leagues.
• 4 of his last five outings have been quality starts.
• He’s gone six innings in each of those starts and, seven in each of his last two.

Also, I generally like Dodger Stadium. I’ve said it before here, but California’s parks are some of the best in the league year in and year out. Some of it’s that the parks are big, but the marine layer in all of California’s population centers makes carry especially difficult. So, as good as the Dodgers are, a low-scoring game is not out of the question. This is especially true with injuries (major and minor) to players like Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp. Also, the fact that they have all but clinched the NL West means that they could well be resting guys, at least for a game.

The Rockies are tricky, as Chase Field is a nice park to hit. But with them out of contention and their best players (notably Carlos Gonzalez) banged up or at least injury prone, don’t be surprised if they have a lineup that you don’t recognize.

Delgado’s Projections for the Week

• Martin Perez, Texas Rangers — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday at Oakland Athletics

Here’s a guy who I’ve written a lot about in the last month. Truthfully, there’s not that much more to add about Martin Perez. He doesn’t walk hitters and is riding an incredible hot streak, with the following statline since July 31.

As for the opponents? The Pirates are one of the best teams in the league, but are in a mold similar to the 2012 San Francisco Giants, and so many other teams that have enjoyed playoff success in recent years. They’re headed to the playoffs and can absolutely win the World Series, but they don’t boast a terribly ferocious lineup. Yes, they have a star in Andrew McCutchen, but are far more likely to win a game 3-2 than 10-9.

As for the A’s, I’d like to show you something that I feel reflects why I like Perez against them. Look at how the Rangers and A’s series in Oakland went last week.

• Game 1 — A’s 4, Rangers 2: Rangers starting pitcher Derek Holland went 4.2 innings, walking 5 hitters.
• Game 2 — Rangers 5, A’s 1: Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez went 7 innings, walking 0 hitters
• Game 3 — A’s 11, Rangers 4: Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish went 5 innings, walking 6 hitters.

This is almost a laughable split. Derek Holland and Yu Darvish won’t walk that many hitters in normal circumstances, and even control guys like Perez usually walk someone over seven innings. But teams like who rely a lot on walks can be vulnerable against pitchers who throw strikes. I was actually at Game 2 of that series and it was plainly apparent that the A’s were out of their element, swinging early in counts. So, if Perez continues to throw strikes (which he consistently does), I can’t see anything worse than a low-scoring loss.

Perez’s Projections for the Week

• Ubaldo Jimenez, Cleveland Indians — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Kansas City Royals, Saturday at Chicago White Sox

Let’s take another look at what Ubaldo Jimenez has done since July 28.

We can’t really do counted stats, but I’d like to show you how some of the split stats compare to what he did in the first half of the 2010 season with the Rockies, which earned him a start in the All-Star Game.

Not an exact match, but pretty similar, right? If you remember that first half, Jimenez was basically unhittable. He really was the best pitcher in baseball, which said something.

Now, the Royals are a good offensive team and even the White Sox are a little scary at times, but Jimenez has shown that when he’s hot, the opponent really doesn’t matter. The problems with Jimenez have been injuries and overall inconsistency, but that’s not something I worry about short term.

The walks are high, but they were in 2010, as well. You don’t often see guys capable of a strikeout an inning available on the waiver wire this late in the year. Jimenez is a good waiver wire play this week and likely for the rest of the year.

Jimenez’s Projections for the Week