Dixon’s Picks: Fantasy Waiver Wire Pitchers for Week of May 5
Niese will not be the only fantasy free agent pitcher in Monday’s game that projects well for this week. Photo Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome back to Dixon’s Picks. We won’t take too much time looking at this week’s good fantasy waiver wire pitchers but before we do, let’s look at my overall numbers after the weeks of Tyson Ross, Jose Quintana, and Chris Young.
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Thanks to some rain, we didn’t quite get two outings out of Young or Quintana, although Quintana got as many strikeouts in one outing as I projected he’d get in two.
This week’s look at some fantasy waiver wire pitchers has an NL East/South Beach feel to it.
- Nathan Eovaldi, Miami Marlins — Probable Starts: Monday vs. New York Mets, Saturday at. San Diego Padres
April was a kind month for Nathan Eovaldi and the first two starts of May are if nothing else, promising for the young Marlin. There’s just nothing about the Mets or Padres that screams “stay away.” Sure, David Wright is about as solid as they come and the Padres do have a dangerous hitter or two, but I’ll take a hot pitcher over those lineups any day.
Make no mistake about it, Eovaldi is a hot pitcher. Five of his six April outings were quality starts (he didn’t exactly get shelled in the other), he boasts a 2.58 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and K/9 of 8.22. The Marlins tend to fly under the radar but until he cools down, Eovaldi deserves a lot more fantasy attention than he’s been getting.
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- Jon Niese, New York Mets — Probable Starts: Monday at Miami Marlins, Sunday vs. Philadelphia Phillies
I normally wouldn’t suggest pitchers going going against each other. I’ll talk a little more about that below. For now, we have to point out how well Jon Niese has been throwing.
Like Eovaldi, he’s only missed a quality start in one outing this year and like Eovaldi, the one exception wasn’t exactly an abysmal performance. He enters the week with a 2.20 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. While his K/9 of 6.61 isn’t great, it’s not bad, especially with a BB/9 of 2.2.
The Marlins are off to a good start offensively, but I still feel pretty good with Niese. The low walk rate will decrease the chances of facing Giancarlo Stanton with men on base. The Phillies aren’t terrible, but Niese threw very well against them in his last start, and that was in Philly. In Queens, I’m expecting similar things.
Obviously having opposing pitchers limits you in a league that counts wins, especially if it’s a weekly head-to-head league when you only have so many guys going. Of the two, I like Eovaldi a bit more but I honestly don’t think there should be much reservation about starting both. If they were opposing each other in the late week match-up, I’d sing a slightly different tune, as if you do need multiple wins, there’s not much you can do at that point.
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- Henderson Alvarez, Miami Marlins — Probable Starts: Tuesday vs. New York Mets, Sunday vs. San Diego Padres
No, Mets/Padres fans. I don’t hate your team. If the Marlins were facing my Giants instead of the Mets this week, Eovaldi and Alvarez would still be great plays.
Henderson Alvarez didn’t have the great first month that Eovaldi or Niese did, but his numbers were definitely jacked up in a few bad early outings. More recently, he’s thrown the ball pretty well, including a solid outing against the Mets.
You do need to have some more reliable strikeout guys if you go with Alvarez, but tendency to be around the plate should keep your WHIP in a good range against these types of opponents in pitcher-friendly parks.
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