Fantasy Waiver Wire Pitchers: Dixon’s Picks for Week of 8/25
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
I always say that streaming is a gamble and it’s a bigger gamble as the season gets a little deeper. Last week, we got a few pretty rough reminders of that, as all three pitchers failed to toss a quality start in their first outing.
Still, we can’t let that stop us from at least looking at some fantasy waiver wire pitchers and their match-ups this week.
Before we do that, let’s look at the overall numbers after the weeks of Mike Leake, Chase Anderson, and Ryan Vogelsong.
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Before geting to the official Dixon’s Picks, I would like to note Danny Duffy. He doesn’t have quite enough availability to be considered with the rest of the fantasy waiver wire pitchers, but he’s far from unanimously owned. Duffy has been red hot over his last eight starts and if he is available, needs to be picked up.
Now on to this week’s Dixon’s Picks.
- Eric Stults, San Diego Padres — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday vs. Los Angeles Angels
Much like streaming in general, Eric Stults is a gamble. When you look at his total numbers and the opponents, nothing really jumps out and says “good streaming candidate.” But consider a few things that do.
- As you’d expect with Padres pitchers, his home splits are much better than his road ones. Now, they’re not great (3.98 ERA, 1.33 WHIP), but they aren’t nearly as frightening as his road splits.
- This…
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All of a sudden, this looks like a much more inviting week to stream. Sure, it’s a gamble, especially with two playoff bound opponents on the schedule, but if you need some help pitching, now’s the time to take a gamble or two and a hot pitcher is the guy to gamble with. If not now, when? Remember, next Monday is Labor Day, meaning the end is nearing.
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- Jake Peavy, San Francisco Giants — Probable Starts: Monday vs. Colorado Rockies, Saturday vs. Milwaukee Brewers
No, I don’t mean any disrespect to Carlos Gomez, Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy, or any of the other Milwaukee Brewers. If they burn me this week, I give fellow Crackerjack and Brewers fan Matt Schindler full permission to make fun of me, especially since this one in particular will come against my favorite team. Still the inclusion of Stults and Jake Peavy has more to do with what they’ve done than the opponents.
Peavy has won each of his last two outings and notched three quality starts in his five trips to the mount with the Giants, with one of the exceptions being a game where he had a no-no into the seventh inning. Also, only two of the five outings were in San Francisco, and both of those were quality starts.
Unlike Stults, the tougher match definitely comes on the weekend, which is always nice. The Rockies can still hit but without Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, the offense is definitely not as imposing, especially away from Coors Field.
I’m not necessarily predicting two dominant performances from Peavy, but a good overall week should be in the cards.
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- Matt Shoemaker, Los Angeles Angels — Probable Starts: Tuesday vs Miami Marlins, Sunday vs. Oakland Athletics
While the injury to Garrett Richards will hurt them, the Angels pitching is a lot better than I expected it to be, and Matt Shoemaker is one of the big reasons why. He’s been a consistently strong pitcher for the Halos pretty much all year and lands himself with a pretty good pair of assignments this week, especially considering the struggles of the A’s offense after dealing Yoenis Cespedes.
Not quite convinced yet? Need some numbers? Well, try these on for size.
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Note that both of these games are in Anaheim. The A’s still have plenty of punch and of course the Marlins have Giancarlo Stanton, but Shoemaker projects well for a good week.
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