Fantasy Baseball Week 8 Top Waiver Wire Pitchers

The fantasy season is well under way here in 2016. Where does your team stand thus far? Does your team need pitching help here in Week 8?

As the weeks progress in the fantasy baseball season, the standings begin to take form. Where does your team rank in the standings right now? If you’re near the bottom, or just looking for another starter to help your team this week, here are the top three pitchers for Week 8 that can help your staff gear up for the week ahead.

1. Matt Cain (SP) – Giants

Matt Cain has struggled a great deal since 2013, after he came off of arguably his best season. Cain has not recorded an ERA under 4.00 since that time. His declining stats over the past few seasons have had Giants fans wondering if age had gotten to the right-hander. Cain unfortunately has found himself on the disabled list for significant stretches each of the past two seasons. This could have certainly played a factor in his declining numbers as he was not able to find his stride.

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Cain has struggled to start this season too. He is currently 1-5 for San Francisco, and maintains a 5.37 ERA with 38 K’s. However, as poor as his numbers may look from an overall standpoint, Cain has been on a resurgence the past couple of weeks. He has recorded three straight quality starts. He has thrown for 21.0 innings in that time, while not allowing more than two earned runs in each. These three quality starts where against the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Chicago Cubs. All of which are great hitting teams who can swallow pitchers on any given night.

Cain’s strikeout rate has gone up in this time as well. He has been healthy all year, and this can be a direct cause to his recent success on the mound. He has had a chance to figure out his pitches and adjust to the new season; something he hasn’t been able to do since his 2013 campaign.

Cain is only owned in 4.4% of ESPN leagues, so he should be available for most of you to grab. During the last 15 days, Cain ranks in the top 25 for all fantasy pitchers in terms of points. Cain will be pitching at Coors Field this Friday against the Rockies. Coors Field is not the most pitcher friendly park, but with the recent resurgence for Cain, he is worth a start.

2. Dan Straily (SP) – Reds

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Dan Straily has been the mark of consistency to begin the year. He has not gotten much opportunity in the MLB however since 2013. A season where he compiled a 10-8 record with a 3.96 ERA. Impressive for his second season.

Straily should be on everyone’s fantasy radar with what he has been able to do so far this year. He is 2-1 with an impressive 2.85 ERA to go along with 41 strikeouts. Straily is nearly averaging a K per inning, as he has only thrown for 47.1 innings. He is also averaging well less than a hit per inning, surrendering just 34 total hits. Straily unquestionably has made the most of his opportunity he has gotten with the Reds.

Straily is owned in only 8.3% of leagues here, a stat which should change in the near future if he can continue putting up quality starts. Straily, however, lacks in the win column due to the lack of run support the Reds give him, but I wouldn’t worry about this too much, as he only has one loss.

One thing that stands out for me the most, is that Straily has not recorded a negative point outing so far this year. Straily is no fantasy stud, but he is consistent, which fantasy owners like. If you need another pitcher towards the bottom of your rotation, Straily is a great option to have.

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3. Jon Niese (SP) – Pirates

Jon Niese, much like Straily is not a fantasy stud, but is another relatively consistent pitcher. He is not someone to put up 20-point outings like a Stephen Strasburg type, but he is also not one to blow up on a consistent basis like a Jeremy Hellickson type. Niese has never been a shut down pitcher, so don’t go looking for him to put up bolstering numbers.

Niese, to start the year, has a 4-2 record with a 4.75 ERA and 39 strikeouts. Aside from the wins, these are not the stats to look at for Niese. He has thrown three straight quality starts for the Pirates. During this span he has thrown for 19.2 innings and giving up just six runs, helping to lower that ERA. Niese appears to be hitting his stride the past few games and seems promising to continue.

Niese is a reliable enough of a pitcher to throw this week if you need a little more pitching help. He should be available for most as he is only owned 13% of ESPN leagues. Playing for a hot hitting team like Pittsburgh, Niese will always have a good chance to record a win as long as he can uphold his end of the bargain. The 29-year-old left-hander will take the mound Friday against Texas this upcoming week.

With such low ownership for all of these pitchers, they should all be at your direct disposal. With the current streaks they’re all in the midst of, I like these waiver wire pitchers this week and you should too. Each can help your team as the week progresses.