Waiver Wire SP Options: 6 Weekend Starters To Win Your League

It’s been a fun season covering discount starting pitcher options here at Rotographs, and in the final week I’ll be talking exclusively about streams through the rest of the week to consider to stream to pull ahead through the weekend, beginning with Friday, September 27th.

I’ll be keeping them under 30% owned per usual, with all numbers pulled from Fantasy Pros’ consolidated ownage metrics.

Jose Urena vs. New York Mets (Friday) – Urena’s ownership rates have climbed steadily over the past few weeks, and justifiably so as he’s allowed 1 ER or fewer in five of his last six starts, with the sole exception coming against the elite Red Sox lineup. He gets quite the opposite against the Mets this weekend and Urena can take advantage. His two-seamer that consistently bores inside to right-handers means plenty of weak contact, though those looking for strikeouts should look elsewhere – these six starts have tallied just 24 punchouts.

Lucas Giolito vs. Minnesota Twins (Friday) – Times have been bad for Giolito. 16 ER across his last four games, including outings against the Tigers, Royals, and Orioles is bound to deflate any ship’s sails. Still, a date with the Twins ahead could return production, coming down the feel of his changeup. The pitch simply hasn’t been there as of late, though his clear #2 pitch would tip the scale enough to return production against a poor Minnesota offense. There’s plenty of risk involved, it’s a question if you need to take the chance to chase the upside.

Zach Davies vs. Detroit Tigers (Friday) – If you’re looking for a little less risk at the cost of a lower ceiling, or if Davies and Giolito are flat-out taken, consider Davies, the Brewer who has allowed 2 ER or fewer in each of his last four games. There are downsides – three strikeouts or fewer in seven of his last nine starts, five frames or fewer in each of his last six, and a poor and obvious floor exhibited in his 4.65 ERA of the year – though you could earn a cheap win here as the Brewers are fighting to claim the NL Central, with the chance of padding your ratios.

Framber Valdez vs. Baltimore Orioles (Saturday) – With Charlie Morton leaving after just one frame on Sunday, Valdez took over and had a field day against the Angels, earning nine strikeouts in six frames. The plan for Saturday seems to have Morton go an inning or two against the Orioles and have Framber clean up once again, setting up the southpaw to feast upon the weak Orioles lineup and granting a solid chance at a Win. This isn’t a lock, but we may get confirmation before Friday and it could be a very sneaky way to squeeze value out of the weekend.

Trevor Richards vs. New York Mets (Saturday) – This may be the riskiest of the group, which may make him the most attainable. After a terrible month that saw four games in six allowing at least 4 ER, Richards was magnificent last time out against the Reds, fanning nine and walking just one in seven shutout frames. It’s very possible he regresses against the Mets over the weekend – he allowed 4 ER in five frames to them on September 12th, after all – though if he finds his changeup for just one more game, it could provide a heavy swing for your team down the stretch.

Joey Lucchesi vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Sunday) – I’ve been disappointed with Lucchesi over the last two weeks, watching him fail to capitalize on an excellent matchup against the Giants and labor heavily against the Dodgers over the weekend. He has one last chance to redeem himself, currently slated for a Sunday start against the Diamondbacks. Even with his missteps, Lucchesi boasts an impressive 26% strikeout rate, collecting six punchouts in eight of his last nine starts, and still carries the upside that could allow him to dominate a struggling Arizona lineup.





Nick Pollack is the founder of PitcherList.com and has written for Washington Post, Fantasy Pros, and CBS Sports. He can be found making an excessive amount of GIFs on twitter at @PitcherList.

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seprotzmann
5 years ago

After Urena, which of the 5 are you most confident in if QS is the goal?