Week nine of the Fantasy Baseball season begins Monday June 1st. There are some interesting waiver wire opportunities to look at, pitching streamers to consider, bullpens in disarray and so much more so let’s get started.
Interleague Matchups for Week Nine
Toronto Blue Jays at the Washington Nationals (3 Games Monday-Wednesday)
Milwaukee Brewers at the Minnesota Twins (3 Games Friday-Sunday)
Week Nine Bullpen Report
Shawn Tolleson is closing games for the Rangers these days and it looks like he might be sticking around. Over the past 14 days Tolleson has struck out 10 hitters, walked 2 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. 5 saves in just 7.3 innings pitched. Tolleson is currently owned in 49 percent of Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Brad Ziegler is closing games for Arizona and he also might be sticking around at least for the time being. Over the last 14 days Ziegler has posted 8 strikeouts, 4 walks with a 1.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP in 8.3 innings pitched. He also blew a save but if you are desperate for bullpen help Ziegler is only owned in 25 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
A.J. Ramos is closing games for the time being in Miami and over the past 14 days he’s posted a 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk in 6 innings pitched. Ramos has also picked up 2 saves and is owned in 42.5 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Probable Two Start Pitchers Week Nine
Clayton Kershaw (Mon-Sat), Felix Hernandez (Mon-Sat), Max Scherzer (Tue-Sun), Zach Greinke (Tue-Sun), Gerrit Cole (Mon-Sun), Jon Lester (Tue-Sun), Jordan Zimmerman (Mon-Sat), Jacob deGrom (Mon-Sat), Chris Archer (Tue-Sun), Michael Pineda (Mon-Sun), Garrett Richards (Mon-Sun), Lance Lynn (Tue-Sun), Carlos Carrasco (Tue-Sun), Collin McHugh (Tue-Sun), Jeff Samardzija (Tue-Sun), Rick Porcello (Tue-Sun), Alex Wood (Mon-Sun), Ubaldo Jimenez (Mon-Sat), Clay Buchholz (Mon-Sat), Alfredo Simon (Tue-Sun), Andrew Cashner (Mon-Sun), Phil Hughes (Tue-Sun), Mike Fiers (Mon-Sun), James Paxton (Tue-Sun), Colby Lewis (Tue-Sun), Archie Bradley (Mon-Sun), R.A. Dickey (Mon-Sun), Kyle Hendricks (Mon-Sun), Josh Collmenter (Tue-Sun), Jaime Garcia (Mon-Sat), Alex Colome (Mon-Sat), Scott Feldman (Mon-Sat), Mike Pelfrey (Mon-Sat), Mike Wright (Tue-Sun), Eddie Butler (Mon-Sun), Ryan Vogelsong (Mon-Sun), Jason Vargas (Tue-Sun), Severino Gonzalez (Tue-Sun), Matt Garza (Mon-Sun), Kendall Graveman (Tue-Sun), Sean O’Sullivan (Tue-Sun), Danny Duffy (Tue-Sun), Eddie Butler (Mon-Sun)
Starting Pitching Waiver Wire Options
The following options are available in at least 50 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Jaime Garcia St Louis Cardinals: Garcia has a Monday home start against Milwaukee and a Saturday start on the road against the Dodgers. Over the past two weeks Garcia has posted an ERA of 3.46, WHIP of 1.38 with 8 strikeouts and 5 walks in 13 innings pitched. Considering Garcia is still able to keep the ball on the ground (3.43 GB/FB ratio) and he’s only had 2 starts this season there’s enough evidence to suggest Garcia is going to help you this week.
Ryan Vogelsong San Francisco Giants: Vogelsong has a Monday home start against the Pirates and a Sunday start on the road against the Phillies. Over the last 14 days Vogelsong has put up an ERA of 1.53, 1.19 WHIP with 12 strikeouts and 7 walks in 17.7 innings pitched. He’s also picked up 3 wins during this stretch. Really good GB/FB ratio of 1.23 and BABIP of .274 are all good signs of another productive week for Vogelsong.
Chris Young Kansas City Royals: Young has just one start this week; at home against the Indians on Wednesday. Over the past 14 days Young has struck out 11, walked 6 with an ERA of 2.55 and 1.30 WHIP in 17.7 innings pitched. During that 17.7 innings pitched Young went 2-1. His 0.38 GB/FB ratio would lead one to believe he gives up plenty of bombs yet he only gives up 0.07 per nine innings so grab Young this week and pick up a win.
Rubby De La Rosa Arizona Diamondbacks: De La Rosa has only one start this week at home against Atlanta. Over the past 14 days De La Rosa has posted an ERA of 4.50, 1.00 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and 4 walks in 20 innings pitched. He also gave up 3 bombs during that stretch but his 1.65 GB/FB ratio is encouraging and his 8.30 strikeouts per nine innings makes him a viable option this week.
Yovani Gallardo Texas Rangers: Gallardo has a Thursday start this week at home against the White Sox. Over the past 14 days Gallardo has posted an ERA of 3.71 with a 1.29 WHIP, 4 walks and 13 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. He also went 2-1 and gave up 2 bombs during that stretch. His GB/FB ratio of 2.27 is encouraging enough for me to use him this week.
Chris Heston San Francisco Giants: Heston has a Tuesday home start against the Pirates. Over the past 14 days Heston has struck out 10 while walking 5 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 15 innings pitched. He was also 2-0 during that stretch while giving up 3 bombs. Very good FIP of 3.41 and the GB/FB ratio of 2.67 work’s for me at home on Tuesday against the Pirates.
Mike Foltynewicz Atlanta Braves: Foltynewicz has an away start on Wednesday against Arizona. Over the last 14 days Foltynewicz has struck out 22, walking 3 with an ERA of 3.72 and 0.98 WHIP in 19.3 innings pitched. While he was 1-2 during that stretch he does average 9.41 strikeouts per name so if strikeouts are what you need to win your matchup you could do worse than adding Foltynewicz to your lineup.
Starting Pitching Streaming Options Mon-Thursday
Monday: Alex Colome of the Tampa Bay Rays has an away start on Monday against the Angels. Over the past 14 days (3 starts) Colome has 6 strikeouts and 4 walks in 13.7 innings pitched. He has posted a decent ERA of 3.29, WHIP of 1.39 and a pretty decent GB/FB ratio of 1.54. Luckily for Colome he faces an Angel’s team and their .233/.287/.357/.644 slash line against righties that includes 21 percent strikeout rate against right handers.
Tuesday: Mike Fiers and the Milwaukee Brewers travel to St Louis to play the Cardinals on Tuesday. Over the past 14 days Fiers has struck out 14 while walking just 2 over 15.7 innings of work. During that same 14 day span Fiers posted a 3.45 ERA and 1.47 WHIP both being lower than his season totals. St’ Louis is no easy customer at home but it’s hard to not stream someone averaging 10.97 strikeouts per nine innings with a GB/FB ratio of 1.18.
Wednesday: Chad Bettis and the Colorado Rockies are at home against the Dodgers and while normally I don’t recommend any starting pitcher at Coors field I’m going to make an exception with Bettis. His home starts have been home run free and he’s averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings at Coors Field with a 3.14 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. This might be a good bet on Wednesday.
Thursday: Kyle Gibson and the Minnesota Twins travel to Boston to play the Red Sox. Over his past three starts Gibson has posted an ERA of 2.41. WHIP of 1.39 with 13 strikeouts and 6 walks in 18.7 innings pitched. Great GB/FB ratio of 2.26 and he’ll need it going up against those sluggers in Boston who have only hit 22 bombs in 723 at bats at Fenway thus far this season.
Position Player Waiver Wire Options
The following waiver wire options are available in at least 50 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Logan Forsythe 1B 2B DH Tampa Bay: With James Loney out Forsythe had the job at first base but now seems to have been moved back to second base. Over the past 14 days Forsythe has slashed a line of .265/.362/.429/.791 with 2 bombs, 6 RBI and 6 runs scored. We can’t forget about his 83 percent contact rate, .328 BABIP and .177 ISO either. Not to mention his duel eligibility.
Yangervis Solarte 1B 2B 3B San Diego: Solarte is Fantasy eligible in three positions and over the past 14 days he’s slashed a .241/.305/.333/.628 line with 3 RBI and 6 runs scored. Its hard to believe a guy with an 87 percent contact rate and 11.9 percent strikeout rate would only be hitting .265 for the season. His .298 BABIP suggests that average is about to come up.
David Freese 3B Los Angeles Angels: Freese is having another one of those seasons where you just have to shake your head; over the course of the last 14 days Freese has slashed a .250/.250/.500/.750 line with 3 bombs, 9 RBI and 9 runs scored. If you can handle his 21.9 percent strikeout rate and roll with his .189 ISO he’ll more than likely be a good source of bombs, RBI and runs scored this week.
Jose Iglesias SS Detroit: Iglesias is putting together a decent season and over the past 14 days has put up a .300/.344/.333/.677 slash line with 1 RBI, 3 runs scored and a stolen base. Awesome 91 percent contact rate to go along with his .367 BABIP and 8.2 percent strikeout rate means the numbers Iglesias are putting up aren’t a fluke.
Nick Hundley C Colorado: Hundley just had a 6 game hitting streak snapped but over the past 14 days Hundley still slashed a .324/.350/.595/.945 line with 3 bombs, 7 RBI and 6 runs scored. Hundley does strike out at 21 percent of the time and I know the Rockies are away this week but Hundley still has a .290/.338/.377/.715 slash line with 1 bomb, 3 RBI and 7 runs scored.
Marlon Byrd OF Cincinnati: If you need some big lumber in your outfield and don’t care all that much about batting average Byrd might just be your man. Over the past 14 days he’s slashed a .188/.245/.417/.662 line with 3 bombs, 6 RBI and 8 runs scored. He strikes out 25 percent of the time but a .230 ISO and .435 ISO are hard to pass up.
Michael Cuddyer OF New York Mets: Cuddyer is starting to get comfortable in New York and over the last 14 days has put together a slash line of .327/.400/.490/.890 with 2 bombs, 9 RBI and 6 runs scored. I also like his .320 BABIP and his 8.4 percent walk rate but he still strikes out 22.6 percent of the time. Like I said he’s getting comfortable and starting to get hot so ride him while he’s hot!
Cameron Maybin OF Atlanta: Fantasy Baseball experts seem to be gushing over Maybin these days and over the past 14 days his slash line of .340/.431/.440/.871 probably has something to do with it. He’s also hit 1 bomb with 9 RBI and 10 runs scored and swiped 4 bases during that same 14 day stretch. You’d better grab him now while you still can because this kid is going to be special.
Chris Colabello 1B OF Toronto: Colabello is another rookie who’s off to a great start. Over the past 14 days Colabello is slashing a line of .302/.373/.547/.920 and over the season his line of .374/.424/.582/1.006 is astonishingly good. He also has a BABIP of .484 to go along with a 8.1 percent walk rate….he’s also duel eligible so grab him while you can.
Oakland A’s to Watch This Week
Jesse Chavez SP: Chavez is currently owned in 35 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues. I thought after Tuesday night’s successful outing against Detroit that number would be higher. Over his last three starts Chavez has posted an ERA of 1.93 and 0.93 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and 3 walks in 14 innings pitched. He starts today (May 31) against the Yankees and his next start is Friday on the road against Boston.
Brett Lawrie 2B 3B: Lawrie seems to have finally snapped out of that awful season long funk he was in and over the past two weeks he’s slashed a line of .295/.295/.477/.772 with 2 bombs, 6 RBI, 2 runs scored and a stolen base. His season long BABIP of .385 is encouraging but he still strikes out 27 percent of the time. Lawrie also has duel eligibility which is a huge bonus. Lawrie is owned in just 23 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues so he’s available.
Good luck this week Fantasy Baseball owner!
