Just about every fantasy arm recommended in last week’s piece made an impact if you were able to pluck them off the wire. Andrew Heaney showed well against the Yankees, while Nick Pivetta continued doing his thing. Jake Odorizzi commenced his bounceback campaign, while Ross Stripling had the best showing of the week versus the Padres. I split with my reliever recommendations, but to be fair, Ken Giles once again got lit up in a non-save situation. He’s been lights out when asked to close a game out which only occurred once last week. Get these six hurlers on your roster by way of trade or waiver wire immediately.
SP Joe Musgrove (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Of all the streaming options readily available on the waiver wire heading into the ninth week of the season, Musgrove has what I believe the highest chance of actually sticking on a fantasy baseball roster the rest of the way. He’s owned in just over 12 percent of ESPN leagues, so he can be snagged for cheap. Should he mimic his performance against the Cardinals versus the Cubs on Wednesday, you’ll have to pony up more FAAB dollars to get him. Remember, the Buccos got him back in the Gerrit Cole deal. His strikeout ability is there as well as a propensity to not issue free passes. Think of Tyson Ross with better control.
Joe Musgrove dazzles in #Pirates debut as Bucs crush Cardinals at PNC Park https://t.co/rEXs8vGxiV pic.twitter.com/fH2NEC6BBW
— WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (@WTAE) May 26, 2018
SP Ryan Yarbrough (Tampa Bay Rays) – The Rays are changing things up and getting a ton of pub about it by pitching backwards. Regardless, the lefty has been extremely effective and successful coming out of the pen once called upon. He’s gone 6+ innings in each of his last two relief appearances, and tallied a 12:1 K/BB ratio while giving up just 1 ER. This rookie is getting overlooked in way too many leagues evidenced by his sub 10 percent ownership.
Ryan Yarbrough strikes out eight in relief https://t.co/mfUrtUzKwS via @dougroth15 #fantasybaseball
— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsMLB) May 26, 2018
SP Wade LeBlanc (Seattle Mariners) – The Mariners possess one of the best bullpens in the league anchored by none other than “Sugar” otherwise known as Edwin Diaz. With that, you have an opportunity to tally in the highly sought after win category by picking up arms in Seattle’s starting rotation. LeBlanc has solidified himself as a starter by giving up 4 ER and amassing quality starts in two of his last three outings. Another possible win awaits this week with the punchless Rangers in town.
Your Alabama Pro Athlete of the Week is Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc carried a shutout into the 6th inning in his start this week, closing out a month in which he gave up only 5 runs in 26.1 IP (1.71 ERA). Seattle won 4 of the 5 games LeBlanc started in May. pic.twitter.com/VRut5YjEHr
— Alabama Pro Updates (@BamaProUpdates) May 28, 2018
SP Dan Straily (Miami Marlins) – The veteran right-hander was on our watch list last week. After tossing another six innings of 1 ER ball at the Mets, I’m suggesting you pick him up if he wasn’t snatched off the fantasy wire already. He’s conceded two or less ERs in each of his last four starts, but does own a scary 5.9 BB/9 average. You’ll need to pick your spots with him, but Tuesday’s outing at Petco is a go.
.@Marlins RHP Dan Straily on his performance and clutch play by catcher J.T. Realmuto that prevented an extra run being scored. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/8HUroezVTz
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) May 24, 2018
SP Carlos Rodon (Chicago White Sox) – It’s rare an explosive arm like Rodon’s sits on the waiver wire at this point of the season. However, astute fantasy baseball owners have no doubt been keeping tabs of his rehab outings knowing full well what could be once he’s deemed healthy enough to get the call. That looks to only be a week or so away from occurring. With that, make it a point to get a near 10.0 K/9 average on your roster by picking him up and putting him on the DL until it’s made official.
Carlos Rodon starting Tuesday for Triple-A Charlotte Tuesday. They have him scheduled for a couple of more injury rehab starts, but they will evaluate after Tuesday
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 28, 2018
RP Nate Jones (Chicago White Sox) – I get that the White Sox stink out loud. I get that they don’t offer up much from a fantasy perspective. However, this is a team that was expected to win nearly 70 games and they’ve only logged 16 to this point. Jones has officially been named the team’s closer after racking up saves in each of his last three opportunities. Should Chicago only manage to win 60 or so games, a number of save opportunities are to be had. With that, snag Jones if hurting in the saves department.
.@djshort's Waiver Wire: It's time to add White Sox's Nate Jones pic.twitter.com/nHLwh5kLvc
— Rotoworld (@rotoworld) May 24, 2018
Add To Watch List: Daniel Mengden, Reynaldo Lopez, Anthony DeSclafani, Jeremy Jeffress
