It’s hard to believe the calendar is about to flip to September, but for those still in the hunt for virtual baseball trophies that means it’s time to focus in on fantasy baseball while our league mates debate their super-easy first-round football picks.
In one 7×7 Yahoo league, I’ve fallen to last place in both ERA and WHIP — hard to do while still managing a shot at a third-place finish. Whether you’re punting these categories like me or just behind on innings in a capped league, it’s time to start looking at starting pitchers worth streaming down the stretch. In a couple weeks we’ll be able to guess as to which starters will be throwing on the final day of the season, Sunday, Sept. 30. Remember to load up that day to sneak a few extra strikeouts and wins.
The waiver wire is less contested than ever these days. Here are a few lightly owned starters worth monitoring for solid matchups over the final month. (Yahoo ownership in parenthesis.)
Mike Minor (13%): A 1.12 WHIP on the season suggests the lefty’s 4.40 ERA is a bit misleading. True enough, as he has four wins, a 2.55 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 6.67 K/BB over his last 24.2 frames.
Brett Anderson (18%): The oft-injured Athletic has been money over the past month, sitting on a 1.65 ERA over 32.2 innings. Anderson has only one win to show for it, and the 15 strikeouts over that time leaves a lot to be desired, but he has the Twins coming up at Target field this Sunday and a history of solid results when healthy.
Anthony DeSclafani (27%): He’s quietly bounced back from two injury-plagued seasons to put up a 4.26 ERA and palatable 1.21 WHIP over 80.1 innings, striking out nearly eight per nine. Desclafani had a tough night against the Cubs yesterday, but still only gave up four earned over six. In his previous five turns, he went 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA and 29 strikeouts against six walks over 30.1 IP.
Joe Musgrove (35%): He’s playing for a contender and dealing of late, with a 2.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 5.67 K/BB over the past 30 days. Musgrove reminds me of some of the Phillies young hurlers — high upside with underlying numbers suggesting breakouts on the way, but with a clunker here and there ballooning the season-long line. This is a 25-year-old with a 3.31 ERA over 87.0 innings.
Matt Harvey (18%): The clock is literally ticking on Harvey as this article goes up, with the Brewers having claimed him off revocable waivers from the Reds. Harvey’s blowups have been more pronounced than the others on this list, but you can pick and choose his matchups while betting on the 1.16 WHIP rather than 3.63 ERA over the past month.
Ivan Nova (16%): Another Pirate worth watching, as his 4.20 ERA on the season is on its way down thanks to a 2.41 mark over his past three starts. And at this point in the season aren’t we fine with a streamer going six and giving up three?
Mike Leake (27%): Seattle’s crafty righty has just enough negatives to keep him on the wire for our daily usage — an underwhelming K-rate and rather under-appreciated 3.90 ERA. Leake also doesn’t have a win over his last nine starts, although it’s hard to fault him after throwing eight shutout innings against Oakland his last time out, giving up just two hits.
Shane Bieber (35%): Another cheap hurler on a great team, Bieber was torched for seven earned against the Pirates on July 24 but has been solid since, going 2-0 over five starts with a 3.68 ERA and 9.82 K/9.
Follow Danny @_dannycross_.
