Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The waiver wire can be a gold mine for fantasy players who are looking to boost their pitching stats. On just about any day, there is sure to be a starter or three just waiting to be plucked up who can help lead a fantasy team to glory. In today’s slice of fantasy advice, I’m going to take a look at some hurlers who should be in for a solid night on the hill on May 20 and are quite possibly available on a waiver wire near you.
Now hurry up and grab one of these guys before some other sly owner gets to them first.
Ownership percentages based off ESPN standard leagues
Josh Beckett: Los Angeles Dodgers (64.5 percent) – After back-to-back disappointing seasons, Beckett has once again found his groove. Not only has he allowed one earned run or less in four of his seven starts, but he is really missing a lot of bats, which is evidenced by his strong 8.64 strikeouts per nine innings.
The match-up is outstanding for him tonight too, as he’ll take on the New York Mets on the road. The Metropolitans rank just 29th in the league in runs scored per game at home this season and strike out 8.79 times per game as a team, which is good for fourth-most in baseball. Beckett looks like a good bet to not only get you a win but improve your peripheral stats as well.
Ian Kennedy: San Diego Padres (55.2 percent) – Even though he got knocked around a bit in his last outing, Kennedy is off to his best start in years. He has a very respectable 3.60 ERA to this point and has allowed three earned runs of fewer in seven of his nine starts. He’s been a beast in the strikeout department as well, as his 9.82 Ks per nine innings rank him 12th in all of baseball.
He’ll face the Minnesota Twins this evening, and though they rank seventh in the league in runs scored, their offense has really cooled off of late. After a red-hot April which saw them score 5.56 runs per game, they’ve managed to put up just 3.55 per game in May. When you combine that with the fact that they’ll be playing at pitcher-friendly Petco Park, all the evidence points to success for Kennedy.
Tyler Skaggs: Los Angeles Angels (16.5 percent) – This is the riskiest option of the bunch, as Skaggs hasn’t exactly been dynamic this season. His ERA sits pretty high at 4.53, but his WHIP is actually quite strong (1.16) so there is some bad luck at play here. He’s not the greatest option on most nights, but on most nights he doesn’t have a superb match-up like he does on May 20.
He’ll get the Houston Astros today, and they rank just 27th in the league in runs scored per game. They have also struck out the sixth-most times per game as a team thus far, so even though Skaggs isn’t much of a strikeout artist, he could find some extra success in that important fantasy category. In his first start of the season, Skaggs allowed zero earned runs in eight innings against these Astros, and it’s very possible he shuts them down again.
Brian Davis is a fantasy sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @SportsGuyBrian, ”Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google
