If you’re into streaming pitchers or simply have a hole to fill in your lineup, Scott White has 10 recommendations for the upcoming scoring period, all rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. They’re no substitute for some of the universally rostered pitchers, of course, but these are the best you’ll be able to do off the waiver wire.
- Week 11: Sleeper hitters | Two-start pitchers
All information is up to date as of Sunday afternoon.
Sleeper pitchers for Week 11 (June 13-19)
TB Tampa Bay • #59 • Age: 29 How good do the numbers have to be before Jeffrey Springs is must-start regardless of the matchups? It’s a moot point this week with the Orioles on the schedule. |
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PHI Philadelphia • #56 • Age: 28 Zach Eflin’s overall numbers are fairly ordinary, but with a 12-strikeout effort here and eight shutout innings there, he’s been known to rise to the occasion and has the right matchups (Marlins and Nationals) to do so this week. |
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SF San Francisco • #57 • Age: 31 The underlying metrics have been strong for Alex Wood all along even if he didn’t turn in a quality start until his last outing. He’s poised to go on a run with the Royals and Pirates on tap this week. |
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ATL Atlanta • #65 • Age: 23 Spencer Strider had the misfortune of bad defense in his first start and Coors Field in his second, but things went better in his third start over the weekend. You’ll want to put his bat-missing arsenal to work against the Nationals’ bottom-10 offense in his fourth start. |
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CIN Cincinnati • #30 • Age: 27 Considered a must-start at the beginning of the year, Tyler Mahle has gotten his season back on track with three straight quality starts, including a 10-strikeout effort in his latest. He’ll be facing that same opponent, the Diamondbacks, this week. |
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ARI Arizona • #29 • Age: 33
It’s been an up-and-down season for Merrill Kelly, but he one-hit the Reds over six innings last time out. They’re one of two opponents he’ll face this week. |
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WAS Washington • #40 • Age: 24
The risk of a homer-prone pitcher against two homer-happy lineups (Braves and Phillies) isn’t lost on me, but Josiah Gray’s whiff rate has spiked since he began leaning on his slider more. For an extra start this week, the reward might be worth the risk. |
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DET Detroit • #49 • Age: 26
Sometimes his slider has played like a big bat-misser, sometimes not, but Alex Faedo has managed to keep runs off the board either way. The trend is likely to continue against two suspect lineups (White Sox and Rangers) this week. |
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PHI Philadelphia • #55 • Age: 26 It’s been a disappointing start to the year for Ranger Suarez, but he showed in his last start that good things can happen when he’s throwing strikes, going seven strong against the Brewers. He’ll face a suspect Nationals lineup this week. |
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CIN Cincinnati • #51 • Age: 24 Graham Ashcraft got singled to death in his latest start Sunday, but hitters have generally found his cutter, which peaks at 100 mph, difficult to square up. His ground-ball rate is so high that he’s usable in any matchup as long as strikeouts aren’t a priority. |