There's no replacement for a high-end hurler, of course, but if you're looking to stream pitchers, you've come to the right place. Scott White has 10 recommendations for the upcoming scoring period, all rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. Most likely, they're the best you'll find off the waiver wire.
- Week 21: Sleeper hitters | Two-start pitchers
All information is up to date as of Sunday afternoon.
Sleeper pitchers for Week 21 (Aug. 14-20)
Gavin Williams recently broke through with a 12-strikeout, one-hit effort, showing greater conviction with all of his pitches but especially his breaking balls. He kept it going with a 10-strikeout effort at the Rays over the weekend, so you'll want to take advantage of a dream matchup against the Tigers in Week 21.
| ||
Two of Pivetta's past three appearances have been true starts, and both were better than the bulk relief appearance that came in between. It hopefully means he'll be entrusted to start against lineups as weak as the Nationals and Yankees this week, giving him a chance at 15-plus strikeouts.
| ||
After a remarkably steady season last year, Mikolas has been more like a random number generator this year, but that number has been more favorable than not over his past 18 starts, yielding a 3.63 ERA. Matchups like the Athletics and Mets this week should help.
| ||
The Cubs have recently joined the ranks of the elite offenses, aided by a couple of high-scoring games in Cincinnati, but they're still middle-of-the-road against lefties. Up-and-comer Ragans makes for a good choice, then, having proven his mettle with 11 strikeouts at the Red Sox a couple turns ago.
| ||
With double-digit strikeouts in two of his past four turns, Silseth is shaping up to be one of the breakthrough pitchers of the second half. He held his own at Houston over the weekend, so we should be able to trust him against the Rays in Week 21.
| ||
Matz has been on fire lately, allowing a combined two earned runs in his past four starts, and he's a reasonable bet to keep it going against a depleted Mets lineup.
| ||
Heaney has taken a little off his slider in recent starts, and it's led to better results. He had an early hook at the Giants over the weekend, which might give you some pause, but he has an especially favorable matchup in Week 21 against the Brewers.
| ||
France is back in the rotation with the Astros going six-man for the time being. It's not totally clear why the rookie has been as successful as he has, but his matchup against the Mariners is favorable enough that you can count on another quality start.
| ||
The 88 mph-throwing Hendricks remains as enigmatic as ever, and when things go bad, they can go really bad. But given his two favorable matchups against the White Sox and Royals, you can afford to dream big this week.
| ||
Even though he has a 1.94 ERA over his past eight starts, Ashcraft's underwhelming strikeout and walk rates during that span don't inspire much confidence. But he changed his pitch mix a little in his latest start against the Marlins and got quite a few more whiffs as a result, which might be enough to convince me to use him in a two-start week.
|
