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 no more than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. Most likely, they're the best you'll find off the waiver wire.
- Week 23: Sleeper hitters | Two-start pitchers
All information is up to date as of Sunday evening.
Sleeper pitchers for Week 23 (Aug. 28-Sept. 3)
Things just keep getting better and better for Ragans, whose average fastball velocity was up another 2 mph in his last start, making for an overall increase of 6 mph this season. At this point, would anyone be surprised if he struck out a dozen Pirates?
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The roster rate is getting up there for Skubal, but I'll take this one last opportunity to tout him with favorable matchups against the Yankees and White Sox forthcoming. He's coming off back-to-back six-inning starts, too, which makes him more usable than ever.
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Maeda has stumbled a bit in his past couple turns, both favorable matchups, but his overall numbers are still outstanding if you eliminate the 10-run disaster that preceded his IL stint. He remains an easy call in a two-start week, particularly since one is against the Guardians.
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Lugo has become a fixture in these rankings and continues to do his thing, having allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his past seven starts. No reason to back down from him in a two-start week.
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Williams has followed up back-to-back double digit-strikeout efforts with back-to-back stinkers and may be wearing down late in his rookie season. But his matchup against the Twins this week has a chance to rewrite that narrative given that they're far and away the most strikeout-prone team.
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The numbers Kremer has generated recently have been a little less random, which is to say he's allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his past nine starts for a 3.06 ERA. He's still more combustible than you'd like, but probably not against a moribund White Sox lineup.
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Gibson has become the Orioles pitcher who best fits the description of a random number generator (not that there aren't several candidates), following up rocky starts in Seattle and Oakland with an eight-inning gem against the Blue Jays. When it goes well, it tends to go very well, so you can cross your fingers and hope against the White Sox this week.
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Woo's absence for a forearm injury was brief and so was his return Tuesday, seeing him go just four innings. But they were four effective innings, and now he lines up for two turns against the bottom-feeder Athletics and depleted Mets.
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Hendricks has become a pretty safe recommendation whenever he has a favorable matchup, which is certainly true this week with the Brewers on tap. But you have to know there isn't much strikeout upside, which means he kind of needs to win to make it worthwhile.
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Schmidt is coming off his longest outing of the season, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing one earned run at the Rays, and his matchup this week at the Tigers is much more inviting. His overall ratios are pretty middling, but he's allowed three earned runs or fewer in 17 of his last 18 appearances for a 3.71 ERA.
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