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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

HIRED ARMS: Don't Lose Touch

Felipe M

With two weeks all ready wrapped up in the 2013 MLB season, we take a look at possible options to fill out your pitching rotation from the waiver wire.  By now, all the hottest pitchers should have been picked up by now, but baseball is a cyclical game and what's hot today, may be cold tomorrow and vice-versa.  So the following is the ultimate "buy-low" list of pitchers.

The criteria: we will only look at pitchers that are owned in less than 50% of CBS fantasy baseball leagues.  We're not advocating that you go pick up these pitchers immediately, but may be worth a look if you're in dire needs for arms or just to scout for a future date.

Bobby Parnell--New York Mets--54% owned: I know I said less than 50%, but Parnell is worth special mention.  He had a great spring and he really hasn't pitched terribly this year.  His issue is that he only has one save, but it's not his fault as the Mets have been winning their games in deciding fashion.  But I don't believe the Mets can continue to win in this way as I believe Parnell will have to be utilize more as this team just looks like a squad that will have to claw and fight their way through a lot of one-run victories.  He has yet to give up a walk and that alone should pique your interest.

Mike Fiers and Felix Doubront--43% and 46% respectively: The main issue with both of these pitchers is that both of their teams are in no need of using a 5th starter for the time being.  And although Fiers did not look very good in his first start, Doubront actually pitched a decent game in his lone start this season.  Both of these pitchers were projected to have decent years and are worth monitoring as soon as their respective teams put them back in regular rotation.

Dillon Gee--Mets--37%: We've mentioned Gee's struggles before, but I'm still confident that he'll be able to bounce back and eventually help your starting rotation.  

Chris Tillman--Baltimore Orioles--32%: Tillman has struggled with control and command, but he's still worth monitoring because of his 2012 season.  He's also struck out one batter per inning so far.  

J.A. Happ and Ubaldo Jimenez--47%: Both pitchers have registered a strike out per inning and both have struggled with control.  The difference between the two is that Happ has found ways to earn wins, while Jimenez has given up a base-hit per inning.  Happ seems to be in the better situation, but even Jimenez, with a little bit of luck, can turn his season around and is worth keeping tabs on.

Edwin Jackson--Chicago Cubs--50%: We've mentioned how unpredictable, but lights out Jackson can be.  Unfortunately, he's been struggling with control and command issues, but has a K/9 of 11.04.  As the weather warms up, I can't help but be optimistic about Jackson's season turning around.

Wade Davis--K.C. Roayals--31%: We've been waiting for Davis to live up to the hype bestowed on him back in his Tampa days.  Nothing about his current counting stats show any signs of hope, but his reputation alone gives him another chance of redemption for this season.

Not an impressive list of pitchers, but when you're digging through the rubble, you try to look at the bright side of things.  The common theme for these pitchers is that they're all known commodities and they've all had, at the very least, minor success in their recent past.  

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