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In this piece, RotoBaller will highlight a selection of starting pitchers owned in less than 50% of both CBS and Yahoo leagues that have favorable matchups in the upcoming week. Whether you're suffering from injuries, poor performance, or your league’s fantasy baseball waiver wire is barren, these undervalued pitchers could prove useful in the days ahead.
4/30: Brandon Maurer (SEA) vs. Baltimore Orioles (Jason Hammel)
CBS Ownership: 18%, Yahoo Ownership: 2%
Skipping Triple-A and making Seattle’s roster out of camp made Maurer a trendy late-round pick in some deeper mixed leagues back in March, but those who took the plunge were less than thrilled after the rookie surrendered 15 hits and 12 earned runs over 6.2 IP in his first two starts. But if you look again, you'll see that the righty seems to have quietly righted the ship with three consecutive outings of at least six innings with allowing two earned runs or fewer. He hasn't struck many batters out but he's exhibited terrific control, and is certainly worth a try in the pitcher-friendly environs of Safeco Field against Baltimore on Tuesday night.
5/1: David Phelps (NYY) vs. Houston Astros (Erik Bedard)
CBS Ownership: 12%, Yahoo Ownership: 3%
After Ivan Nova was forced from his last start with elbow pain, Phelps came on in relief and dominated Toronto, allowing just two hits and one earned run over four innings while striking out nine and walking two. Phelps will now take Nova’s turn in the rotation versus the putrid Astros, and it’s real easy to like the matchup: the RHP misses bats and is facing the most strikeout-prone lineup in the majors. Meanwhile, the 'Stros are throwing journeyman southpaw Bedard, who has been knocked around this year to the tune of a 7.98 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 14.2 IP. Phelps is an exceptionally strong one-off play in all formats this week.
5/2: Kyle Kendrick (PHI) vs. Miami Marlins (Alex Sanabia)
CBS Ownership: 42%, Yahoo Ownership: 17%
RotoBaller picked Kendrick last week and boy did he deliver, firing a 3-hit shutout versus the Mets with just one walk and five strikeouts. The dominant outing was the righty’s fourth consecutive quality start and caps a very strong first month, as he now finishes April with a nifty 2.41 ERA and 24/8 K/BB ratio over 33.2 IP. He’ll look to keep it going against an utterly anemic Miami lineup whose collective .580 OPS is far and away the worst in the majors.
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