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We are drawing dangerously close to playoff time in fantasy baseball. The fact that you're still here reading this and not focused on fantasy football tells me that you're still in the hunt - so congratulations!
If you need some pitching help on the waiver wire, I will say that the ship has largely sailed. This has been a magnificent year for starting pitcher waiver pick-ups. You could built an elite staff of pitchers without using a single top 200 draft pick on them this year. But as the year has gone on, the pitchers that are available have really thinned out.
That said, we do now find ourselves at the point of the year where there will be fewer eyes on the waiver wire. Several players in your league will likely check out and you will have a higher probability of getting the guys you want. Give your waiver wire a look while we talk about a handful names of consider for the stretch run.
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Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Patrick Sandoval, Los Angeles Angels (44% Rostered)
It's been a brutal stretch of matchups for Sandoval, facing the Astros, Dodgers, and Athletics in his last three outings. The box score results haven't been exactly what you'd hope for, and there have been some walk issues creeping up (he's walked five or more twice this year). But that is about the end of the list of bad things we can say about Sandoval.
Since July 1, only four pitchers have higher swinging-strike rates than Sandoval (Frankie Montas, Carlos Rodon, Corbin Burnes, and Kenta Maeda). He has turned in an elite 31% strikeout rate with a great 4% barrel rate over that time. Again, the walks are an issue (11%), but when you're getting this many strikeouts you can deal with an extra walk or two in a start.
The schedule lightens up for him down the stretch. Sandoval is must-roster right now and you can start with confidence in neutral or positive matchups.
Cal Quantrill, Cleveland Indians (56% Rostered)
The quality start is not a great metric to go by given the arbitrary criterion. However, any time some dude throws five straight quality starts, it's time to take a closer look. That is exactly what Quantrill has done. The last time he gave up more than three earned runs was way back on June 30, and he's taken his normal turn in the rotation every time since then.
We have more of a finesse pitcher here rather than an overpowering arm. His strikeout rate for the year is just 18.5%, but that has been quite a bit higher during this stretch of quality starts (23%). The most appealing thing about Quantrill is the ground ball rate, which has been at 55% since mid-July. For the year that figure is 45%. He has not given up many home runs and has a league-average walk rate. The lack of strikeouts keeps his ceiling low, and it's a good bet that he will have some disappointing starts down the stretch just because he gives up a lot of contact. However, any time you get a capable pitcher on the Indians - the innings are going to flow - and Quantrill is giving you that right now.
Josiah Gray, Washington Nationals (21% Rostered)
Gray has huge potential and has shown us just that so far this year. Three times already this year (five starts) he has posted swinging-strike rates over 19%, which is just ridiculous. He struck out 10 Braves on August 7 while giving up one earned run over five innings - a very encouraging and impressive outing. His pitch counts are also trending upwards with the Nationals, so it's time to add this guy just for the upside. He probably won't give you many quality starts, and there's no way to be supremely confident about the results moving forward, but strikeouts are sure to come and the ceiling is too high to ignore.
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners (52% Rostered)
We have had Gilbert in this post for the last few weeks now, but I'm leaving him on here just one more time in case he's available in any of your leagues out there. His 12.7% SwStr%, 28% K%, and 5.6% BB% are just what you want to see from a young pitcher. He can get strikeouts while not giving up a ton of free passes. The one knock would be the low ground ball rate of just 36%. Despite that, thus far he's managed to limit homers at 38 PA/HR. I'm not sure he can sustain that, but he is very talented and seems to have great command of the baseball as well. It should be a good finish to the year for Gilbert.
Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox (22% Rostered)
Holy strikeouts! Over his last three starts, Houck has pitched just 12.2 innings but has struck out 21 batters! The leash is short, to be sure, as he has yet to reach 90 pitches this year. That means you won't be getting many quality starts from the guy, but man he's been great when on the hill this year.
His 12.4% swinging-strike rate, 35% K%, and 6% BB% would put him in some really elite company if he had enough innings to qualify. He also has a great 48% ground ball rate, so it's hard to say anything negative about him besides the pitch count stuff. I would be adding Houck in all leagues that don't use quality starts right now - and especially so in leagues that use a ratio for strikeouts such as K% or K/9.
Other Names to Consider
Chris Flexen, Seattle Mariners: Not a great strikeout rate or WHIP, but has been solid and gets deep into games quite often.
Kyle Muller, Atlanta Braves: Major control issues, but good strikeout upside if he can get a better feel for the ball.
Jake Odorizzi, Houston Astros: Boring, not much upside, but the innings and wins should be there as long as he stays in that Astros rotation.
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