Fantasy Baseball Week 23 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers include Hurston Waldrep, Cam Schlittler
A couple of rising rookies happen to line up for two starts this week
By
Scott White
•
1 min read
Not that you'd sit just any pitcher, of course, but if you have an opening or two and could use a streamer off the waiver wire, 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.
Be sure to check back Sunday for the latest updates.
Sleeper pitchers for Week 23 (Aug. 25-31)
The Braves' unexpected second-half ace keeps getting better and better, upping his splitter use last time out to give him back-to-back starts with seven strikeouts and at least a dozen whiffs. Why on earth would you shy away from him in a two-start week?
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Cameron Schlittler is a little too fastball-reliant at this stage of his career, but it's a good one. Coming off the best start of his young career -- one in which he registered eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 one-hit innings -- he's a worthy play against two bottom-feeder clubs.
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Bryce Miller's return from a lengthy elbow injury Tuesday was a mixed bag, seeing him pile up whiffs with improved velocity while also serving up bunches of hard contact en route to a mediocre final line. Still, it was encouraging enough to earn him the benefit of the doubt in a two-start week against a couple of bottom-10 offenses.
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Jeffrey Springs' past couple outings have been pretty rough, but he had a 3.30 ERA in the 18 before then. That's reason enough not to kick him to the curb, particularly when he's scheduled to face a Rangers team with the third-worst OPS against left-handed pitchers.
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Jose Soriano's game log paints a much more promising picture than his overall stat line, with a trio of disastrous starts marring what would otherwise be regarded as a breakout season. The Astros rank in the bottom 10 in runs scored, and Soriano struck out 10 when he last faced them on June 21.
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Sandy Alcantara is coming off his best start of the season, a true gem of an outing in which he struck out nine over seven innings while flashing improved velocity. Four of his past six starts have been rather excellent, though, which makes the downside risk easier to swallow in a two-start week.
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Is Bailey Ober fixed after sitting out all of July to address a hip issue that dated back to spring training? His four starts since returning offer conflicting evidence. His velocity was up early on, but that wasn't the case in his last turn ... which also yielded the best results. He might be worth a gamble, though, with two starts.
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The Red Sox seem to have a plan for Dustin May, having him throw his cutter more than he did with the Dodgers. The result has been back-to-back quality starts, and now he lines up for a turn against the worst offense in baseball.
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The Red Sox aren't anyone's idea of a good matchup, but they've scuffled a bit lately and recently lost Wilyer Abreu to injury. This recommendation (mild though it may be) is more about Dean Kremer's increased splitter use, which has yielded back-to-back gems of seven-plus innings.
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Charlie Morton has had one major misstep with the Tigers, which is why his ERA is just 3.63 in those four turns. Other than that, though, he's been money, and while the Athletics lineup can be dangerous, it can also be strikeout-prone.
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