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Fantasy Baseball Week 7 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers include Tony Gonsolin, Lucas Giolito
Recent returnees make for some of the best pitchers the waiver wire has to offer
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.
All information is up to date as of Sunday afternoon.
Sleeper pitchers for Week 7 (May 5-11)
Tony Gonsolin's return from Tommy John surgery Wednesday couldn't have gone any better, seeing him rack up nine strikeouts on 17 whiffs against the same Marlins lineup he'll be facing to kick off Week 17. Prior to the rocky 2023 that ultimately led to his Tommy John surgery, he had a career 2.51 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 8.8 K/9.
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While Shane Smith has his believers, no one expects him to sustain a 2.23 ERA, and notching wins with the White Sox will be even more difficult once the correction comes. But it's unlikely to come this week, with matchups against the Royals and Marlins.
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The results were fine in Lucas Giolito's first start back from Tommy John surgery Wednesday, but he served up a couple home runs and didn't coax a high number of swings and misses. Still, it's hard not to see the glass half full when he's in line to face two bottom-five offenses this week.
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Luis Ortiz has a deep arsenal with several pitches capable of generating whiffs, and his 12.4 percent swinging-strike rate is far better than any he put together in Pittsburgh. He's still a bit rough around the edges, but the strikeout upside may be worth pursuing in a two-start week.
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Luis Severino clearly isn't much of a strikeout pitcher anymore, but he's managed to finesse his way to a solid ERA and WHIP, usually over six innings or more. It's that sort of volume that's going to make him particularly enticing for Head-to-Head points leagues in a two-start week.
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Michael Wacha has been a little shaky in the early going, but his track record is so steady that you should expect him to come around sooner or later. It may have already started with his back-to-back quality starts against the Astros and Orioles, and if so, it's just in time for a plush matchup against the White Sox.
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Matthew Liberatore's latest start was cut short by weather, but before that, he had a streak of three straight quality starts. He's been an elite strike-thrower to this point and is missing bats at a nice clip as well, so while his track record is cause for skepticism, he's a safe enough play against a lineup like the Pirates.
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Tyler Anderson has been living dangerously by combining high walk and fly-ball rates, but a high fly-ball rate can at least translate to a low batting average against, for all the home run damage that comes with it. Anderson might be worth a roll of the dice, then, against two lineups that have underperformed so far.
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When things go wrong for Jake Irvin, they go really wrong (see his most recent outing), but he also seems to have a penchant for quality starts. It makes him an inviting two-start option in Head-to-Head points leagues, which are better at mitigating the damage of a wayward start.
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A holdover from last week's sleeper pitchers because his two-start status was bumped back a week, Griffin Canning places much lower on the list this time around, mostly because the matchups are tougher. He's pitched well enough to get a look in Head-to-Head points leagues, though, even if regression is likely in his future.
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