ben-brown-usatsi.png

Tuesday was a fun day of baseball around MLB, especially if you like pitching. That's kind of been the theme of this season so far – well, that and injuries, of course – and if it feels like there are more useful pitchers for Fantasy than roster spots for them, that problem might be even more acute after Tuesday.

Because we had some really impressive pitching performances last night from a bunch of pitchers who are pretty widely available in Fantasy right now. Let's get to it: 

Wednesday's top waiver targets

Ben Brown, SP, Cubs (16%) – We've seen fleeting hints of brilliance from Brown before, but Tuesday was on a whole other level. He made it through seven no-hit innings, striking out 10 and walking just two against the Brewers, and he's now got a 2.72 ERA with underlying stats that very much back it up. The problem with Brown is he's incredibly reliant on his curveball, which had accounted for 33 of his 45 strikeouts entering Tuesday and 10 of his 16 whiffs. It's a two-pitch mix almost exclusively, and the fastball has had a tendency to get hit hard, which is a tough needle to thread – and that's why his 4.76 xERA entering this start was the biggest exception to his otherwise very good peripheral stats. The upside Brown has shown makes him worth chasing, even if there's some blow up risk if the curveball isn't working in any given start. 

Matt Waldron, SP, Padres (20%) – "Just throw your best pitch more!" is easy to say sitting in a computer chair, and it might be more difficult for Waldron than most, given that his best pitch is the impossible-to-predict knuckleball. But if he can pull it off, it's clearly a pretty obvious path to success for Waldron, who threw it 55% of the time Tuesday and had the Marlins absolutely befuddled. The knuckler accounted for 11 of his 15 swinging strikes and just a 74.4 mph average exit velocity on eight balls in play, and wouldn't you know it, that's been by far his best pitch when it comes to both quality of contact suppression and whiffs. Can he go full R.A. Dickey/Tim Wakefield and throw the pitch almost exclusively? Honestly, I'd love to see him try. Even if he doesn't, Waldron now has a 1.96 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 23 innings over his past four starts, and it's worth buying in to see if this is for real. 

Hunter Brown, SP, Astros (40%) – It's going to take a long time for Brown's ERA to look presentable thanks to that nine-run-in-less-than-an-inning outing he had back in early April, but he's doing what he can. He limited the Mariners to just a single run over six innings Tuesday with nine strikeouts, finishing May with a 3.41 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 26.1 innings of work. He's been de-emphasizing his cutter during that run and went away from his four-seamer Tuesday, too, throwing those pitches just 27% of the time total, instead leaning on his slider and splitter in this one, while also mixing in a new sinker a bit. I'm not sure the whole package is ever going to be much more than a fringe starting option for Fantasy, but the tinkering is interesting, at least. 

Tylor Megill, SP, Mets (22%) – There have been stretches where Megill has looked like he might matter for Fantasy, but it has usually fizzled out pretty quickly. What might be different this time? Well, the big thing is that his velocity is back up, as he averaged 95.8 mph with his four-seamer Tuesday in his nine-strikeout showing against the Dodgers. He has also continued to change up his pitch mix, adding a cutter and an improved splitter this season to his legitimate seven-pitch mix. Tuesday, it was mostly the fastball and slider that shined, accounting for five whiffs each and 10 of his 14 total; the cutter and splitter did generate some weak contact in this one, at least. Is that enough to make Megill someone we can trust for Fantasy? I think it's reasonable to be skeptical, but he does have 16 strikeouts to just three walks in 12 innings since coming back from a shoulder injury, and that's interesting enough to make him worth adding if you need a starter and the three ahead of him aren't available. 

Jake Irvin, SP, Nationals (19%) – I'd like to buy in on Irvin coming off a 10-strikeout showing against the Braves of all teams, but I just don't see it. He's got pinpoint command, but historically hasn't done much to limit hard contact or generate swings and misses – and even in this 10-strikeout showing he had merely a decent 13 whiffs on 90 pitches, not even a top-five mark among Tuesday's starters. In a different context – say, with a good supporting cast to give him a chance to win some games – I could see getting on board with Irvin, but I don't see much to get excited about here, especially on a night with so many other widely available pitchers thriving. 

Davis Schneider, 2B, Blue Jays (42%) – Despite his three hits Tuesday, you aren't looking to Schneider for batting average. He's hitting just .250 even in a very good month of May, because he strikes out too much and has to rely on pulling the ball consistently to generate power. That being said, Schneider has a good command of the strike zone, generates useful power, and has been given the green light to run more at the top of the lineup. It's a profile that should work in any format, and his multi-eligibility (2B and OF) means you should be able to find room for him in your lineup somewhere. 

Miguel Andujar, OF, Athletics (3%) – It's a long shot, but maybe Andujar still has something to offer. He has completely fallen off the map since he nearly won Rookie of the Year back in 2018, but he kept hitting at Triple-A all along, and has now caught on with an Athletics team that is desperate enough for talent that he hit cleanup Tuesday. Andujar went 1 for 4 with a homer, driving in three runs, and he's now 4 for 12 with five RBI in his first three games with the A's. I'm not expecting him to matter much outside of AL-only leagues, but weirder things have happened.