Fantasy Baseball Week 8 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers feature Michael Wacha, Matthew Liberatore
Colin Rea is also worth a look for his prime matchups
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 evening.
Sleeper pitchers for Week 8 (May 12-18)
Three consecutive quality starts have brought Michael Wacha's ERA down to 2.98 and his WHIP down to 1.15 WHIP, which is more or less where we're used to seeing them. So in leagues where you pick him up for his upcoming two-start week, you may just want to hold onto him.
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Matthew Liberatore has made a big leap this year as a strike-thrower, and it's turned him into a quality-start machine. The underlying numbers pretty much all favor him, too, so in a two-start week, even with one being against the Phillies, there isn't much reason to second-guess him.
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Grant Holmes has seen his slider play up for more whiffs recently, but spotty control has made his overall output hit or miss. You're hoping he hits on at least one of his two starts this week, and it's possible he gives you upward of a dozen strikeouts as well.
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Andrew Abbott has been getting better results with his fastball this year, and the pitch was clearly "on" in his last start at Atlanta, where he struck out eight over five scoreless innings. Even without that momentum, he'd probably be worth using in a two-start week where the first is against the White Sox.
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Improved strike-throwing has led to more whiffs in Matthew Boyd's last two starts and brought his ERA to a more-than-respectable 2.78. The WHIP is high by comparison, but it's hard to see past the upside with a matchup like the White Sox.
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There's nothing remarkable about Colin Rea. He just throws strikes at a solid clip and lets the offense beat itself, which has so far led to a 2.43 ERA. That approach has the potential for disaster against stronger lineups, but that's not what he's facing this week with the Marlins and White Sox on the schedule.
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Nick Martinez broke out last year with elite control and a wipeout changeup. Both had been missing this season until his last couple starts, making him a prime choice to use against the White Sox in Week 8.
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A.J. Smith-Shawver hasn't totally pitched up to his stuff yet, but he's getting there. He followed up his best start of the season two turns ago (eight one-hit innings against the Reds) with another strong effort at the Pirates over the weekend. In all, he has a 1.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and exactly a strikeout per inning in his past four starts, and his Week 8 matchup against the Nationals isn't the kind that should scare you away.
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Justin Verlander was good against the Angels, Rangers, and Rockies and then managed to hold his own against a formidable Cubs lineup last time out. His matchups against the Diamondbacks and Athletics this week could be better, but it's reasonable to think he could deliver two quality starts with the way he's been going lately.
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While the ERA is high because of a couple crooked stat lines early in the year, Zack Littell is an elite strike-thrower who has delivered a quality start in four of his past five chances. He'll be facing a Blue Jays lineup that ranks in the bottom third of the league in runs scored.
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