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Reliable starting pitching is in short supply so far this season between injuries and inflated run-scoring environments through MLB. No matter the best-laid plans of fantasy baseball managers, odds are at least one starter your planned on building your staff around is hurt, struggling, or both. So if you’re in need of a temporary fix, we’ve got three pitchers with favorable matchups to consider streaming this week.
Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 8
Pitchers to stream
Reid Detmers, SP, Los Angeles Angels — Detmers’ season-long numbers don’t jump off the page, with a 4.89 ERA and 1.51 WHIP so far this season. But the lefty’s expected ERA is nearly a full run lower, and his K rate and whiff rate are both well above average. The 23-year-old’s slider has emerged as a legit out pitch, and he’s already begun to deemphasize his fastball in favor of that slider and curve — which should allow him to take off.
It may be too soon to devote a permanent roster spot to the former first-round pick, but you should absolutely fire him up against the Minnesota Twins and their 29th-ranked OPS against lefties this week.
Ryne Nelson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks — Nelson has regressed badly from his stellar three-start debut last season, with a 6.20 ERA through eight starts, but I’m still not ready to give up on the former second-round pick. For starters, his four-seam fastball velocity was back up above 95 mph, which should allow the pitch to get back to what it was in 2022, when it garnered a miniscule .111 batting average against. Combine that with a solid cutter/slider combination, and it should be more than enough for him to find success against the Oakland Athletics at the pitcher-friendly Coliseum.
JP Sears, SP, Oakland Athletics — Sears has drawn tough matchups all year long, which (along with some outrageous HR/FB luck) helps explain his inflated ERA, but he still has 44 strikeouts in his 42.2 innings of work and has flashed big upside against weaker offenses — e.g., his six shutout innings with seven Ks against the Seattle Mariners earlier this month. He could find plenty of success against a Houston Astros offense that’s looked like a shell of itself so far this year and ranks in the bottom third of the league in OPS against lefties. If you’re fishing for strikeout upside, Sears is your man.