The Weekly Wood Chipper- Got Any Pitchers? (Week 21: Aug. 24-30)

With the Pitching Landscape Looking Quite Bare, Where Can We Turn?

LAB REPORTS

By: The Lab

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With the Pitching Landscape Looking Quite Bare, Where Can We Turn?

Tis' the season! No, it's not Christmas time. Although, there are 123 days left until the best holiday ever... in case you were wondering. I digress. What it always seems to be is in fact the season long epidemic of pitching scarcity. Everyone has to get the best arm on the waiver wire, and probably because so many arms get injured over the course of the year. It's hard to justify a top draft pick in the first round on an ace for that reason alone, unless it was one of Skubal, Skenes, or Crochet, and you see how that has gone. Crochet is likely barely going to return in time for the Sox, and Skenes has had an "off" year (only kind of, but maybe not 1st round justified). This is why their value climbs even later in the year. It's tough to navigate injuries, pitching limitations for young arms, and 6-man rotations. Basically, who is alive and well, and allowed by their clubs to pitch!

Speaking of being allowed to pitch, how about Kade Anderson FINALLY getting the call to the Bigs!!! He had nothing left to do in the minors, and he should've been called up a lot sooner (yes, the finger is pointed at you Seattle FO). Not a bad debut at all. I saw a post on X that noted Anderson often pitched just 5 innings in his MiLB starts, which probably affected the Cubbies getting to him in the 6th. Down the stretch, I don't think Kade will be super limited (119IP at LSU in 2025). He did show some great qualities before he was rushed off. I loved the mound presence from the rook. You can tell he belongs, and he commands his arsenal like a vet. All four of his pitches (4-seam, Slider, Change, Curve) were used close to 20% of the time. Everyone keeps talking about the fastball velo and it's shape not being great, but when you get solid extension and you can command your other pitchers, that matters more to me than the fastball. Pitching is an art, and if he can keep the breakers in the mix with his fastball, I think he will be just fine. Add him everywhere without hesitation.

Well now that the pleasantries have been exchanged, it's time to stream and dream with The Weekly Wood Chipper. First, I'm going to do something new this week, and briefly recap how some of the streams and wire plays performed that were suggested last week.

Streaming Highs

Walker Buehler- I was very pleased with how Buehler did in his two step. The combined line for his two starts was 12IP, 6H, 3ER, 2BB, 8K. Two quality starts and one win to go with!
Hopefully you streamed or slotted in some bats for the Reds and Cards! Solid week for their bats as they performed right in line or better than their seasonal averages.
Caleb Durbin- not a ton of power this past week, but he's still hitting. He had a .296 BA and a .355 OBP. That will continue to play in the Sox lineup. Hope you added!
Aaron Nola- Is Nola back? He has benefited from the opposition he has faced, but at least he is capitalizing! Great stream against Miami on Wednesday, with probably his best start of the year: 7IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 8K. It's the zero walks I love most. He could be a good vet arm to have down the stretch if your league-mates got flustered by his volatility.

Streaming "Valley Lows"

Houston Pitching- really down week for them with a slate that included the Angels and the A's, who were away from Sac-town. Wesneski the only bright spot.
Cody Bradford. Not a true "low" but might as well have been with no win against the Angels.

Notable Wire "Chippers"

Down weeks for Cam Smith, Andruw Monasterio, Cole Carrigg, Gleyber Torres, Tomo. Sugano, Eric Lauer, and Jacob Webb. I was only going to say I'm truly worried about Webb here, but news of Lauer going back to bullpen changes that. He had a 3.76 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 67 IP for LAD, but the return of Glasnow and Snell, and possibly Ohtani in some fashion bounces Lauer. As for Webb, Palencia is now back from the IL, and he looked great in his first appearance against the Mariners (1IP with 2Ks). Not a great look for Webb. And who recommended a Colorado pitcher last week?... Also, Kyle Leahy gets a downgrade as the Cards look t limit him (65 pitches... sigh).
Great weeks for Tyler Mahle, Jacob Lopez, and Anthony Kay. Mahle continues to pitch well since getting picked up by my Bravos. A QS and a W this past week against the Twins and the Brewers to the tune of 11.2IP, 12H, 3ER, 3BB, 7K. The Ks were down, but he's holding his own. I still like him moving forward. Jacob Lopez is a guy I was kind of down on due to the Sac-town effect. However, he keeps pitching well. At Houston he went 6IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 9K. Add him. Lastly, Anthony Kay got it done against my Braves and their struggling offense (6IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 6K). He has pitched well enough to stream him against Texas this week.

Sneaky Lumberjacks and Scorchin' Wood- Combined Waiver Wire

SP Jacob Lopez (45%, 9.7% ESPN)- Top pitching add for me this week. Boy was did I underrate Lopez at first when I saw his recent run. I blame it on the Sac-town effect. So far though, Lopez is limiting hard contact (95th percentile hard-hit) with an average fastball velo of 90.4 mph. He does that through elite extension and deception. He hides the ball well and generates some solid arm side movement on it. He is quickly approaching shallow league territory for me personally.
SP Joe Musgrove (43% CBS, 9.2% ESPN)- I think Musgrove is a solid stash if you are in a deeper league or if you have room and need the upside in a shallow. His velo has looked great in rehab games, and looks on the cusp of a return (potentially one more rehab start).
SP Andrew Painter (40% CBS, 8.4% ESPN)- Has Painter found it? He had arguably his best start of the season and his young career against Houston (7IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 8K). Always love seeing the walks down in a big start like this with a 1.48 WHIP on the year for Painter. Apparently, his fastball has felt the best since he had Tommy-John (per NBCS Philly reporter, Cole Weintraub). I'm perfectly fine adding him if you can take a flier to see if he has found it as Philly keeps making the postseason push.
SP Anthony Kay (32% CBS, 6.4% ESPN)- Did well enough against my Braves to warrant some consideration for me given his recent performance (3 QS in his last 4 GP). He is a great deep league spec add at the very least to see if he can keep the good times rolling against Texas.
1B Ty France (52% CBS, 14.2% ESPN)- Is Ty France one of the more underrated hitters in baseball this year? He keeps finding ways to impact games for the Friars. He hasn't been just a platoon bat as his splits are almost identical, which is wild. He has a .293 AVG in August after hitting .326 in July. France is typically batting cleanup for a hot San Diego team (7-3 in their last 10). I think we aren't giving France enough attention.
OF Spencer Jones (49% CBS,)- Anytime you hit in the little league stadium of the Bronx you get a slight bump. Spencer Jones has always had the pedigree, but he is now getting some great run to show it with Judge and Bellinger on the mend. He has rebounded recently after a tough start to August (.223 this month). He's a solid add in 12-team leagues or deeper where available.
DH Josh Bell (48% CBS,)- I love Bell. He has always been a patient hitter, and that's always fun to see in the often feast or famine league we're in now. I'd keep him fired up if you need the ratios and counting stats.
OF Griffin Conine (36% CBS, 7.1% ESPN)- I still love Conine, even if he has cooled off of late. Still probably more of a deeper add, but he continues to make great contact and the power is very real (7 homers in his last 30 days). Seems to have a strong platoon split with a much better average against righties, but the power and walk rate is enough for me to justify him as a deeper league guy.
OF/1B/2B/3B Tim Tawa (23% CBS, 4.9% ESPN)- Lots of positional eligibility for Tawa, and he hasn't stopped hitting. Just recently after Saturday's game he was batting .316 over his previous 10 games, and a .266 BA since the ASB. A utility man like Tawa can be a valuable bench piece at the very least this late in the year. Check on him in deeper leagues. Tawa is a great weekly stream with the Dbacks playing 7 this week, and his recent solid stretch offensively.
Graduated: Kade Anderson, Joshua Baez (Stop. He will be fine. The exit velo man!), Caleb Durbin, and Tyler Mahle.
Honorable Mention: Cal Quantrill, George Klassen, Grant Holmes, Sean Manaea, George Lombard Jr., and Luis Robert Jr.

As we come closer and closer to the end of the best fantasy sports season there is, I hope I can help you navigate this chaotic pitching scene and the end of season drama. One would think with the importance of pitching my Braves would have done something at the deadline, but you know, they didn't. Am I starting to get more frustrated about that again? Yes, yes I am. Even though it's our offense that has recently been down! Nonetheless, I hope everyone has an awesome week. Football season is right around the corner! One of the best stretches for sports fanatics with Fall baseball, pro and college football to tune into. Enjoy, remember to have fun, and keep the faith (my dad says that all the time). God bless!

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