We’re nearly at the halfway point of the 2023 MLB season, and injuries and surprise disappointments have turned plenty of top draft picks into drags on your fantasy baseball roster. Everyone loves swinging a big trade to plug holes, but sometimes you just need a player who will give you a solid week of production — which is where our weekly pitcher streaming recommendations come in. Here are three guys we recommend targeting on the waiver wire this week.
Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 14
Pitchers to stream
Clarke Schmidt, SP, New York Yankees — Schmidt has turned it on after a dismal first six weeks, pitching to a 2.19 ERA over his last seven starts (which includes some tough matchups against the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox). The righty is still a bit too shaky to trust against the best offenses, but luckily for us, he’ll get to face off against the Oakland Athletics this week — who currently rank last in baseball in team OPS against right-handed pitching. The game will take place in the spacious Oakland Coliseum, too, making Schmidt a juicy streaming play.
Paul Blackburn, SP, Oakland Athletics — Blackburn has been much better than his 4.21 ERA would suggest since returning from injury earlier this month. Statcast has his expected ERA at 3.27, and he’s fanned 30 batters over 25.2 innings of work. His hard-hit rate and chase rate are among the best in baseball, and once he gets a little more batted-ball luck, he could take off. That should start this week, as Blackburn gets a juicy two-start slate against the New York Yankees (the worst offense in baseball since Aaron Judge went down) and Chicago White Sox (24th in team OPS against righties).
Bryan Woo, SP, Seattle Mariners — Making the jump straight from Double-A, Woo got blasted in his first career start, allowing six runs in just two innings to the Texas Rangers. But he’s shifted his pitch mix a bit since then, leaning on his explosive four-seam fastball, and the results have been encouraging: four runs allowed on nine hits in 15.2 innings against the Los Angeles Angels, White Sox and Yankees, while striking out 21. The righty will get the Washington Nationals at pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park this week, and he’s got as much strikeout upside as you’ll find on the waiver wire in that spot.