The trade deadline is approaching in fantasy baseball, so if you aren’t hounding some of the weaker teams in your league, now’s the time to get it done.
While you’re looking for trades, it’s always good to watch the waiver wire. There’s some options still out there for two-start pitchers, so here’s the two best for this week.
Mike Clevinger, Cleveland Indians, SP
I’m kicking myself this week. For a small return last week, I let Clevinger go to the waiver wire, thinking I could get him back for his two-start week this week.
In my league, I was wrong. He’s still available in about 50 percent of leagues on ESPN.com, so if he’s still out there, you have to grab him this week.
This is a no-brainer week for Clevinger. He is facing the two worst offenses in Major League Baseball, going against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday and the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
The Sox are in complete tank mode and the Angels offense can’t generate runs. The teams are one and two in the fewest runs scored in July. And Clevinger is one of the hottest commodities in Major League Baseball.
He’s allowed one or fewer runs in five of his last six starts. He has at least seven strikeouts in three of those outings and he’s 3-0 in that timespan.
He’s striking out batters and limiting runs. He has to be on rosters this week.
Jhoulys Chacin, San Diego Padres, SP
I might be going to the well one too many times with Chacin, but he’s really good at home. And he has two matchups this week at home against teams not hitting the ball well in recent weeks.
Chacin takes the mound against the New York Mets on Tuesday and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Both games are at home, where Chacin is sporting a 1.94 ERA.
He’s not going to give you monster strikeout numbers, but he should have an opportunity at turning in a quality start. Since June 3, Chacin has had a quality start in eight of nine games, allowing three earned runs or less in six innings of work. The only time he didn’t have a quality start was a five inning affair in which he allowed no earned runs and tallied the win.
People aren’t jumping on his bandwagon, so I’ll stay on it. He’s owned in less than 25 percent of leagues on ESPN.com, so he should offer two solid starts this week.
