In deeper leagues, Seattle starting pitcher Taijuan Walker is nowhere to be found on the waiver wire.
However, if you’re in a league with less than 12 fantasy owners, he may be ripe for the picking, thus allowing you the best bet for a two-start pitcher next week.
Walker has been nothing short of dominant so far this season and he keeps getting better. He picked up his season’s first victory this week against the Indians, going six innings and allowing no walks or earned runs, while striking out six and giving up three hits.
He’s logged six innings in each start this season, and has progressively allowed fewer hits in each outing, going from seven to five to three, and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 14-to-2.
He’ll be a hot commodity this weekend on the waiver wire in anticipation of his matchup Monday against the Houston Astros. Later in the week, he’ll have another home matchup, this time against Kansas City.
Before the season, those two teams would have ignited a call to avoid those matchups. So far this season, the Astros and Royals have been middle-of-the-pack at best on the offensive side of the ball.
Houston has tallied the 15th-most runs, while Kansas City sits at 19th in runs scored among Major League Baseball teams. Houston has been even worse in the batting average category, hitting .238, ranked 19th in the Majors.
The Royals are better, at a .261 clip, but they’ve struggled hitting the ball at the most opportune times, ranking 23rd in RBIs.
What excites me the most, at least when looking at Monday’s game, is the amount of strikeouts expected against the Astros. As a team, the Astros have struck out 156 times this season, the second-most in the Majors. On the flip side, while Kansas City is one of the best teams at avoiding strikeouts, they are one of the worst at drawing walks, going for only 41 this season, just five more than the Chicago White Sox, which have mustered the least amount of walks this season.
Walker has shown the ability to produce for fantasy owners so far this season, and his matchups this week, albeit scary in the offseason, look like a manageable two-start week now.
