Sometimes I wonder why it takes so long for fantasy baseball owners to realize a pitcher is worth owning.
Kansas City starter Danny Duffy isn’t a world-beater by any means, but he’s been solid as a low-level starter on fantasy baseball rosters for the past month.
Duffy is 3-1 during the month of June and finished the month with a 45:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s tallied at least eight strikeouts in four of his previous five starts and has lasted at least six innings in four of his previous six starts, with his best outing coming Monday against St. louis, where he went eight innings, struck out eight, walked no one and allowed two earned runs.
Despite the recent string of solid outings, he’s only owned in 35 percent of leagues on ESPN.com, meaning he can provide a boost for your rotation with a back-end start this week against Philadelphia.
He’s the best option on the waiver wire for that kind of start, not only because of his recent successes, but also because Philadelphia is a dumpster fire. And that dumpster fire will likely continue with Aaron Nola on the mound on Saturday.
Nola was a surprise to the beginning of the season, dominating his way through the first month and a half. Then, the Phillies started to revert back to their old ways, which is 8-19 in the month of June with a minus-48 run differential for the month.
To make matters worse for the Phillies on Saturday, Nola has hurled less than four innings in four straight starts. He is 0-3 with a 15.23 ERA in that time.
Duffy shouldn’t have to worry about run support in this outing, and since joining the rotation in late May, he hasn’t needed much to notch a win. Grab him off the waiver wire now before someone else in your league gets wise to his pitching prowess.
