Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma missed two full months before returning in July and allowing five earned runs in five innings.
It wasn’t the debut that he hoped for after missing that much time due to a strained muscle. Fantasy baseball owners also didn’t hop on the bandwagon, meaning Iwakuma may be still on the waiver wire in most fantasy baseball leagues.
Owners looking for a back-end start to this week could pick up Iwakuma in hopes that he continues his solid stats from his most recent two outings. He allowed no earned runs on July 11 in eight innings, while striking out six and allowing three hits. During his recent start, he allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in his second consecutive win.
During those two outings, he has 11 strikeouts combined.
His next start will feature an outing at Detroit. The Tigers lead Major League Baseball in batting average at .294, so it will be a struggle to limit the Tigers. However, waiver wire pitchers are short in demand so when a pitcher who is capable of limiting earned runs and generating wins is available, he may be worth a look.
