Seattle Mariners pitcher J.A. Happ takes the mound Thursday, giving fantasy owners an opportunity at picking up a pitcher in the mid-week waiver wire that has allowed one earned run in three of his last four starts.
By picking up Happ, fantasy owners would give themselves a pitcher who also will take the mound three times in the next 1 1/2 weeks, with matchups against Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Not only has Happ produced on the mound, those matchups give the Mariners an edge.
In all but one of his starts this season, Happ has gone six innings or more. In six of his seven starts, he’s allowed nine runs. The only bad start came on May 3 at Houston, when Happ surrendered six earned runs in six innings.
He’s been inconsistent with his strikeout numbers, so fantasy owners shouldn’t depend on Happ to produce in that category. Happ has recorded eight and nine strikeouts respectively in two games. In five other games, he’s notched 18 strikeouts.
He has, though, stayed away from walks, recording zero walks in two games and one walk in two games.
Overall this season, he’s 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, and deserves a spot on a fantasy roster this week, especially since he’s likely not owned in fantasy leagues.
