Some of the most notable pitchers from Wednesday's action are just a little beyond the 80 percent roster threshold that would allow me to feature them in this space. But I would like to address them anyway in case you play on another site where they're more widely available or are questioning whether to hold on to them.
I'll begin with Framber Valdez, who, in his second start back from a finger injury that at one point looked like a season-ender, turned in a performance that was highly reminiscent of his 2020 -- a season that raised as many questions as it answered. The jump to seven innings was fitting given that he tied Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks for most starts of seven innings or more last year, and him doing it against a loaded Red Sox lineup only validates it further.
The 18 swinging strikes were actually a career high -- he didn't get so many of those last year despite having 9.7 K/9 -- and his ground-ball rate through two starts is 78 percent, which is the real source of his strength. It was the sort of performance that makes you think the wait was well worth it and gives you confidence his 2020 performance was totally on the level.
- We talk Framber Valdez, Alek Manoah and play "Would you rather" Francisco Lindor or Marcus Semien and Walker Buehler or Zack Wheeler on the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast. You can follow us to get the latest episodes on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Meanwhile, his opponent in Wednesday's game, Nick Pivetta, turned in a strong performance of his own, also against a stout offense. The irony is that his most convincing start so far was also his first loss of the season, and I suspect his 6-1 record is why he's so widely rostered already. He has come around as a bat-misser, though, after having a lot of batted-ball luck early on. Tuesday's outing was his second straight with nine strikeouts, giving him 50 strikeouts in 39 innings over his past seven starts. His swinging-strike rate during that stretch is 11.8 percent, up from 9.7 percent in his first four starts.
The final pitcher I want to mention here is Dinelson Lamet, whose four innings and 72 pitches both represented season highs. The velocity is still about 1.5 mph below what it was last year, at least on the fastball, but it is increasing little by little.
"As each day passes, I start to feel more and more comfortable," Lamet said. "That goes for the physical side of things and the mental side of things."
I'm starting to believe he might actually last the full year in spite of his elbow concerns. It's been a long wait for him to build up to something useful, but if you've made it this far, might as well stick it out.
Now for some players who have a better chance of being available in your league ...
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June 03, 2021 at 08:13PM
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Framber Valdez, Nick Pivetta prove worth; Luis Severino soon? - CBS Sports
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