Welcome to the 2022 Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Pitching Planner.
Every Saturday of the MLB regular season, the Fantasy Baseball Pitching Planner takes a look at the upcoming SP landscape for the week ahead. I will look to answer some of the questions regarding which hurlers to start, sit, or stream.
A ranking of low-owned (50% or less), two-start options that may be worthwhile acquiring off the waiver wire leads things off. The first two guys have really made an impression on me so far in the young season. I highly recommend them if needed.
2022 Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Pitching Planner
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Two-Start Waiver Options
*** Ownership Percentages based on Yahoo! Leagues as of June 3 ***
| SP | Start 1 | Start 2 | Rost% | Recommend? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cal Quantrill (CLE) | vs TEX | vs OAK | 48% | YES |
| 2. Ross Stripling (TOR) | at KC | at DET | 1% | YES |
| 3. Jon Gray (TEX) | at CLE | at CWS | 22% | Likely |
| 4. Madison Bumgarner (ARI) | at CIN | at PHI | 31% | Likely |
| 5. Graham Ashcraft (CIN) | vs ARI | at STL | 7% | Likely |
| 6. Konnor Pilkington (CLE) | vs TEX | vs OAK | 1% | Likely |
| 7. Dakota Hudson (STL) | at TB | vs CIN | 14% | Likely |
| 8. Michael Wacha (BOS) | at LAA | at SEA | 34% | Unlikely |
| 9. Hunter Greene (CIN) | vs ARI | at STL | 39% | Unlikely |
| 10. Kyle Bradish (BAL) | vs CHC | at KC | 2% | Unlikely |
| 11. Cole Irvin (OAK) | at ATL | at CLE | 16% | Unlikely |
| 12. Bailey Ober (MIN) | vs NYY | vs TB | 42% | Unlikely |
| 13. Daniel Lynch (KC) | vs TOR | vs BAL | 5% | Unlikely |
| 14. Brad Keller (KC) | vs TOR | vs BAL | 16% | Unlikely |
Start 'em
Zach Eflin (PHI) - at Milwaukee Brewers
Eflin is having a fantastic season to this point. Well, when his opponent is not the NL East-leading Mets, he is having a fantastic season. In two starts versus the Mets this year, the Philly right-hander has given up 12 earned runs on 16 hits across 10.1 innings.
Against all other opponents combined, Eflin has pitched to an excellent 2.21 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 23.8 K% over 40.2 innings. He is coming off his best performance of the season this past Friday night in which he shut out a potent Angels offense over eight frames of five-hit ball. Eflin is widely available around the industry but probably should not be.
Ian Anderson (ATL) – vs Oakland Athletics
With a mediocre 4.70 ERA and 1.40 WHIP through 10 starts, it is easy to say that Anderson has been largely disappointing for fantasy purposes over the first third of the campaign. Over his last three starts, the most recent of which came at Coors Field, the Braves righty has allowed at least four earned runs each time out while surrendering 21 hits and six walks across 17.2 innings.
So, none of that inspires confidence, but Anderson has had some positive developments from that stretch as well. The following table displays come reasons for optimism regarding the 24-year-old hurler moving forward this season.
| ERA / WHIP | xFIP | BABIP | K% | BB% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 7 Starts | 3.75 / 1.33 | 4.73 | .243 | 16.2% | 11.7% |
| Last 3 Starts | 6.62 / 1.53 | 3.36 | .362 | 26.0% | 7.8% |
Something has got to give for Anderson soon. Look for it against the light-hitting A’s this week.
Sit 'em
Merrill Kelly (ARI) – at Cincinnati Reds
Over his first six starts of the season, Kelly appeared that he was going to be one of the surprise stars of the 2022 season. His five starts since have seen him come plummeting back down to Earth.
Kelly did get his fourth win of the year this past Friday against the Pirates, but he still gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks while lasting only 5.0 innings. He also recorded just two strikeouts for the third time in his last four outings.
The effort actually brought Kelly’s ERA down to 7.77 since his impressive run to begin the season. He has also posted a lofty 1.55 WHIP and an uninspiring 15-to-15 K/BB ratio across 22.0 innings in that same span.
The Reds came into this weekend having won 6-of-9 games, averaging 5.8 runs per in the process. In other words, they are swinging the bats far better than the team they were during their historically bad first month. Cincy’s Great American Ball Park is always a tough place to pitch too.
Stream 'em
Yusei Kikuchi (TOR) – at Kansas City Royals
Yusei Kikuchi, Dirty 88mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/b1Cm5bGvth
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 16, 2022
Yes; Kikuchi has nasty stuff. He is also consistently inconsistent.
After delivering a 2.36 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 26.2 innings in May, the Toronto southpaw surrendered four earned runs on seven hits – three of which left the yard – while failing to make it out of the fifth frame versus the Twins this past Friday. That should not happen again in a matchup with the Royals.
Kikuchi brings notable strikeout upside to the table, as he sports a 25.1 K% on the campaign. If he could get the walks under control (12.1 BB%), it would certainly go a long way toward being able to trust him more over the long haul. Do not worry about that this week.
Alex Faedo (DET) – at Pittsburgh Pirates
Faedo has really stepped up recently for the Tigers' injury-plagued pitching staff. In six straight turns through the rotation, the rookie hurler has cruised to the tune of a 3.09 ERA over 32.0 innings. He does not feature much strikeout upside at all, but he should be able to keep the Pirates off the board and have a good shot at a win for those in search of a streamer in deeper formats.
Thanks for checking out the 2022 Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Pitching Planner and be sure to check out the rest of the F6P Fantasy Baseball content.
