2023 MLB Fantasy: Five Pitchers to Target on the Waiver Wire (Week 13)

With just a few weeks before the official end of the first half of the 2023 MLB season, it might be a good idea to look for some pitchers to target in fantasy — especially if you’re dealing with injuries. But which arms are worthwhile? Let’s take a look at five to consider.

Adbert Alzolay

This week’s waiver wire target list is reliever-heavy. We start with Cubs reliever Adbert Alzolay, who has been excellent out of the Chicago bullpen this season. The 28-year-old owns a 1.85 ERA with 36 strikeouts over 34 innings, and has recently been regularly thrown in the ninth inning for the Cubs.

Alzolay’s notched three saves since May 30, and his most recent came on June 17. There were not many save opportunities to come around for Alzolay over the past week, but the right-hander — who possesses a blistering fastball to go along with a vicious slider — is a reliever to watch moving forward.

Jordan Hicks

Cardinals RHP Jordan Hicks makes his way onto this list for a second straight week. The St. Louis hurler notched two more saves this past week, one against the Nationals and a second against the Cubs in London. On the season, Hicks has recorded four saves and 51 strikeouts over 32.1 IP.

The future is a bit uncertain for Hicks right now. Even though Ryan Helsley is reportedly not close to a return, one does have to wonder whether the Cardinals look to move Hicks at the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline. The 26-year-old is set to be a free agent after 2023 and it’s fair to say that contenders will likely have interest in a high-octane arm with a triple-digit sinker.

Scott McGough

The Diamondbacks’ reliever situation has been complicated this season. Now, it looks like Scott McGough may be a name to watch yet again. The 33-year-old didn’t make it easy on June 25, but he nailed his sixth save of 2023 against the Giants. McGough now has five saves since June 11.

The D-Backs right-hander’s splitter, which possesses a Whiff% rate north of 40% this season, has been simply sensational this season. Andrew Chafin and Miguel Castro received regular looks in the ninth inning prior to June, but that has changed recently.

Ranger Suarez

Last week, Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker made our waiver wire target list. Walker had himself a good week, as he gave up just one run over six innings on June 23 to pick up his eighth win in 2023 against the Mets. This week, left-hander Ranger Suarez makes the cut.

The left-hander doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but can throw off hitters’ timing with a good changeup. Not to mention, his curveball has been virtually unhittable this season, as opposing hitters are only hitting .063 off the pitch this season. Suarez — who entered play on June 25 tied for fifth with Blake Snell in the Majors in ERA (.69) over the previous two weeks — has seen his strikeout numbers, and he’s put his name into the fantasy conversation.

Bryan Woo

Our last pick of the week is our candidate for a “vulture” win this week. Last week, we went with Tigers RHP Michael Lorenzen, who pitched well in two starts over the last seven days. Unfortunately, Lorenzen failed to get any run support from the Detroit lineup on June 20 and was unable to pick up the win against the Royals.

This week, we turn to Bryan Woo of the Mariners. After a rough bow to his MLB career, Woo is 1-0 with a 2.30 ERA, a .161 opponent’s batting average and 21 strikeouts over his last three starts (15.2 IP). While Washington does have the fewest total strikeouts in the league, the Nats are among the league’s worst in terms of power production. We like Woo and the Mariners’ chances of snaring a win at home on the 27th.