It’s the ninth full week of the 2023 MLB regular season. With the month of June on the horizon, the margin of error in fantasy baseball leagues is getting smaller and smaller by the day. If you’re in need of some help on the pitching side of things, here’s a look at five names that are worth looking into, starting with a young righty from the Red Sox.
Related: 2023 MLB Fantasy: Five Hitters to Target on the Waiver Wire (Week 9)
Brayan Bello
Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello‘s 2023 season did not get off to a good start on a rainy Patriots Day matinee against the Angels, when the righty yielded five earned runs and eight hits over 2.2 IP. While it took a little for Bello — who missed the beginning of the season due to elbow inflammation — to get settled this season, the 24-year-old’s May has been impressive. Bello is 3-1 with a 2.74 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts over 23 innings this month.
Bello has the stuff to get lefties out. The 24-year-old’s changeup is a fantastic weapon, but the key to Bello’s future will be the command of the slider. Opposing hitters are batting .440 with four extra base hits (two HR) off of it and one can see he’s leaving it up far too often just from his contour heat map. Still, he has the stuff to be an impact starter and a valuable asset for fantasy owners.
Griffin Canning
Former second-round pick Griffin Canning‘s return to the mound in 2023 has not been perfect, to say the least. After Canning missed all of 2022 thanks to back issues, the 27-year-old owned a 4.95 ERA over his first seven starts of the 2023 campaign. His last outing, however, was his best of the season thus far. Canning struck out five over seven scoreless innings and notched his third win of the year against the Red Sox on May 23.
The 27-year-old does get a fair amount of chases, something that does bode well in his next scheduled start on May 30 against the White Sox. Chicago is the league’s most aggressive team at the plate, hence making Canning an intriguing “vulture” win option.
Bobby Miller
The Los Angeles Dodgers have received mixed results from its young group of starters this season. Right-handers Michael Grove and Gavin Stone have been hit hard this season, but Bobby Miller looked quite good against the Braves this past week. Miller, who received the call to the Majors this past week, struck out five over five on May 23 and notched his first career MLB win in the process. Miller possesses an overpowering arsenal that includes a plus fastball, but he relied mainly on his slider and changeup to throw off opposing hitters against Atlanta.
Miller is lined up to start on Memorial Day in a friendly matchup against the Nationals. If the 24-year-old performs well, he’ll be gone in most leagues.
Giovanny Gallegos
While the Cardinals have been on a roll since the beginning of May, the same can’t be said for hard-throwing right-hander Ryan Helsley. Helsley did notch a pair of saves for the Cardinals over the past two weeks, but the 28-year-old has run into trouble in recent weeks. Helsley took the loss on May 22 against the Reds, and blew his fourth save of the 2023 campaign six days later against the Guardians. Giovanny Gallegos, on the other hand, notched three saves and pitched to the tune of a 1.29 ERA between May 14-28.
Helsley will still get his chances to close out games, but it’s not a bad idea to stash Gallegos — who’s been objectively the better reliever over the past few weeks.
Michael Soroka
After nearly three years and two torn Achilles tendons, Braves SP Michael Soroka is set to return to the Atlanta rotation on May 29 against the A’s. Besides the fact that Soroka’s first start is against the worst team in the league, the 25-year-old righty should retain value throughout the remainder of the season — provided he can settle into form.
We went more into detail on Soroka on May 28, and that can be found here.
