2024 Fantasy Baseball: Pitchers to Target on the Waiver Wire (Week 21)

With about a month left in the 2024 fantasy baseball season, there isn’t much time left to get things right. However, these last few weeks are pivotal, especially in roto leagues for those who need to make up ground in strikeouts or even saves. Here’s a look at our list of pitchers to target for Week 21 of the 2024 fantasy baseball season, highlighted by two starters on a tear.

Best pitchers to target for Week 21 of 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Here’s a look at the best waiver wire targets for Week 21 of the 2024 fantasy baseball season, based on availability (>= 50% availability in Yahoo! leagues):

We’d put Bowden Francis on this list. However, the Blue Jays hurler did more than enough over the last week to go from borderline to must-own in fantasy leagues. Francis took a no-hitter into the ninth inning on August 26 against the Angels. That performance put Francis — who should be immediately picked up, if available, thanks to his dominance with his mid-90s fastball and splitter — among the game’s best for August. He entered play on August 25 with the best-best ERA (1.32) in the Majors among starting pitchers (min. 10 IP).

Interestingly enough, one name ahead of Francis is Osvaldo Bido. The current Athletic and former Pirate is in the midst of a career month, as Bido owns the third-best ERA (1.17) in the month among starters. The only three names ahead of him are Gerrit Cole and Joe Musgrove.

Bido is a different pitcher compared to his days with the Bucs; he’s used his four-seamer more than 10% compared to 2022 and 2023. It’s a tough pitch to pick up with his delivery and it shows on the whiff map.

Osvaldo Bido whiff map Aug 2024 — Nearly all those whiffs up the zone are from the fastball.

He limits hard-hit balls with great effectiveness, as indicated by his elite 25.6% rate, which ranks among the best in the game. And even though he’s on an under-.500 team, Bido has five wins to his name.

However, Bido’s not our preferred waiver wire target. That honor would go to Spencer Arrighetti. The Astros rookie has come into his own in August, as he entered play on the 25th with the fourth-most strikeouts (36) in the month, tied with Chris Sale. Like Bido, Arrighetti can lock up hitters with his fastball. He’ll also break out a very good curveball, along with a cutter and sweeper.

Arrighetti has put up some incredible performances in August. The 24-year-old posted a career-high 13 strikeouts on August 10. Then, he shut down the O’s for six shutout frames two weeks later. Arrighetti has entered must-own territory.

Ryne Nelson has also been very effective. The D-Backs starter recorded 29 strikeouts over 24 August innings and solidified Arizona’s rotation amidst struggles from Jordan Montgomery. Nelson relies heavily on his four-seamer (55.3% usage). But, it’s got a lot of life and plays up thanks to above-average extension.

As for the relievers, hone in on Justin Martinez and Jorge Lopez. Martinez locked up another save on August 25, his sixth of 2024. Some of his recent outings have been adventurous, although it hasn’t been his fault in many situations. A case in point was on that outing on the 25th when he gave up a Fenway home run at Pesky’s Pole.

As for Jorge Lopez, he notched two saves this past week after the Cubs let Hector Neris loose. Porter Hodge is likely the frontrunner for saves come 2025 but for right now, Lopez is the man.

Be sure to check our hitters to target for Week 21.