It’s the final week before the 2025 All-Star break, meaning it’s probably a good idea to end it on a high note in fantasy baseball. Our final waiver wire pitcher target list for the first half — Week 15 — includes three spot starters, a returning arm with upside, and a reliever on the rise.
Best Week 15 pitchers to target
- SP Brayan Bello (Red Sox)
- SP Yu Darvish (Padres)
- RP Ronny Henriquez (Marlins)
- SP Richard Fitts (Red Sox)
- SP Eric Lauer (Blue Jays)
This week’s list has a Red Sox lean to it, thanks in large part to Boston playing the Rockies for three games this week. Rookie Richard Fitts will start on July 7, while Bello gets the ball the following day.
Bello is the safer bet of the two, especially when taking into account how well he’s limited runs over the last few weeks. Since the start of June, Bello owns the 24th-best ERA (2.97) and has only surrendered three home runs over 36.1 IP in that timeframe.
The perks of being a sinker-heavy, groundball pitcher.
Next up is Yu Darvish, who is ready to come back from the injured list. Darvish, who dealt with elbow inflammation in the spring, will make his 2025 season debut on July 7 against the Diamondbacks after missing the first half.
Now, this is more of a speculative buy, as there are a lot of unknowns surrounding Darvish. The Padres right-hander made one rehab start in May, and the velocity was fine; he sat in the mid-90s, and he topped out at 97 MPH. Unfortunately for him and the Padres, he suffered a setback and needed to start from scratch.
Darvish threw simulated games to work his way back and likely won’t factor into the decision on the 7th. Mike Shildt stated Darvish will only throw 75 pitches in his season debut. Nonetheless, he’s worth the add & stash.
Marlins reliever Ronny Henriquez, meanwhile, is the lone reliever on this list. Henriquez, the ex-Twin, struck out 60 over his 43 innings and throughout the year, has earned more trust.
Recently, he’s worked as the Marlins’ primary late-inning option, and it’s worked to this point. Since June 27, he picked up two wins and three saves.
Lastly, Eric Lauer is here for the second straight week. Lauer, as noted last week, has been a reliable arm in recent weeks for both fantasy players and the Blue Jays. He’ll face the White Sox on July 9.
Overview of Week 14
It did help that Lauer, who struck out six and gave up two earned runs over six on July 4, has pitched well over the last few weeks to instill confidence.
Lauer was one of our five picks last week. Simeon Woods Richardson, who nabbed a win against the Marlins, was another, as he did his job against a Marlins team hitting of late.
Unfortunately, Quinn Priester didn’t have the same kind of success against the Marlins this past week. Michael Soroka, meanwhile, had a start to forget on the Fourth of July against the Red Sox.
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