Pitching spotlight: Looking for waiver-wire gems

Tag : and wire
By John Borneman

If youre like me, youve probably been desperately sifting throughwaiver-wire wreckage in hopes of finding late-season pitching help.If youre really like me, you probably arent having anoverwhelming amount of success. On Tuesday night, there were quitea few pitchers that should be available on many waiver wires thatmade decent starts. Lets take a quick look at a few of theirperformances:

Brett Myers, Phillies. Making his second start since being recalled from the minors, Meyers pitched seven innings of four-hit ball without allowing an earned run. Its important to note, however,that he did that against the Washington Nationals. His K:BB ratioof 92:50 this season isnt inspiring (nor are his 24 home runsallowed) but, on the plus side, he hasnt allowed a homer sincebeing recalled. You could do worse than Myers, but make sure youstart him in a very favorable situation (like in Philly, where hehas a 3.81 ERA).

Todd Wellemeyer, Cardinals. I was a proponent of dropping Wellemeyer when he allowed 18 runsin his first 22.2 innings of work in July. Even after his outing Tuesday (6 IP, 2 ER, 5 K), Im totally not convinced. Still, he has lookedprogressively better each start since returning from an elbowissue. Look out for the fact that, at 122 innings pitched, hesalready 42.2 innings over his career high. But I would definitelygive him a start against a struggling team (that does not includethe Phillies, who hell face next time out). If he puts togetherone more strong outing, look out.

Jorge Campillo, Braves. The other half of the Cardinals-Braves battle on Tuesday, Campillowent seven innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out five.His ERA is now 2.76 and he hasnt allowed an earned run since July13. Hes a good option in NL-only leagues, and deservesconsideration largely because of his consistency this season. Hesscheduled to take on the Brewers in Milwaukee next time out (he hasa 1.48 road ERA) and could be worth a look.

Armando Galarraga, Tigers. Another consistent performer who has allowed more than three runsin a game just four times in 18 starts. On Tuesday, he allowedthree earned runs in 5.1 innings to improve to 9-4 . Not one of his best outings, and he illustrated what could becomea problem for him by walking two batters against just threestrikeouts. His K:BB ratio (78:40) isnt great, and you have tothink that could start hurting him down the stretch as he tires.

What about you? Anybody snag a waiver-wire gem recently? Its likeyour kindergarten teacher used to say - you cant have that candyunless you brought enough to share with the entire class.