Martin Perez (SP)
Texas Rangers
Pitching is a little tougher to find on the waiver wire at times this season, but a closer look at Martin Perez of the Texas Rangers shows that he’s playing relatively well of late. Perez has won three consecutive starts, and in those starts he allowed a combined five earned runs against the Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners.
On Saturday, Perez faced the Mariners, and in six innings he allowed three earned runs with one walk and one strikeout, his lowest number of strikeouts in a game in quite some time. In his three straight wins Perez has walked a total of five batters, struck out a total of 10 and walked four.
For the season his record is 4-4 with a 3.24 ERA and a WHIP of 1.35. His other win was early in the season on April 27 against the New York Yankees, and from May 3-18 he had two losses and two no decisions. In that span of games he allowed just seven earned runs, including two against the Detroit Tigers and one against the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed no earned runs in six innings against the Los Angeles Angels.
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Perez won’t give you a lot of strikeouts in most outings, but he’s on just 12.5 percent of fantasy rosters in ESPN leagues and with his next start scheduled for Thursday, June 9 against the Houston Astros, he is worth some interest. Maybe he’ll be a nice filler to gain some innings pitched and a possible win on a day of the week where the scheduled is usually a little bare.