Should You Add AJ Smith-Shawver Off the Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire After His Strong Outing?

After looking at some fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters, let's check out some pitchers!

We won't cover anyone who was in yesterday's waiver story, or today's streaming article.

Check out the top fantasy baseball waiver wire options everyday on FantasySP. 

Should You Add Ben Casparius?

Casparius is up 8.44% at the time of publication, bringing his overall mark to 42.41%.

Casparius tossed four innings on Monday, and he continues to deliver good results. He allowed a run on five hits and two walks, while striking out five Marlins.

For the season, Casparius has appeared in 12 games, making just one start. He's worked 25 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs on 22 hits and five walks, while striking out 28 batters. Casparius has a 2.81 earned run average and 1.05 WHIP, along with a 4-0 record.

It's not often you find a fantasy pitcher who isn't making starts or closing games to have fantasy value, but Casparius is part of the exception. His multi-inning outings out of the bullpen give him enough fantasy value, especially if he's not allowing many runs.

Until he's a full-time, locked-in starter, I'd only consider adding and utilizing Casparius in deeper leagues. He does have enough value and is pitching well enough to be added though.

His next likely appearance is going to come against the Diamondbacks, which is a tougher test for him. Casparius has pitched well enough against tougher opponents to consider as a streaming option for the day he gets to pitch.

Keep an eye on news surrounding Casparius, and add and utilize him in some deeper leagues if you have the need.

Should You Add Luis L. Ortiz?

Ortiz is up 7.19% today, bringing his overall mark to 33.49%.

He's set to make a start against the Nationals on Tuesday, so Ortiz is a streaming option for Tuesday. Washington is a pretty favorable matchup.

Across six starts so far, Ortiz is 2-3 with a 4.78 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He's allowed 17 runs on 29 hits and 16 walks, while striking out 36 batters over 32 innings. The WHIP and ERA are not the best, but his nice strikeout numbers make him an appealing fantasy streamer for the day.

Ortiz has faced the Padres, Angels, Royals, Pirates, Yankees and Twins so far. Outside the Padres and Yankees, most of those offenses are below average. That makes me very skeptical of starting Ortiz on Tuesday.

I know the matchup is solid, but I'd really try to avoid Ortiz outside the deepest of fantasy leagues. His next start is likely against the Phillies, which is a tough matchup where he should be avoided at all costs.

I get trying to target an offense like the Nationals, but Ortiz is not the pitcher you want to try against them. Keep an eye on Ortiz for possible future streaming possibilities, but until he starts pitching better, I'm avoiding Ortiz if I can.

Should You Add AJ Smith-Shawver?

Smith-Shawver is up 5.86% and is at 27.71% overall now. 

Smith-Shawver turned heads on Monday by taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Reds. He ended up going eight innings, not allowing a run on a hit and four walks, while striking out five.

Across five starts this season, Smith-Shawver is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He's allowed nine runs on 24 hits and 13 walks, while striking out 27 batters over 27 innings.

He is a highly-regarded pitching prospect, so it was nice to see Smith-Shawver deliver the way he did on Monday. Really, his season-long numbers are pretty solid.

He hasn't allowed more than three runs in any start. Monday was the first time he worked more than 5 1/3 innings though, which severely hampers his fantasy ceiling.

Smith-Shawver has allowed six or more hits in all but two of his starts (the last two). He's walked three or more batters on four occasions, while having four or more strikeouts in each contest.

There's still some control issues Smith-Shawver needs to iron out, but he's starting to flash his potential a bit. Maybe Monday was the start of his MLB breakout, and some fantasy owners are adding him with that thought in mind.

Smith-Shawver is worthy of consideration for adding in deep-league redraft leagues. If I had a roster spot to play with, he's a player I'd be willing to gamble on, given his status as a prospect and higher ceiling.

He'll need to deliver a couple more starts like the one on Monday before Smith-Shawver is a standard league redraft open. He's definitely worth keeping tabs on though.

Smith-Shawver should still be rostered in most dynasty/keeper leagues. He showed what he's capable of on Monday. Now we just have to wait and see if he can build on it.

His next two starts could come against the Pirates and Nationals, which are two favorable matchups. Smith-Shawver should be streamed in most deeper leagues, at least, for those starts, and could be a standard league keeper by the end of that stretch if he keeps delivering good results.

Should You Add Griffin Canning?

Canning is now rostered in 60.24% of leagues after a 5.37% increase today.

Canning started on Monday against the Diamondbacks, so he's on the rise because of strong pitching again. He allowed a run on six hits and a walk over five innings, while striking out six batters. Canning earned the win in that contest.

Over seven starts now, Canning has a 5-1 record and 2.50 ERA. He's allowed 10 runs on 35 hits and 15 walks over 36 frames, while striking out 37 batters.

Canning has been one of the bigger fantasy surprises so far, and he continued to deliver on Monday against a tougher opponent. At some point, you can't call Canning a fluke anymore and just need to add and start him against all opponents.

I still think he's going to regress as the season progresses, but he's worthy of at least streaming in all leagues. Canning should be a keeper in deeper redraft leagues for now, and some standard league owners are choosing to keep him rostered too.

He's got tougher starts against the Cubs and Yankees coming up. Canning has pitched well enough to trust against all opponents, but I'd most prefer to only start him in deeper leagues for those two outings. If you believe in Canning, then he could be streamed for both contests.

Should You Add Cade Horton?

The Cubs could be without Shota Imanaga for a time because of a hamstring injury, and Horton is one of the possible replacements. He's up 2.05% today, bringing his overall mark to 10.6%.

Horton is the Cubs' No. 2 prospect, and will be making his MLB debut when he pitches in the big leagues (likely this season). He's 23 years old, is a right-handed pitcher and was drafted in the first round by the Cubs in 2022. Horton is the No. 46 prospect in the big leagues.

He's got a 70-grade slider, 60-grade fastball, 50-grade curveball and 45-grade changeup. Horton has a 55 for his control and his overall mark.

Across parts of three minor league seasons, Horton has a 2.79 ERA across 36 starts and 151 2/3 innings. He's posted 190 strikeouts, walked just 53 batters and has a .192 average against him.

Those are really good minor league numbers, and with 47 innings now at Triple-A, it's only a matter of time until Horton is called up. Him being owned in 10% of leagues despite not being called up yet shows you how highly he's regarded.

The first possible start for Horton could come against the Mets. That's a tough matchup on paper, so the Cubs might go with a veteran like Chris Flexen for the start instead. 

Again though, Horton is going to be called up at some point this season, and probably pretty soon. He's one to keep tabs on, as his own percentage is going to skyrocket when he gets the call.