Should Tomoyuki Sugano be Picked Up Off the Waiver Wire in All Fantasy Baseball Leagues?

After checking out a few fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters, let's now go over some pitchers.

We won't cover any pitchers who appeared in stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

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

Should You Add Bryce Elder?

Elder is up 7.19% today, bringing his overall mark to 27.04%.

He made his seventh start of the season on Friday night. Elder took a loss after allowing three runs on five hits and no walks over six innings. He struck out eight batters and allowed two homers.

Elder has a 2-2 record and 4.97 earned run average across his seven starts this season. He's allowed 21 runs on 37 hits and 12 walks, while striking out 30 batters over 38 innings.

His season-long numbers don't look the best. Elder has allowed three or more runs in all but two starts, but he's allowed three or less in four straight appearances. Elder has a 3.52 ERA over 23 innings in that span.

So, things are looking up for Elder a bit. He's still just a deep-league fantasy option, but there's enough there to consider him at least. He's likely to make starts against the Nationals for his next two appearances, and those are favorable enough to at least use Elder in some deeper leagues.

He'll need to keep pitching well to become a keeper in all deeper leagues. Elder could eventually get some standard league streaming attention if he keeps allowing three or less runs and racking up some strikeouts.

Should You Add Stephen Kolek?

Kolek will start on Saturday against the Rockies. The game is in Colorado, so that takes a bit of his fantasy value away, but the Rockies are bad enough to still try Kolek in some fantasy leagues.

Kolek is rostered in 9.38% of leagues after a 5.01% increase today.

He's made just one MLB appearance this season. Kolek tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Pirates, allowing four hits and two walks, while punching out four.

Kolek made his MLB debut in 2024, appearing 42 times out of the bullpen. He had a 5.21 ERA but a 3-0 record across 46 2/3 innings.

Kolek is really just a waiver pickup today because of his matchup, but his strong outing his first time out also makes him intriguing moving forward. He's not the safest streaming option, but he's definitely capable of racking up some fantasy points today.

If he pitches well against the Rockies, he might get a little more waiver wire attention, so keep an eye on his final line.

Should You Add Tomoyuki Sugano?

Sugano has been really good in his first taste of the big leagues. He's up to 51.79% rostered after a 3.73% increase today.

Sugano made his eighth start on Friday, working 7 1/3 innings against the Angels. He got the win after allowing a run on three hits and no walks, while striking out five.

He's 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA across 46 1/3 innings so far. Sugano has allowed 14 runs on 39 hits and eight walks, while striking out 26 batters.

He is not a huge strikeout guy, at least yet, but his low ERA and ability to eat innings helps him still be a solid fantasy asset. I'm honestly a bit surprised his own percentage isn't higher after checking out his numbers so far.

Sugano has settled in nicely, and has even racked up some strikeouts of late, with 17 over his past three games. He's shut down offenses of all talent levels, so he's a fantasy pitcher you can trust in most matchups.

His next start could come against the Twins, which is a pretty favorable matchup for Sugano. A test against the Brewers is likely after that, and with his numbers so far, Sugano will be worthy of a start against Milwaukee too.

I'm going to say Sugano should be owned in all deeper redraft leagues right now. I know the strikeout numbers aren't great, but his other stats are really strong, and he's likely outperforming another arm on your team.

He's a standard league streaming option moving forward too. I get if you want a higher-upside fantasy arm, but Sugano can outscore a lot of those guys by working deep into games and not allowing many runs.

Don't overlook Sugano just because the strikeout numbers aren't the best.

Should You Add Edward Cabrera?

Cabrera is another streaming option for Saturday. He'll face the White Sox, which is a great matchup for a fantasy pitcher.

Cabrera is up 3% so far today, and is owned in 10.2% of leagues overall. By those couple numbers, you should be able to guess that Cabrera hasn't pitched very well this season.

Across five starts and 24 1/3 innings, Cabrera has an 0-1 record and 6.29 ERA. He's allowed 17 runs on 29 hits and 12 walks, while striking out 24 batters.

He's got a career 4.47 ERA in the big leagues, so some improvement should be coming as he gets more starts under his belt. Cabrera's strikeout numbers are a bit down, while his WHIP is a career high so far. Better days should be ahead for the 27-year-old righty.

Cabrera has made starts against the Nationals, Diamondbacks, Reds, Dodgers and Athletics so far. That's a mix of good and bad offenses, and Cabrera has been good against the weaker offenses while struggling against the better offenses.

I think Cabrera is a bit better fantasy streamer than he originally looks like. His fantasy ceiling isn't sky high, but there's a chance he picks up a quality start (six innings and three or less runs allowed). If he tacks on a few strikeouts, Cabrera might actually be a pretty solid fantasy asset for Saturday.

It comes down to whether or not you like Cabrera and can trust him in this matchup. I see enough in his numbers to try in some deeper redraft leagues.

Should You Add Shane Smith?

The other end of that pitching matchup for Cabrera is Chicago's Smith. He's owned in 41.07% of leagues after a 2.15% increase today.

Across seven starts and 37 1/3 innings so far, Smith is 1-2, but with a strong 2.41 ERA. He's allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 28 hits and 15 walks, while punching out 31 batters.

He's made starts against the Twins (twice), Guardians, Red Sox (twice), Brewers and Royals. Those are mostly favorable pitching matchups, and Smith gets another one on Saturday.

He's pitched well enough this season to roster in a lot of deeper redraft leagues - his own percentage shows that. That makes him a good deep-league streaming option every turn through the rotation, and in the most favorable matchups, he can also be utilized in standard leagues.

A favorable matchup against the Marlins is enough for Smith to be a streamer in all league types today. I'd definitely unleash Smith in deeper leagues, and depending on if I needed a streamer and how my matchup was going, I wouldn't mind giving Smith a streaming slot in standard leagues.

His next start is likely to come against the Cubs, so that is probably driving his overall own percentage down a bit. Should Smith excel in that start, then his own percentage should soar.

For now though, I'd definitely give Smith a streaming slot for his Saturday start against the Marlins.