Tuesday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Waiver Wire Options: Matthew Liberatore, Shane Smith or Someone Else?

After looking at some fantasy baseball waiver wire hitting options already, let's go over another round of waiver wire pitchers.

We won't cover anyone who appeared in Monday's waiver story.

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

Should You Add Michael Soroka?

Soroka is up 7.34% today, bringing his overall mark up to 23.78%.

He will take the mound for a favorable start against the Rockies on Tuesday. The game isn't in Colorado either. Soroka has not faced the Rockies yet this season.

Soroka has made eight starts this season, with the Nationals going 3-5 in those games. He's 3-4 with a 5.14 earned run average over 42 innings. Soroka has allowed 24 runs on 37 hits and 10 walks, while also striking out 40 batters.

He's been up and down with his appearances so far. Soroka has allowed four runs in half of his outings. He has five or more strikeouts in half of his games. Soroka has covered at least four innings in each start, while topping out at six innings twice.

The favorable matchup is why Soroka is being added today. I'm not as high on him given his overall marks this season.

He's still a deep-league streaming option today, but isn't a must-start pitcher in those leagues. I'd avoid Soroka in standard leagues if I could - I just don't trust him based on how he's pitched overall this season.

This is his best matchup of the season though, so there's a chance Soroka delivers a good score. I think his ceiling is lower than some of the others we'll discuss today, and that's why he's only a deep-league option to me.

Should You Add Will Warren?

Warren has been added in 3.43% of leagues and sits at 50.96% overall.

Warren has a favorable start against the Angels on Tuesday night. He has not faced Los Angeles across his 14 starts this season.

The Yankees are 8-6 in his appearances, and Warren is 4-3 with a 4.86 ERA. Warren has covered 63 innings and logged 79 punchouts. He's allowed 36 runs (34 earned) on 57 hits and 29 walks.

He's been up and down of late. Warren is coming off a scoreless outing, working 5 2/3 frames against the Royals. He allowed 11 runs over his two starts before that.

Warren has allowed four or more runs on five occasions already this season. He hasn't allowed three runs in any other start, so nine starts with two or less runs allowed shows his upside. 

He's walked at least one batter in each appearance, and has multiple walks in eight contests. Warren has five or more strikeouts in all but four appearances.

Warren has a higher upside than most streamers because of his strikeout totals. The matchup is right for him to continue what he did in his last start, and maybe even pitch better this time around.

I'm a fan of streaming Warren in any league type tonight, but I wouldn't call him a must-start pitcher either. He should start in most deeper leagues though.

Should You Add Matthew Liberatore or Shane Smith?

Our next two guys will face off against each other, so I'm going to cover them together. Liberatore will start for the Cardinals, while Smith gets the nod for the White Sox. Neither guy has faced the other team yet this season.

Liberatore is up 4.02% today and is up to 56.49% overall. Smith is owned in 59% of leagues but is up just over 2% today.

Smith has been the better pitcher this season. Over 13 starts, he's 3-3, but he has a 2.37 ERA. The White Sox, who are just 4-9 in his starts, are really holding Smith back as a fantasy asset.

Smith has allowed 25 runs (18 earned) on 53 hits and 27 walks. He's struck out 64 batters along the way.

Liberatore has made 13 starts, with the Cardinals going 5-8 in those games. He's 3-6, but with a solid 4.17 ERA - that's ballooned over his past three starts. 

Liberatore has allowed 36 runs (34 earned) on the season. He's surrendered 76 hits and 11 walks, while striking out 62 batters.

Smith has only failed to reach five innings in two starts so far. He allowed six runs in one start, then three or less in every other outing. Smith has four scoreless appearances and five or more strikeouts in eight appearances.

Liberatore has also failed to reach five innings just twice this season. He's allowed over three runs on four occasions, and he's surrendered at least five runs in three straight outings. Liberatore has five or more strikeouts in six appearances so far.

It's fun to compare player stats with guys rostered in a similar amount of leagues. Even though these two pitchers are close in their own percentages, you can pretty clearly see that Smith is the better fantasy asset.

Liberatore seems to be on a downward trend after a hot start to the season. The matchup is right for him to get back on track, but after how he's pitched of late, I'm not super high on Liberatore today.

Smith's matchup is tougher, but he's also pitched better and is more reliable as a fantasy asset. The team he pitches for is the thing really holding him back, it has nothing to do with how he's pitched.

Both are pretty solid deep-league options today, and both are standard league options as well. I prefer Smith even though his matchup is worse - if Liberatore struggles for a fourth straight start, Smith might also have a chance to grab a win too.

I'd say Smith should be starting in just about every deep league and a fair amount of standard leagues. Liberatore should start in less deeper and standard leagues, but is certainly capable of delivering a great fantasy outing tonight.

Should You Add Lucas Giolito?

Giolito is up to 30.96% rostered now. He pitched for the Red Sox on Monday, so he's on the rise for a strong outing.

Giolito picked up a win after working six scoreless innings against the Mariners. He allowed three hits and one walk, while punching out 10 batters.

Over his past two starts, Giolito has worked 12 innings. He's allowed an unearned run on six hits and four walks, while striking out 12 combined. Of course before that, he allowed seven runs over just 1 2/3 innings against a very weak Angels' lineup.

Giolito has been up and down as a fantasy asset so far in 2025. Across his nine starts, Boston is 6-3, and he's 3-1, but with a 4.73 ERA over 45 2/3 innings. He's allowed 25 runs (24 earned) on 50 hits and 15 walks, while striking out 41 batters.

Giolito has allowed over three runs three times, and he's surrendered at least six runs in those three appearances. Outside one three-run appearance, Giolito has allowed one or no runs on five occasions.

He's failed to reach five innings in four starts, but went at least six innings in the other five games. Giolito has five or more strikeouts in four contests, with Monday being his season high in Ks by three.

His numbers are really inconsistent, and that makes it hard to know how to approach Giolito. He is scheduled to face the Giants and then Blue Jays in his next two starts. Those matchups are both pretty solid for Giolito.

Coming off two strong starts, I'd be willing to start Giolito in a good amount of leagues against the Giants. He's still a risky play though because of some of his blowup outings. If he fares well against San Fran, he can be started in more leagues against the Blue Jays.

Giolito will need more consistent outings before his own percentage really takes off though.