At this point in the year, if you need some pitching help, you’re going to need to get lucky in free agency. Some of these guys have been abysmal, but they have shown glimpses of hope in terms of turning their season around. On the other hand, they could be doing pretty well and I believe they will continue their recent run of success. Regardless, these starting pitchers can help your fantasy teams out, in terms of quality starts and wins.

Parker Bridwell, SP LAA – Bridwell won’t help your team in the strikeout department as much as some guys below, but at the moment, he’s the safest acquisition in my eyes. Over the last month, his 3.20 ERA and 1.26 WHIP will play in most formats. He’s 4-1 on the season and he continues to push his ERA closer and closer to sub-3.00. He’s beaten the Red Sox twice this year, containing that offense to four earned runs in 13.2 innings of work. Despite five walks, he held the Yankees to just two hits in five innings in his second matchup against the Bronx Bombers. A big key to his success is that he’s been unfathomably good at stranding baserunners. His strand rate of 91.1 percent is absolutely unsustainable and don’t let anyone tell you that it’s a mark he can maintain throughout the rest of the big league campaign. His ERA sits at 3.09 and his FIP is at 5.28. He’s pitching way above his head and while that mark is due to come down in the future, he’s still a valuable fantasy asset.

Kevin Gausman, SP BAL – Oh, Kevin Gausman, what has happened to you? An ERA pushing 6.00 and a WHIP hovering around 1.70 is what happened. Yikes. Ouch. Woah. This is not what many were expecting when enlisting his services in March. Well, can’t change the past. However, July was his best month, but it still wasn’t great. It was the first month he held the opposition under a .300 batting average (.262) and his 37 strikeouts were 12 more than he had in any other month this year. He’s allowed just one earned run over his last 12 innings, including an exceptional 16 strikeouts. The young right-hander went 3-0 in July and he hasn’t lost since June 21. When batters are aggressive against Gausman, they tend to have good results. Opponents are hitting .571 against Gausman on the first pitch of the at-bat this season. Unlike most pitchers, or conventional pitching wisdom, he tends to have success up in the zone. Hitters have chased nearly 50 percent of his fastball out of the zone since the start of last year. It’s not an ideal approach, but it’s working. Kind of. Well, in his last couple starts it is.

German Marquez, SP COL – Compared to some of the other guys on this list, Marquez’s 4.20 ERA is sparkling. Marquez has had some nice matchups of late, but we can’t undermine his performances. Sure, he let up eight hits to the Padres, but he struck out nine guys in just 6.2 innings. Five days later, he contained the Pittsburgh Pirates to just two earned in seven innings. Marquez struck out nine batters again. The right-hander has punched out 23 guys over his last 20.2 innings, allowing eight earned runs on 20 hits and four walks in the process. Sure, he has been knocked around a bit of late, but a 3-0 record with three quality starts in as many outings is as good as it gets from a pitcher in free agency in nearly 80 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. Over the last week, opponents have a miss rate of 50 percent against Marquez with two strikes. That mark is the best among qualified starting pitchers. Carlos Rodon, Corey Kluber and Gio Gonzalez all are below 48 percent during that span. Marquez has been very good of late, and while today’s matchup with Washington isn’t ideal, it could be a strong telling point of what kind of August Marquez could have for your fantasy squad.

Josh Tomlin, SP CLE – Recent starts against the Giants and Padres have softened his numbers a bit, but I’ll be the first to tell you that a 7-9 record with a 5.59 ERA and 1.34 WHIP stat line is far from desirable in most formats. However, he’s rattled off three straight quality starts (all wins), and an upcoming matchup against a less-than-imposing White Sox squad poses a great opportunity to extend his streak to four in a row. Plus, that Sunday start could be just what your fantasy team needs to steal the dub. On the season, the numbers aren’t good, but his 1.00 WHIP over his last 25 innings bodes well moving forward. Tomlin doesn’t walk batters, which helps minimize his self-imposed damage. Since the start of 2016, Tomlin has faced 1,171 batters. The right-hander has walked just 32 of them. 2.7 percent people! Tomlin has struggled against the heart-of-the-order in recent weeks, but he can certainly help your fantasy team in the coming weeks.

Luis Castillo, SP CIN – Since coming up the show near the end of June, all Castillo has done is posted a 4.05 ERA and offer solid strikeout potential. His K/9 currently sits at 10.13 on the season and his 2.65 K/BB ratio is on par with guys like Alex Cobb, Robbie Ray and Lance Lynn. Castillo offers a plus fastball that competes with some of the hardest-throwing starters in the league. Of qualified starting pitchers over the last month, Castillo’s average fastball velocity of 97.6 mph is second-best in all of baseball, trailing New York’s Luis Severino by 0.1 mph. Castillo may have only had two punch outs in his last start, but we’ll give the kid a pass, considering he punched out six or more in the previous five starts. His home ball park isn’t favorable, but his offense should be able to put up runs for him. His record of 1-4 isn’t ideal, but hey, Cincinnati pitchers will Cincinnati, if you know what I mean. He offers quality upside for those in dynasty formats as well.