The last edition featured three hitters, so I figured it was only fair to dedicate the majority of this piece to some pitchers who are worthy of one of your roster spots. However, Steve Pearce, the lone hitter in this piece, is seeing the baseball really well. Trevor Bauer has 15 strikeouts in his last 13.2 innings pitched. Matt Andriese is coming off a complete game two-hit shutout and Rubby De La Rosa looks like a new man since rejoining the team’s rotation.

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Steve Pearce, 1B BAL— In the past two or so weeks, Pearce is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with four home runs, eight runs scored and eight RBI. Tampa Bay seems committed to giving him regular playing time, whether it’s at first, second, third or in the outfield. To be honest, they need his bat in the lineup. For the season, he’s slashing .288/.370/.538, numbers that are good enough to be on most fantasy teams. Put that slash line next to six homers, 16 RBI and 13 runs scored and you got yourself a valuable fantasy asset. His strikeout percentage is way down and his .224 ISO is above his career .185 mark. Pearce is even walking a tad more and the fact that he has eligibility at multiple positions (on ESPN at least), makes him that much more valuable. If he is available in your league, go pick him up because he will provide a much needed spark to your offense.

Trevor Bauer, SP CLE— Same story different year for the Cleveland right hander. He has big strikeout potential, but his command issues have created a lot of inconsistency during his first few professional years. His career K/9 is 8.57, which is quality, but his 4.13 BB/9 is enough to make you more sick than the morning after a night of heavy drinking. This year, the K/9 is up a full batter while the BB/9 is down exactly half a batter. At this point, we are almost going to have to live with the fact that he is going to be one of those pitchers who is “effectively wild.” However, as long as the strikeouts are there, live with the walks and add this guy on your roster. If you want to be conservative about it, pick him up, but only start him when he has a matchup against a free-swinging, strikeout prone team. Last thing, opponents’ BABIP of .281 this season is just 10 points off his career average, so as long as he continues to throw strikes and attempt to limit the walks, perhaps he can sustain some success at the big league level. The former first round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 is still searching for his first winning season in the bigs.

Matt Andriese, SP TB— The 26-year-old is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA through 16 big league innings. His 8:3 K/BB ratio leaves some to be to desired, but the fact that he has allowed just six hits is exceptional. He was never a huge strikeout guy in the minors, so it’s not as if all of a sudden he is a new guy at the big league level. However, he managed to be very effective in the minors, as seen by his career 3.27 ERA. Through two starts, Andriese has filled up the strike zone (65 percent strikes) and is averaging an excellent 12.3 pitches per inning, which is exactly why he’s been able to get deep into ball games. If he continues to pitch like this, the Rays are going to move him up in the rotation or have the best No. 5 starter in all of professional baseball. While his two starts have come against teams who boast average offenses at best, the stuff is there, and the 26-year-old right-hander has all the tools to thrive at the big league level. Pick him up before it’s too late.

Rubby De La Rosa, SP ARI— De La Rosa has been really good since rejoining the starting rotation. In his last five starts, he’s allowed seven earned runs on 18 hits, while posting a 33:10 K/BB ratio in 32.2 innings. He might be battling a groin injury right now, but at time of publication, he hasn’t been yanked from his Saturday start. He held the Giants to just one hit in his last outing, but he did accrue a season-high four walks. De La Rosa continues to strike guys out and his K/9 sits almost a full two batters above his career average. Most of his numbers are pretty similar across the board, other than the strikeouts and his BABIP. Opposing batters have a BABIP of .232, but his career average is .299. That number will likely regress closer to his career norm, but if he can keep the strikeouts close to a batter an inning, the BABIP regression will be masked. De La Rosa has a live right arm that can rack up the strikeouts and every fantasy owner needs power pitchers on his/her roster.