Start: May 9th vs. Detroit Tigers
ESPN percentage owned: 8.8%
It's been a bumpy ride for Mike Minor, who has gone from disappointing Atlanta Braves up-and-comer, to ace Kansas City Royals reliever, to Texas Rangers rotation filler over the past eight injury-plagued seasons.
Waiver hoppers might pass over this present iteration of Minor when they see his unappealing 4.36 ERA, but attentive streamers will notice that his 3.83 fielding independent pitching (FIP) and slender 6.4% walk rate suggest his skills are stronger than his surface results. It's also a good sign that Minor's whiff rate as a starter this season is as high as it was when he thrived out of the 'pen last year.
The righty-heavy Detroit Tigers lineup is one of the stingiest in the league in terms of strikeouts against southpaws, but they are also among the least menacing in terms of power production, posting a mere .129 group ISO against lefties so far this season. Minor might not have much strikeout upside here, but he's in a good spot to contribute in ratios and perhaps come home with a win.