Ottoneu Most Wanted: May 26, 2017

The baseball season is just about two months old and early hot/cold performances are starting to stabilize, and “pop-up” waiver options are something every ottoneu owner should be keeping a very close eye on. Let’s take a look at the most added players over the last seven days and the last 30.

Zack Godley has pitched well in his four starts for the Diamondbacks. While he isn’t striking a lot of guys out (7.01 K/9) he’s generated a ton of ground balls (65.1%) and weak contact. In this season of pitcher attrition (is that every season?) a guy like Godley may not offer a ton of upside, but any starting pitcher who keeps the ball in the park and has an xFIP under 4.00 is worth owning in well more than 50% of leagues.

Luis Perdomo is almost a souped up version of Godley, except with better strikeouts (8.68 K/9), even more groundballs (69.0%), and a much better ballpark. I don’t think Perdomo is nearly as good as his 3.13 xFIP in seven starts suggests, but just like Godley he is a must own for any team desperate for innings.

There must be something in the water on the south side of Chicago, as the White Sox bullpen has been home to some surprising excellence. Anthony Swarzak hasn’t been quite as good as Tommy Kahnle or David Robertson, but he still owns a 1.27 ERA/2.00 FIP/3.24 xFIP. That delta between his xFIP and ERA/FIP does concern me, as Swarzak is likely to see his BABIP rise from .174 and his HR/FB rise from the 4.3% it is currently. He’s still a good $1 flier for anyone panning for relief gold.

Is Justin Smoak for real? I don’t know, but I do know he’s worth adding in case he is. If Smoak bombs, you cut him, but if he keeps his contact rate in check and continues to flash power he could be a useful Util option the rest of the season.

Nathan Karns is currently on the disabled list dealing with an elbow issue, but he’s expected only miss one or two starts. Karns has always been a pitcher that generates lots of strikeouts but couples that with poor control and trouble with the long ball. This season is more of the same for the new Royals pitcher, except he’s striking even more guys out (10.13 K/9 vs 9.30 career) and flashing better control (2.58 BB/9 vs 3.59 career). Like Godley and Perdomo, I think Karns offers decent upside and is a must add. The pitching landscape is so bleak right now that even an average SP is useful as an IP soak.

There were some rumblings that James Pazos might be in the mix for saves after Edwin Diaz was removed from the closer role, but that hasn’t happened yet. Pazos is certainly deserving of a high leverage look in the Mariners bullpen given how well he has pitched (11.76 K/9 and a 2.18 ERA/ 2.50 FIP/ 2.61 xFIP) in 20.2 IP. He’s worth adding in holds leagues (like FanGraphs points and SABR points), and possibly even in 5×5 as Diaz insurance.

It was Bud Norris who took over the closer role for the Angels when Cam Bedrosian went on the DL, but it’s Blake Parker who has been the best reliever in that bullpen. Parker has an excellent 39.8% K rate and a 15.2% swinging strike rate, and is in the top 25 of all qualified relievers in those metrics. Parker isn’t likely to garner saves any time soon, especially with the imminent return of Bedrosian, but he’s another excellent target for fantasy owners playing in leagues that value holds.

For posterity’s sake, here are the most added players over the past month. Many of the names are duplicated from the 7 days list, and the ones that aren’t are typically owned in 90% of leagues at this point.