Archive for Sam Gaviglio

When I see a pitcher consistently struggle, I can get a bit antsy. Pitchers often stick to one gameplan, believing that their current approach, despite its constant failures, is the only path that can lead them to success. It frustrates me when I see a pitcher refuse to go back to the drawing board and experiment for at least one game to see if something different could work.

Sam Gaviglio is having a rough season. Through 83.1 frames of sixteen starts and two relief appearances, Gavilgio holds a disfigured 4.86 ERA and 1.42 WHIP without much indicating that he deserves a whole lot better…except for last Saturday.

Watching Gaviglio’s outing against the Rays, I couldn’t help but get a little excited. Right in front of me was a man trying something new in the midst of peril and struggle. He recognized his current course wasn’t getting the job done and started experimenting. He was in his own world on the hill searching for something that worked.

I think he found something.

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Each week I look at the collection of starting pitchers owned in under 30% of leagues (consensus Yahoo/ESPN ownership from Fantasy pros) with a few extra sub 10% discount options at the end, pointing out the options to consider if you need an extra arm or two at the end of your staff.

Let’s highlight my ten favorite starting pitcher options that may be available on your waiver wires, roughly ordered from top to bottom:

Under 30% Owned

German Marquez (Colorado Rockies) – I’m a little surprised to see Marquez still this available. It’s a 30% K rate, near 1.00 WHIP and sub 3.00 ERA over his last eight starts, half of which have come inside Coors. He’s improved his curveball while his slider is still a fantastic offering for any count. Go get him, he could push the needle in the right direction.

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Though he is owned sparingly in fantasy leagues, Sam Gaviglio is a slightly above-average American League pitcher in terms of ERA, WHIP and strikeout rate. His current season, however, is nothing short of extreme.

The typical pitcher in 2018 is less attached to the strike zone. Over the previous eight seasons, Zone% had largely held steady year-to-year, ranging from a low of 44.2 percent in 2013 to a high of 45.8 percent in 2010. So far in 2018, the major league average Zone% is down to 43.1 percent.

While the average pitcher has slightly loosened his grip on throwing in the strike zone, Sam Gaviglio has been radical in his eschewing of the zone. Over 74.1 innings in his rookie 2017 season, split between the Mariners and Royals, a control-minded Gaviglio threw exactly half of his 1,126 pitches in the strike zone. This year, with the Blue Jays, the 28-year-old righty has gone wild, locating only 38.3 percent of his pitches in the zone.
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