Tsuyoshi Wada & Mike Bolsinger: Deep League Wire

Our deep league trek this week takes us to two hurlers who have found their way into their respective teams’ rotations and stand to pick up wins for their fantasy owners. As a reminder, the recommendations in this column are mostly for mono leagues, and I use CBS for the ownership percentages.

Tsuyoshi Wada / SP / Chicago Cubs / 8%

In one of the less shocking revelations of the still-young 2015 season, it turns out that Travis Wood is mediocre, and has thus been exiled to the Cubs’ bullpen. Taking his spot in the team’s rotation is Wada, who was sidelined with a groin strain but is now set to start Wednesday against the Padres.

It’s been an interesting major league journey for the NPB veteran: He signed with the Orioles going into the 2012 season but never pitched for them after blowing out his elbow. Two years later, he surfaced with the Cubs after they shedded much of their rotation at the deadline, and pitched well over 13 starts, putting up a 3.25 ERA with a 7.4 K/9 and sub-4 results in SIERA, FIP and xFIP. As for his 2015 results so far, he’s been solid in six rehab starts in the Pacific Coast League, so if nothing else, it looks as if he’s over the injury that cost him a chance to make the rotation coming out of spring training.

Owners investing in Wada shouldn’t hope for more than league-average results in strikeouts, but he doesn’t hurt himself with walks, and despite being a fly ball pitcher, Wada was exceptional at Wrigley Field last year and the Cubs’ outfield is among the NL’s best in regard to UZR and UZR/150. The lineup, which was already bursting with young, exciting talent, just received a major upgrade with the addition of Kris Bryant, so Wada will be in a position to collect wins if he can keep the Cubs in the game — and if the team’s bullpen can sort things out after what’s been a dreadful May.

At 34, Wada isn’t going to win any awards for his durability, but he’s a competent major league pitcher on a hungry team that’s five games above .500 and should be a presence in the NL wild card race for the rest of the summer. He’s easily worth a roster spot in most NL-only leagues.

Mike Bolsinger / SP / Los Angeles Dodgers / 14%

Bolsinger’s ownership is a tad high for true deep leagues, and his 1.04 ERA is all but meaningless in light of a 96.8% strand rate. He’s also armed with a cut fastball that is fast in name only: it tops out somewhere in the mid-80s. But the Dodgers, in their efforts to fill the void left by Brandon McCarthy, have been holding auditions for starting rotation gigs over the past couple of weeks, and for the time being, Bolsinger has a slot based on three strong starts.

It’s true that Bolsinger was essentially cast off from the Diamondbacks after last year, one of the worst teams in baseball. But if one looks beyond his 5.50 ERA they’ll see a 3.31 xFIP and 3.77 SIERA in his 52.1 innings, with tolerable strikeout and walk figures. With such an uninspiring heater, it’s little surprise that Bolsinger looks elsewhere for ways to get major league hitters out; in his case, it’s a curveball with 12-6 action that generates a slightly above average whiff rate. So far, our PITCHf/x data says his hammer has accounted for half of his offerings, while the 27-year-old uses his cutter to help feed his prodigious ground ball rate.

But Bolsinger’s biggest appeal in fantasy lies not with his ability to put up huge strikeout numbers or provide coolant for an owner’s WHIP — it’s the fact he gets his fan mail delivered to sunny Los Angeles, home to a team projected to finish with 96 wins. It’s presumable that the Dodgers don’t see Bolsinger as a long-term option, but unless/until the team trades for a more established starter, he should be in line for at least a couple more starts. Put another way, there are far worse options to trot out there than a guy who’s pitching for one of the best teams in baseball, with one of the best bullpens in baseball, who just got back from the disabled list one of the best closers in baseball.