Tyler Skaggs and Randall Delgado: Waiver Wire

Tyler Skaggs and Randall Delgado have arrived. Given their status as prospects, both pitchers should have already drawn some interest in most fantasy leagues. At the same time, owners have probably been hesitant to pick up two pitchers who could be pushed from the rotation once injured players are ready to return. But given the team’s struggles in the rotation, they currently rank 19th in FIP, it would be hard to remove either player from the rotation. Manager Kirk Gibson has already admitted that Brandon McCarthy and Trevor Cahill would not be in the rotation immediately following the All-Star break, though they could return shortly after. As long as Skaggs and Delgado are given more opportunities, they should draw interest in most leagues.

SP Tyler Skaggs 40% owned in CBSSports.com leagues.

Skaggs has been a highly touted prospect for a while now, but owners have been hesitant to pick him up despite his success through four starts. Skaggs has shown strong strikeout and walk rates over his entire career, and they have translated to the majors this season. The biggest question seems to be whether Skaggs can limit home runs. The long ball hasn’t been a major problem for Skaggs during his minor-league career, save for a brief stop in Double-A in 2012. It has been a different story in the majors. In 54 career innings pitched, Skaggs has allowed 10 home runs. The main culprit has been his fastball.

This is actually somewhat of a significant problem. Mike Newman detailed Skaggs’ repertoire last season, and noted that the pitch tends to be a bit flat, particularly when left above the belt. The numbers tend to agree. Of Skaggs 10 home runs, nine have come off his fastball. And as his heat map from BrooksBaseball.net will show, most of the damage has been done middle-in and up-and-in against right-handed batters. There’s reason to think Skaggs can improve on his current rate, but until he figures that out he’ll allow more home runs than owners would like.

SP Randall Delgado 25% owned in CBSSports.com leagues.

In the same vein, Delgado was a touted prospect with the Atlanta Braves prior to joining the D-Backs. Though he wasn’t thought to have as much upside as Mike Minor or Julio Teheran, or Skaggs once he joined Arizona, Delgado was always thought to make an impact in the majors. Delgado has similar concerns about the long-ball, and has already given up 19 in 160.2 innings. The other issue is his walk rate.

For whatever reason, Delgado has been able to limit walks in his five starts in the majors. Walks have always been an issue for Delgado, and the team had made his control a big focus. He improved somewhat in the minors over the course of the season, and was really done in by two poor starts early. In those two starts, Delgado walked 12 hitters over just 6.2 innings. Since then, he’s averaged two-to-three walks per games. That’s passable. Whether that can continue is the main issue. There’s no reason for his sudden ability to control the ball, meaning it could go at any minute. On top of that, his catcher seems to think he would be better off wasting pitches more often. If Delgado can strike a balance without turning into his former self, he’ll provide value.