Jonathan Niese (SP, NYM) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper NL-Only Leagues

OWNED IN: 8% of Fleaflicker Leagues 

ANALYSIS: There will always be a place in Major League Baseball for crafty lefties who can eat innings and keep their teams in games. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for fantasy baseball leagues. The New York Mets' Jonathan Niese is a solid big league starter. He's averaged 170 innings a year for the past five seasons and has won 50 games in that time. He strikes out batters at a pedestrian rate of approximately 7 batters per 9 innings. Jonathan Niese is a good pitcher, but he should not be on your fantasy team's roster for most formats. Niese can be rostered in deep NL-Only leagues, but even then you are running the risk that the Mets won't trade him mid-season as some of their young pitchers move to the majors.

Steamer, a baseball projection system, predicts much of the same from Niese this year estimating a 177 inning season resulting in 9 wins, 4.05 ERA, and 128 K. These numbers would be slightly down from last season when he ranked #78 among starting pitchers on the ESPN Player Rater. This type of value can be easily attained by streaming pitchers and playing smart matchups. Niese should be considered as part of this streaming option in weeks in which he is making two starts or has exceptional matchups, but he should not sit on your roster for the entire season except for very deep formats.

My Projection: 180 IP, 11 W, 3.90 ERA, 135 K, traded at the deadline