Caleb Smith (SP, MIA) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 27% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Miami Marlins starting pitcher Caleb Smith threw his first quality start of the month against the Mets on May 22 and is one of the better deep sleepers in baseball. Smith allowed one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings against New York, striking out eight batters and walking two.

In fact, Smith has now struck out more than a batter per inning in nine of his 10 starts this season and has 65 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings. While he has walked 4.56 batters per nine this season, Smith has walked two batters or fewer in five of his last six starts after walking 15 batters in his first four starts. His 31.3% ground ball rate can get him in trouble (and explains his 71.7% strand rate), but the strikeout potential alone is worth owning.

What is the most attractive about Smith this week is that he is a two-start pitcher; he will face the Padres in San Diego on May 28 and the Diamondbacks in Arizona on June 2. Pitching in San Diego always provides a bit of a boost and both the Padres (2nd) and Diamondbacks (4th) are top-five in the league in strikeouts. Furthermore, the Diamondbacks have scored the second-fewest runs in the league and the Padres have scored the sixth-fewest, making him a perfect streamer.