Adrian Sampson (SP, TEX) - Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 14% of leagues

ANALYSIS: The line has not read particularly pretty on Adrian Sampson. The 27-year old alumni of Bellevue Community College has produced an overall mediocre body of work through 75.2 IP out of the Rangers rotation and bullpen, throwing for a 4.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 7.4 K/9. His forgettable figures are mostly due to a rough showing through 24.0 IP (five games, two starts) in the month of May when he put up a paltry 5.63 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, and only 16 strikeouts. Despite these reasons to discount Sampson, there are a few poignant reasons to attach yourself to his outings moving forward.

In his first four starts of June, he has produced a respectable 4.13 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, while throwing for a much improved K/9 of 10.1 (not to mention a complete game) in 24.0 IP. Now, Sampson has a sizable issue with allowing the long ball. He allows a high rate of hard contact on batted balls in conjunction with a low GB/FB ratio, netting an unfortunate HR/FB rate of 22.6% for the month. However, he has significantly limited any potential damage by producing a shut-down walk rate of 3.9% and a much more elusive strikeout rate of 26.5%, possibly through the more frequent deployment of his changeup.

His next start is tomorrow, at home, against Ivan Nova and the Chicago White Sox. You might want to be a part of that, because he has been way better at home this season (3.08 ERA at home, 6.92 ERA on the road), and the short-staffed Texas pitching staff will be depending on his innings proceeding onward (his WAR of 1.8 is fourth-highest on the team).