Bartolo Colon (SP, NYM) - Waiver Wire Pickup

BALLER MOVE: 12+ Team and NL-Only Leagues

OWNED IN: 20% of Flea Flicker Leagues

ANALYSIS: Starting pitcher Bartolo Colon is amazingly still chugging away on the mound at age 42. As he enters his 19th season in the Majors, his usefulness in fantasy baseball is beginning to wane. After his ERA rose well over 100 points from 2013 to 4.09 in 2014, his 2015 ERA of 4.16 signals that full season ERAs coming in under 4.00 are most likely a thing of the past. While he continues to limit free passes, only giving up 24 last season, his raising HR/9 rate (1.0 in 2014, 1.2 in 2015) and shrinking K/9 (6.7 in 2014, 6.3 in 2015) have his stuff trending in the wrong direction.

Does that make Colon worthless? Not yet, not by a long shot. If you don't believe me, give his 2016 stats a gander. After two starts, Colon is 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11.1 innings, flashing signs of his youth. While he won't stay that sharp, he can still win ballgames, and if streamed correctly, won't hurt your ERA.

Such as starting Colon against any of the Mets' NL East rivals. Apparently, he has some sort of vendetta against his direct rivals as he lorded over them with an iron arm. Last season, Colon was 13-3 with a 2.84 ERA in 114.1 innings against the NL East. He was 1-10 with a 6.52 ERA against everyone else.