Chase Whitley (SP, NYY) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Very Deep / AL-Only Leagues

ANALYSIS: The Yankees were supposed to roll out a rotation other teams were envious of  with CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, and Michael Pineda. However, as many of you know their rotation didn't live up to expectations due mostly to injuries. Enter Chase Whitley. In the 7 starts before his recent blowup at Toronto, Chase Whitley had 3 wins, a 2.56 ERA, and a 1.03 WHIP adding him to our running list of sleepers. Then came a big blip on the radar against a team that mashes right-handed pitchers. Consider it a blip / outlier for now.  Whitley doesn't strike out a ton as evidenced by his 28 Ks in 42 IP, however his K/9 rate is at the lowest of his career. Some of that could be explained by the transition to the major leagues from the minors , but with his improved slider I'd actually expect more Ks to come.  Whitley's  run of going 3-0 in 7 starts was reminding many Yankees fans of Aaron Small who pitched to a 10-0 record in 2005. However, Whitley has had much better results and stuff than Small. The thing they have in common is they both salvaged what they could of their respective Yankees seasons, and Whitley could do what he can for your fantasy season as well. At only 14% owned, Whitley is doing all he can to make himself noticed in deep leagues.