Framber Valdez (SP, HOU) - Week 11 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 17% of leagues

ANALYSIS: It's wild that even on a World Series contending team like the Houston Astros, there still comes the opportunity for promotion and substitutions. However, with Collin McHugh on the IL and Corbin Martin in Triple-A Round Rock, the window of opportunity has been presented to Framber Valdez to rejoin the starting rotation based on his excellent work at the MLB level thus far. He holds a 3.12 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 26.0 relief innings for 2019, and has a 2.57 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 63.0 total major league IP.

Valdez had always profiled as a pitcher capable of producing strikeouts and limiting free trips to first as evidenced by his 10.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 for his minor league career, though these have been areas of mediocrity for the 25-year old native of Palenque this year in the big leagues, putting up a 7.3 K/9 and 11.7% walk rate. Even while he uncharacteristically strays from his statistical capabilities, there is always one thing that Valdez does phenomenally well, and that is hamper home run hitting.

By forcing non-lethal hard and soft contact rates of 35.5% and 21.1% and putting up a dirt-heavy GB/FB ratio of 2.22, Valdez has allowed just one blast to the stands all campaign long. As a cherry on top of the proverbial sundae, he appears to be progressing on that pesky strikeout/walk issue just fine, going for seven strikeouts through seven innings while allowing a single earned run and zero walks in his first start of the year Saturday afternoon against Baltimore. For the time that Framber Valdez remains in the starting rotation, he is an asset of considerable value in deeper leagues.