Griffin Canning (SP, LAA) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: Headed into his last start before the All-Star break, Angels pitcher Griffin Canning was having a fine start to his rookie year; sporting a 3.79 ERA over his first 11 starts while striking out just over a batter per inning. But on July fourth, Canning went into Arlington and the Rangers lit him up for six earned runs in just three innings and a third. While the rotten outing raised his ERA over half a run, it also raised his K/9 by a half a strikeout, as he still managed six strikeouts in his shortest appearance of the year. Even after the bad outing, Canning looks like a good pickup this week with two starts scheduled on the horizon.

First up, is the dicier of those two starts; a matchup at home against the Houston Astros. And while the Astros offense has been league average against right-handers since June first - with a 103 wRC+ and .320 wOBA - it is noteworthy that they have had a lot of success against Canning's two best offerings; holding the league's second-best pVal against sliders this year, and the fourth-best against curveballs.

Canning's second start this week gets a little easier, going on the road to face the Mariners. Seattle has also had a mediocre offense against righties since the start of June, with a 101 wRC+ and .741 OPS. But also with a 24.5% K-rate, so look for Canning to have plenty of strikeout upside.

Hopefully, the Angels rookie hurler was able to recharge over the mid-season break, as Canning is already at 91 innings pitched on the year, after pitching only 113 innings across three minor-league levels last year. With two starts scheduled this week, now is a good time to grab him before the whispers of an innings limit begin to gain steam.