Henderson Alvarez (SP, MIA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

ANALYSIS: The fact that Henderson Alvarez is unowned in 64% of Yahoo! leagues is beyond me. In just 15 starts this year, Alvarez has three complete game shutouts, not allowing a single walk in any of them. After opening the season 0-2, he has pitched his way to a 4-1 record since, with the surprising Marlins winning nine of the last 10 games in which he has started. Over his last six outings, he has allowed just three ER over 39.2 IP, dropping from a 3.62 ERA to a marvelous 2.39 ERA over that span. While he may lose a bit of fantasy appeal due to his lack of strikeouts, his low walks total makes up for that. He has given up a free base only four times in his last 45.2 IP. Additionally, his 0.76 K/IP ratio throughout June is a huge improvement from his K/IP ratios of 0.59 and 0.61 in May and April, respectively. The bottom-line is: opposing batters simply aren't putting runs on the board against him. Unless that begins to change, there is no reason not to have Alvarez in one of your starting pitcher slots every fifth day. If he's still available in your league, grab him now.