Jared Walsh (1B, LAA) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ROSTERED IN: 1% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Jared Walsh is a rare creature, in that, he has been both a successful pitcher and batter throughout his minor league career since entering the Angels farm system from Georgia in 2015. Last season, in his first big league run with Los Angeles, Walsh tossed five innings and accrued a 1.80 ERA, a startling 1.80 WHIP due to six allowed walks, and five strikeouts. That is in addition to Walsh's minor league ERA of 3.32, WHIP of 1.57, and two saves over 21.2 IP.

However, it is Walsh's batting prowess as a first baseman that has the Angels excited in 2020. In 2019 at Triple-A Salt Lake, he amassed 66 XBH (30 doubles and 36 HR) with a .325/.423/.686 slash over 382 AB. Over 44 MLB AB during the current campaign, he has largely picked up right where he left off with eight XBH (two doubles, a triple, and five dingers) and a slash of .273/.292/.705. The results appear highly sustainable as well, as Walsh has put up 47.4% hard contact on batted balls with a mere 13.2% soft contact en route to a robust .432 ISO. How the Angels happen upon so many two-way players is anyone's guess, but most importantly, it is just another quality that will keep Walsh up in the big leagues over others that have less to offer. Once again swinging a heavy bat and the Halos scoring runs a plenty, the stage is set for Jared Walsh to be a devilishly sneaky pickup to close out the season.