Jeff Locke (SP, PIT) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Leagues

ANALYSIS: If the rebounding Jeff Locke is still available in your league, you better Locke him up.  His biggest problem last year was his inability to go deep into games due to high pitch counts as a result of walking a ton of batters.  It appears his stint in the first half at Triple-A has done wonders for him as Locke is back with a vengeance.  Other than lowering the free passes to an extremely respectable (and somewhat unsustainable) 2.8% BB rate, Locke is going deeper into games, is forcing hitters to swing and miss at a very nice 10% whiff rate, and is inducing swings on nearly a third of his pitches outside the strike zone.  Hitters will adjust and let those pitches go for balls, bringing up Locke's walk rate, and Locke’s .266 BABIP hints that he’s been a bit lucky, but it’s not unreasonable to project his end of the year ERA to stabilize around 3.25.  That’s good enough for most fantasy owners and he should be owned in most leagues going forward.