Joe Musgrove (SP, PIT) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 35% of leagues

ANALYSIS: When the Pirates received him as part of the return from Houston in the Gerrit Cole trade, Joe Musgrove instantly became more fantasy relevant. Moving to a pitcher-friendly park in the National League figured to help ameliorate his biggest weakness - vulnerability to the long ball. That's turned out to be true, as the big righthander has cut his HR/9 and HR/FB% in half from a year ago. This improvement has allowed him to post the best ratios of his career (3.31 ERA, 1.18 WHIP).

Why, then, is he still so widely available in fantasy leagues? Partly it's because this performance has included only 14 starts, as Musgrove missed the first two months of action with shoulder issues. He also doesn't strike out many hitters - just 69 punchouts in 87 innings - which limits his value. Still, Musgrove has reeled off five straight quality starts (including games against the Indians, Cubs, and the Rockies at Coors Field) and allowed more than two runs just twice in his 14 appearances thus far.