Josiah Gray (SP, WSN) - Week 22 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams

ROSTERED IN: 36% of leagues

ANALYSIS: One of the centerpieces of the deal that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles, Gray has gotten off to a decent start in his Nationals career, going 0-1 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.045 WHIP and 24.4 percent strikeout rate over 22 innings. He's now posted back-to-back quality starts against Atlanta and Toronto, where he's allowed a combined total of five runs over 12 innings with 10 strikeouts.

First up on his slate are the Marlins, who are slashing .257/.314/.413 and averaging 5.0 runs per game over their last 10 games. However those stats are buoyed by a 14-10 win over the Cubs last Friday, as since then they are slashing .223/.263/.345 and averaging 3.5 runs per game over the following six games. But that being said, Gray will be on the wrong side of their splits, as the Marlins are hitting better against right-handed pitching (.239/.306/.380) than against left-handers (.234/.297/.376), plus they are hitting better at home (.242/.308/.372) than on the road (.233/.299/.386). Although along with that Gray should have plenty of strikeout value, as the Marlins' 26.1 percent strikeout rate is the second-highest in the majors.

He'll close out the week on the road again, this time in New York against a struggling Mets offense that is slashing .251/.301/.364 and averaging 4.1 runs per game over their last 10 games — and they've done even worse over their last six games where they're slashing .206/.261/.299 and averaging 3.2 runs per game. The Mets have hit slightly better this year at home (.237/.319/.365) than on the road  (.233/.306/.391), but they are hitting worse against right-handed pitching (.232/.308/.379, 26.5 K%) than against left-handers (.242/.323/.379, 24.2 K%).

Gray is a pitcher on the rise who will have a couple of solid matchups against struggling offenses. He's looked good so far in Washington, and if he puts up another pair of good outings this week, managers should consider rostering him full time going forward.

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