Kendall Graveman (SP, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 19% of Fleaflicker Leagues

ANALYSIS: Kendall Graveman was part of the package Oakland received for Josh Donaldson, and after one month it was looking rough for the youngster; he posted an 8.27 ERA in April and the advanced stats supported his rough start.

Flash forward to July and he’s starting to make Billy Beane help forget about the MVP-candidate. His latest performance included outdueling King Felix on July 4th, pitching seven shutout innings in a 2-0 win. Since returning from a minor league stint on May 23rd, Graveman owns a 1.78 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with a 38/15 K/BB ratio over 53.2 innings.

One of the keys to Graveman’s success has been his slider. Even though he only throws it eight percent of the time, it limited hitters to a .200 AVG and .250 SLG in June with a 2.4 Pitchf/x value. Another key factor is his control; he’s only issued more than two free passes once in the past nine starts. This is key considering Graveman doesn’t strike out a ton of hitters (5.66 K/9).

So is this legit? I have to think regression is due. The traditional ground-ball pitcher has seen a rise in his fly-ball rate and hard hit contact but neither has come back to bite him yet. In addition his LOB rate is 100% in five of his past six starts, an unattainable number for any pitcher. He just doesn’t rack up the Ks required to maintain a spot in shallow leagues and no one is going to trade for Graveman. That said anything above 12 team fixtures should hold Graveman and hope he keeps things going.