Kevin Gausman (SP, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Deep Leagues

ANALYSIS: Nearing the midway mark of the 2014 MLB season, many fantasy owners are trying to fill the voids left by injured and underperforming players. If you are part of this group pay attention!  Kevin Gausman came into the this season as a top-flight pitching prospect for the Orioles, who seem to be always be looking for pitching to put them over the hump. He did not perform great in AAA this season, pitching to an ERA in the mid threes, but he did manage to strikeout a batter an inning.  Since being called up to "The Show" he has been solid if unspectacular.  He has three wins and an ERA in the mid-threes, but also has a highly underwhelming 17:11 K:BB ratio. Gausman has enormous potential though, and aside from his last clunker of an outing (5 ER, 4 BB to TB), he looked pretty sharp in his 3 starts prior to that one.  The Orioles are contenders and Gausman is someone who can boost the O's and your fantasy team if he gets a healthy dose of starts the rest of the season. If you need to take a chance on a starter for a few weeks and KG is available I'd grab him. The upside is very good for all categories, just be prepared for the occasional blowup here and there.