Luke Weaver (SP, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ team leagues

OWNED IN: 18% of Fleaflicker leagues

ANALYSIS: The St.Louis Cardinals have had success with organization grown talent before, and they are having it again with Luke Weaver. The former Florida State Seminole has made one big league start and allowed two ER, four hits, three walks, a HR, and three K in just 4.0 IP. So the limited capacity of his MLB experience doesn't really tell the story of how good Weaver is. He was only drafted in 2014 and is still just 22 years old. In 2016 he has pitched 83 innings in 13 starts for an average of 6.4 IP per outing across Double-A and Triple-A. In that time he has a 1.30 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 0.4 HR/9, and 1.3 BB/9. While his K/9 has been everywhere from 6.0 to 13.5 for a minor league total of 8.7, his command and ability to limit power hitting has been a dominant force in all 197.2 IP since 2014. Over his 38 minor league starts in three seasons he has allowed just 1.6 BB/9 and 0.3 HR/9. His durability has been prevalent too as he has averaged 5.9 innings per outing for the 32 starts he has made since 2015, which is an innings leash usually reserved for more seasoned and experienced prospects. No matter what he did in his MLB debut, Luke Weaver has a track record that shows he limits power, commands the strike zone, can get high-volume whiffs, and can make consistent starts while pitching deep into games.