Matt Shoemaker (SP, LAA) - Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: To say that it has not been a good year for Matt Shoemaker is an understatement. A season removed from being one of the biggest breakout starting pitchers in baseball, Shoemaker is now looking like one of the worst starters in baseball and could potentially lose his spot in the rotation if he doesn’t get things going right soon. So why add him in most leagues?

There are a lot of numbers that do not look good for him. The 5.60 FIP doesn’t look good. The 2.58 HR/9 doesn’t look good. But he has a higher strikeout rate than last year (8.92 K/9 this season compared to 8.21 last year), he is walking about the same number of batters (1.64 BB/9 in 2015 to 1.59 in 2014), and even his opponent batting average is still fairly low (.255 in 2015). It’s those home runs that are hurting him. He currently has a HR/FB ratio of 20.4% which is simply unsustainable especially given his track record of not giving up many home runs. He was sharp in his outing against Baltimore, going seven innings, striking out seven, walking none, giving up one run (a home run) all on three hits. He was even sharper on Tuesday night, going seven innings, striking out six while allowing just five baserunners and zero runs. This is a perfect time for fantasy owners to grab a talented pitcher from the waiver wire while he is being dropped by all other owners.