Oliver Drake (RP, TB) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

OWNED IN: 29% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Oliver Drake has both saves for the team thus far in 2020, yet hasn't cracked the 30% mark in ownership. Some hesitation may be caused by the team he plays for as Tampa Bay is notorious for non-traditional bullpen roles and the team still has more faith in Nick Anderson and Jose Alvarado in high-leverage situations. Throw in the fact both of Drake's saves came while protecting a three-run lead and it's understandable to not dub him the one-true closer for the Rays.

That being said, Drake is off to a great start after he put up the best numbers of his career in 2019. He upped his swinging-strike rate to a pristine 16.8 percent and is above 16 percent so far again this season. In particular, he has earned swings-and-misses on 42.9 percent of splitters which is huge after he made strides with the pitch last season (37.8 whiff-%). Tampa Bay has had a ton of success with pitchers and they appear to have found another diamond in the rough with Drake who spent time with five different organizations in 2018. He may not be the set-in-stone closer, but he is clearly in the closer rotation and should contribute helpful ratios and rack up enough strikeouts to be worth rostering in fantasy.