Trent Thornton (SP, TOR) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 8% of Leagues

ANALYSIS:  Trent Thornton has been knocked around in a few starts, but he’s not a bad pitcher and he’s a lot better than most have made him out to be. First, the positive. A 26% K% and a 10.8% walk rate that’s super inflated. Thornton has solid command and will see his K-BB% jump soon enough. It’ll make him a much more effective pitcher and take away these free runners he’s not used to. He has a dynamic fastball, backed up by two ++ secondary pitches, a diving splitter and huge curveball.

Thornton may attract some buyers after striking out 10 Padres, but he’ll still remain under 20% ownership due to a rough start to the year. In deeper leagues, he’s a no-brainer to add. His strikeouts are legitimate and the peripherals only suggest movement towards the positive. His fastball will command itself as he settles and we’ve seen be allowed to exceed 100 pitches. It’s close in 12 team leagues, but anything deeper and you’re making a mistake by leaving Thornton on the board.