Starting Pitcher Rookie Sleepers: Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Yordano Ventura and Jesse Hahn are the only rookie starting pitchers with at least 10 starts that are owned in more than 50% of Yahoo! leagues, but they aren't the only rookies performing at a high level in 2014. Five other pitchers currently sit with an ERA below 4.00 in their first full season in the majors. In this week's column, I will be talking about the three that are most under-appreciated and under-owned.

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Sleepers

Kevin Gausman, SP, Baltimore Orioles

Owned in 18% of Yahoo! Leagues, 12% of Fleaflicker Leagues

One of Baltimore's top pitching prospects since being selected fourth overall in the 2012 MLB Draft, Gausman has finally began to live up to the hype in 2014. After tossing 47.2 innings of 5.00+ ERA baseball in 2013, the now-23-year-old has started to put it together, currently posting a 3.90 ERA

While his K/9 ratio is down from 9.25 last year to 6.18 and his WHIP has actually gone up from 1.34 to 1.42, he is simply finding ways to prevent runs. Most notably, his HR/9 ratio is down from 1.51 to 0.40. Gausman is locating the ball better, with just 3.36 walks per nine innings, and is getting hit less hard as a result. Only 4.2% of his fly balls allowed are clearing the fence, as opposed to the 18.6% of fly balls that went out in 2013. He has relied more heavily on his dominant, 96 mph fastball, and has further developed all three of his secondary pitches.

With each start, Gausman is looking more and more like the top prospect the Orioles have been expecting. More importantly, the O's seem to trust him every fifth day as they engage in a pennant race. Consider Gausman an AL-Only and deep mixed league option for now, and perhaps in shallower leagues as a streamer down the stretch for an owner scrapping to make the fantasy playoffs.

 

Chase Anderson, SP, Arizona Dbacks 

Owned in 14% of Yahoo! Leagues, 8% of Fleaflicker Leagues

Since making the jump up to the majors in May, Anderson has been one of few bright spots for the struggling Diamondbacks. He has been a model of consistency, something that is generally rare among rookie pitchers. While owners may not be able to rely on the young righty for a complete-game shutout-like start very often given his inability to go deep into games so far, he has only surrendered more than two earned runs in a start three times in 14 outings.

Additionally, he has lowered his ERA with each passing month, and is currently hovering just above 3.00. His 3.06 ERA ranks third in the National League among rookies with at least 10 games started, and is 16th among all active NL starters with such qualifications. Anderson has five straight quality starts, with just six earned runs allowed in 31 frames over that span. He has improved his command and is no longer leaving balls up in the zone, leading to a decrease in his previously-MLB-leading line drive percentage, which now only sits at 24.2%.

The 26-year-old has shown tremendous poise and maturity for a rookie, and as long as he continues to develop his secondary pitches, he should continue to improve going forward. For now, he is worthy of being owned in all NL-Only leagues and very deep, 12-man mixed leagues.

 

Matt Shoemaker, SP, Los Angeles Angels

Owned in 17% of Yahoo! Leagues, 9% of Fleaflicker Leagues

It was a long, strenuous path to the major leagues for Shoemaker, but he has finally been given a chance in the Major Leagues in 2014, and it is paying dividends for the Angels.

A 27-year-old pitcher with a career 4.52 ERA is very scarcely appealing, to either a fantasy owner or a professional team, but Shoemaker is proving that it is possible to re-invent yourself. He has a deep repertoire, mixing in four different pitches at least 10% of the time, and has shown excellent command and composure. If the ball gets away from him a little bit, he tends to get hit hard, as evidenced by his 12.2% HR/FB ratio, but his 5.12 K/BB ratio proves that he is, for the most part, hitting his spots, and making opposing hitters swing and miss in the process.

His future definitely remains in question, given the late nature of his breakout season, but for now, expect the Mark Buehrle-esque righty to continue to do what he is doing. A pitcher with a 3.89 ERA (and 3.13 SIERA) and the ability to rack up strikeouts and accumulate wins with a good team around him is pretty enticing in AL-Only leagues and most deep mixed leagues.

As good as the aforementioned pitchers have been, all three may be at their most valuable in a keeper league, as they should all continue to improve going forward. Gausman, being the youngest and most highly-touted, of course, has the highest upside, but it's not as if Anderson and Shoemaker are in their mid-30s and cannot grow as pitchers. There is still plenty of room for improvement from all three in the future. That said, don't discount them for the short-term, as they can all help owners in deep leagues make a push for the playoffs. Collin McHugh and Jake Odorizzi, 29% and 39% owned, respectively, are also enjoying very solid rookie campaigns and should be owned in far more leagues than that as well.