Felix Pena (SP/RP, LAA) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brady Grove profiles Los Angeles Angels pitcher Felix Pena as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 9 of the 2019 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: 29-year old Felix Pena appears to have found his home as a member of an MLB squad, though it hasn't exactly been as a member of the rotation or the bullpen. In 43.2 IP across nine games this season, Pena has made four starts and produced a 3.30 ERA and ultra-low WHIP of 0.96. He has accomplished this line with some helpful peripherals, specifically his solid 8.2 K/9 and vastly improved 1.9 BB/9 figures, but his FIP isn't a ballooned 4.24 for no reason. His 1.4 HR/9 is bordering on unacceptable, while the 42.3% hard contact and 9.8% soft contact allowed on batted-balls is just as scary to come to terms with.

His BABIP of .224 and LOB percentage of 77.4% are far less intimidating when you consider Pena's ability to manufacture strikeouts and keep free trips to first base at an absolute minimum. Limiting walks is a quick way to forgiving other flaws in a pitcher's game, and the other woes of Pena's approach have shown signs of subsiding as well. Though his strikeout rate has dropped to 5.4 K/9, Pena has allowed just one home run over the last two weeks (10.0 IP) over a period where we has also accumulated a 3.60 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. He's relying less on his 92 MPH fastball and more on his curveball, so maybe that is partly responsible for his ability to take effectiveness out of contact (unless it gets creamed out of the park). With injuries all over the Angels pitching staff, Felix Pena is well worth an acquisition for his IP-volume, no matter how he comes about it.