April 22, 2016

Ryan Nakada analyzes five MLB relief pitchers (RP) and setup men to target for holds as fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and adds for Week 3 of the MLB season.

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we’ll highlight today include some elite setup men to target off the waiver wire for Week 3 of the fantasy baseball season. The more likely a team is to win, the more likely a pitcher will be eligible to earn the holds that could be the difference between winning or losing in your fantasy league.

Editor’s Note: RotoBaller’s fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups list is updated every single day. Our awesome writers bring you analysis on hot or emerging starting pitchers, and also all other fantasy positions. You can also download our waiver wire iPhone app for free, and easily stay updated.

Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups for Holds

Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals

1 Hold, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 7 K, 1.07 WHIP

The veteran Shawn Kelley has not made a lot of appearances, but when he does they come late in the game. Kelley has seen a slight dip in his velocity with his fastball averaging at 89.7 MPH. Still, opponents continue hitting .222 against him, slightly better than his career .238 opponent batting average. The Nationals are projected to do very well this year and Kelley is a veteran of the bullpen that will get his share of holds over the course of the year.

Josh Osich, San Francisco Giants

2 Holds, 2.35 ERA, 7.2 IP, 6 K, 1.17 WHIP

When the San Francisco Giants have a complicated situation, reliever Josh Osich has been there to put the fire out and save the day. Despite a discernible difference in his right-left splits (.300 vs. RH batters, .118 vs. LH batters), Osich has seen his share of righties and lefties at the plate. The power lefty relies primarily on a fastball that he uses 72.5% of the time and with good reason as it clocks in at 94.7 MPH on average, one of the fastest fastballs in the game right now. In addition to pitching in a pitcher's ballpark, Osich also induces a ground ball 70% of the time the ball is put in play. Osich is a valuable part of this year's Giants bullpen and can be valuable for holds.

Adam Warren, Chicago Cubs

2 Holds, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 5 K, 1.00 WHIP

Coming exclusively out of the bullpen to this point, Adam Warren has gotten off to a good start with his new team, the Chicago Cubs. By becoming a reliever exclusively, he has minimized his arsenal from four pitches to three. Abandoning the curveball, Warren features a fastball around 92.3 MPH, a slider around 87.3 MPH and a changeup averaging 84.4 MPH. He currently holds opponents to a .118 batting average and a lot of the success can be pointed to keeping the ball low as 58.3% of the batted balls are on the ground.

Yimi Garcia, Los Angeles Dodgers

1 Hold, 2.35 ERA, 7.2 IP, 4 K, 1.04 WHIP

Frequently seen in the last third of the game, reliever Yimi Garcia is off to a relatively slow start, but the Los Angeles Dodgers will need him as the season moves along. Garcia normally has higher strikeout rates with his two-pitch arsenal. The Dominican hurler has a fastball that averages 92.8 MPH and his sharp breaking slider goes just shy of 82 MPH. He is generating more ground balls than usual which can be a good sign for his value with the lead in late innings.

Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks

1 Hold, 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP, 6 K, 0.45 WHIP

The Arizona Diamondbacks have set steep expectations for themselves and, for the most part, they have come out of the gate at a reasonable pace. Setup man Daniel Hudson is pitching well for the D-backs. Hudson is the clear cut eighth inning reliever and with good reason. In the early stages of the season, Hudson has faced 24 batters and they are hitting .091 with just one extra base hit. The 29-year-old Hudson is generating all types of outs with his three-pitch arsenal. His fastball averaging at 95.3 MPH shines with a slider around 85.2 MPH and a changeup around 84.9 MPH to disrupt the timing of hitters.

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