Ivan Nova (SP, CHW) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brady Grove profiles Chicago White Sox starter Ivan Nova as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 21 of the 2019 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: Following an unsightly 8.42 ERA, 1.75 WHIP showing for the month of April, there wasn't really any place to go for Ivan Nova but up. That is exactly where he headed too, and his performance on the mound for the Chicago White Sox got progressively better with each passing month until the process has culminated with a fantastic 0.49 ERA and 0.70 WHIP over his last five starts (37.0 IP). Over that span of time, while he has only thrown for 17 strikeouts, he has been air-tight in every other department with a meager six walks and two home runs allowed (which means both of his earned runs have come from solo shots).

A .194 BABIP for the month of August may seem a little too good to be true, but it makes plenty of sense when viewing Nova's peripherals on batted balls. He holds a GB/FB ratio of 1.43 this month while allowing the opposition only 16.4% line drives, and he has been stifling batters to the tune of 19.1% soft contact and a ridiculously low 22.1% hard contact rate. Strikeouts in a high risk, high reward starting pitcher are certainly enticing, but Ivan Nova has been so dialed in and difficult that you shouldn't lose sleep at the lack of Ks. If he isn't walking batters or letting them get a good rip at what he's showing them, it's hard to see where the ship can go off course.