Jeff Samardzija (SP, SF) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brady Grove profiles San Francisco Giants veteran starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 4 of the 2019 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: A veteran of the MLB since 2008, no one has ever questioned Jeff Samardzija's athleticism or physical makeup. At 6-5, 240 lbs and a former wide receiver for the Notre Dame football team, no one has ever accused Samardzija of being a less-than-imposing presence on the mound. However, after making an average of 32.4 starts per season from 2013-2017, Samardzija's 2018 campaign was cut short after just 10 starts where in which he produced uncharacteristically sub-par figures of 6.25 and 1.63 for ERA and WHIP. Much of the problem last year stemmed from the fact that, while Samardzija's HR/9 figure remained high in congruence with his career averages at 1.2, he was walking nearly many as batters per nine IP (5.2) as he was striking out (6.0).

Starting the 2019 regular season in his fourth go-around with the San Francisco Giants, the 34-year old with nearly 1,500 IP under his belt looks remarkably fresh. Four starts in and he has accumulated a 2.91 ERA and 1.15 WHIP behind what appears to be very sustainable peripherals. He is already allowing fewer homers in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park (0.8 HR/9) and has gotten back to a much more healthy balance of 3.3 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9, giving him a promising FIP of 3.57. Though he had major issues last year, Jeff Samardzija is typically a picture of durability who looks to have started this year by correcting his wrongs of 2018.