Waiver Wired: Jesse Chavez Could Make a Big Splash

Shawn Caswell provides his fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup analysis for Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Chavez and looks at what makes him an intriguing play.

Quick!!! Name the starting pitcher with a 0-0 record over three starts with an 22-to-2 K vs. BB ratio,  a 1.35 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP who is owned in 36% of Yahoo! leagues and 71% of CBS leagues?  Give up?

I present to you: Oakland Athletics 30 year old journeyman:

Jesse Chavez (SP)

If you were to scour the waiver wire for sturdy pitcher who has great peripherals, with a lacking track record due to being a journeyman reliever with sneaky upside on a winning team, it would be Jesse Chavez. Chavez has looked fantastic and has seen his ownership numbers double in the past week. His three solid starts have him strongly on the deep league radar and he is absolutely useful in 12 team formats. If you own a slow starting Ubaldo Jimenez or Anibal Sanchez, I would strongly advise you to take the Chavez plunge and let your late season bloomers marinate on the pine.

Why I am buying? Chavez has carried a K/9 of over 8 for the bulk of his career and if you throw away some crooked numbers its near 10. Chavez's success could be stemming from his new found cutter which he debuted last season. Pitching most of his games in O.co Stadium backed by a solid defense will surely give him a fighting chance to maintain his production.