Miguel Castro (RP, BAL) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brady Grove profiles resurgent Baltimore relief man Miguel Castro as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 5 of the 2020 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: Miguel Castro made his MLB debut back in 2015 for the Toronto Blue Jays, and in the five years since, Castro has had an up and down career as a bullpen prospect for the Jays, Rockies, and now the Baltimore Orioles (unfortunately bouncing around some of the MLB's most hitter-friendly ballparks). While he didn't come into 2020 with a lot of high-leverage inning consideration, "Come Hombre" has made several key improvements from his 2019 campaign on his way to a 3.27 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, three holds, and a save through 11.0 innings of work.

The most notable improvements for Castro have been his walk rate dropping from 12.8% to 8.2% and his strikeout rate rising from 22.3% to an outstanding 34.7%, with his fastball and changeup both reaching career-high velocities of 97.7 MPH and 92 MPH. However, it would be hard not to be skeptical when considering his 91.5% LOB and 59.3% hard contact allowed on batted balls. Fortunately, those figures are rendered far less dangerous with Castro's dirt-heavy ground ball rate of 59.3%. Cole Sulser has a grip on the closer's role for the time being, and he still has competition for high-leverage innings from Travis Lakins, Mychal Givens, Shawn Armstrong, and Paul Fry, but with the Orioles winning way more than anyone expected, consistent performance in opportunities presented to him is a great indication for Miguel Castro.