Nathan Eovaldi: Waiver Wire Pickup
By Bill Pivetz
Jul 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (30) pitches in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Another offseason, another chance for the New York Yankees to add some top players in order to win their 28th World Series title. This time, the Yankees made a trade to acquire Nathan Eovaldi. This has been Eovaldi’s best season, and in his recent games, he is worth adding off of the waiver wire.
Eovaldi was a subpar pitcher during his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins. He didn’t rack up a lot of wins and had a high ERA and WHIP. He finished 6-14 with a 4.37 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 2014 with the Marlins
Then the move to the Big Apple came.
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Nathan Eovaldi has made 20 starts so far this season. He has a 10-2 record with 4.27 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. While the ratio numbers are higher than his career average, he has received the run support he failed to get previously in his career. Diving deeper into the numbers, Eovaldi pitching very well.
In addition to his first 10-win season, Eovaldi has increased his ground ball rate. His previous best was 45.5 percent in 2012 with both the Dodgers and Marlins. This season, he has a 51.8 percent ground ball rate. That is very impressive, especially with nine starts at the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.
Over his last seven starts, Eovaldi has allowed three or less earned runs in each outing. His most recent outing against the Minnesota Twins, Eovaldi pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five batters.
Eovaldi is not a strikeout-prone pitcher. Hestruck out more than six batters just once, on April 15. He is the type of pitcher that relies on his teammates behind him to get batters out. However, playing on a team tied for 24th in fielding percentage, that may not be the best thing.
Regardless, I think Eovaldi is a nice waiver wire add in deeper leagues. Fantasy owners are jumping on the Nathan Eovaldi train. He’s been added in 7.6 percent of ESPN.com leagues over the last seven days. His current ownership percentage is at 29.5 percent, a decent total for the Yankees’ No. 4 pitcher.