Apr 25, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher
Chris Bassitt(40) pitches during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
It seems like every year that the Oakland A’s are able to produce and develop under the radar starting pitchers that can be useful both in actual and fantasy baseball.
Because of their philosophy and financial restrictions, the A’s have to show the ability to produce and develop rather unknown pitching prospects into valuable options.
This season that, “out of nowhere”, guy may be Chris Bassitt. Bassitt was a rather inconspicuous piece in the Jeff Samardzija deal last season. Even though Bassitt has some bullpen action this season, his insertion into the rotation at the end of June deserves some recognition.
Bassitt was selected in the 16th round by the White Sox in 2011, so expectations were not really set that high. He has never been a highly touted prospect and his minor league numbers spoke to his ceiling being a backend starter in the bigs.
The move to Oakland had immediate benefits, he was able to get away from the hitter’s paradise that is U.S. Cellular Field into the pitcher friendly confines of O.co Coliseum.
He was also introduced to the more sabermetric approaches by Oakland, that encouraged Bassitt to change his pitching approach to a better fit for what Bassitt’s skill. In 2015, Bassitt has now shown a newfound pitching approach that speaks directly to his success.
If we look at his pitch usage charts, we would see that his success was sparked by his move to a more balanced pitching approach utilizing all of his pitches that he has in his arsenal.
We can even see the methodical change starting in April up until his latest starts. In April he was using his fastball 41% of the time, his sinker 27%, his slider 15%, and his curve only 10% of the time.
Clearly, early on Bassitt was trying to solely focus on pitching to contact as he was trying to utilize fastball command and then the predominant use of his sinker to play off of the fastball in order to induce weaker contact.
But, as the months have progressed, Bassitt has been able to introduce more balance and more strikeout potential. If we look at his July usage, since most of his starts were in this month, the usage rates do not lie.
In July, he used his fastball 23% of the time, his sinker 32%, his slider 18%, and his curve 18% of the time. For me, this data speaks to a couple of things, the increase use of his sinker means he has been able to command it more, thus eliminating having to rely on his fastball so much.
The increase in breaking ball usage, allows his to now create more deception off of the sinker as he is able to attack more planes and quadrants of the strike zone. Instead of his focus being on creating weak contact, he now has showcased the ability to put people away.
The curve and slider have a combined 47% Whiff rate, thus the new implementation has to be the spark of his great run. Over his last six starts, he has not given up more than three earned runs in any start.
Plus he has averaged six innings per start, while also limiting his walk rate to about one per game. All signs point to success and value. His last start against Houston was easily his career best has he limited the Astros over six innings for only one earned run, while striking out ten.
His next start comes against the Orioles in Baltimore, on Aug. 4th he was able to blank the O’s for seven innings, while striking out seven in Oakland. For fantasy owners, everything about Bassitt’s success looks legit.
He may profile as a backend starter, but he is currently in the midst of a hot stretch that could be vital for any owners seeking rotation support. If you are still weary of picking him up, pay attention to his next start and see if he can blank the same team in the matter of one week.
If he continues his success, make the move. If you prolong it for too long, Bassitt will just continue to climb up the waiver wire priority list and other owners will start to take notice. Be first and act fast.