Washington Nationals Joe Ross: Waiver Wire Gem

Joe Ross has quietly emerged as one of the better young arms in baseball. After a solid season in 2015 and now off to a solid start in 2016, he deserves to be a waiver wire addition.

In a rotation that is headlined by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, it can be easy to see how the other pitchers in the rotation can be lost in the shuffle. But, Joe Ross’ talent has forced fantasy owners and fans alike, to take notice. After a solid 2015, and now out to a good start to begin 2016, owners need to do what it takes to invest in Ross.

As most of us probably know, Joe Ross happens to be the brother of San Diego Padres pitcher, Tyson Ross. Besides being brothers, both righties happen to feature the same type of arsenal. The slider is their bread and butter, and both showcase it a majority of the time and have found immense success with it.

Tyson Ross does throw harder and arguably has the best slider in baseball, but Joe Ross is beginning to diversify his approach more so than his older brother. This offseason he worked harder on developing a changeup to go along with his tight slider and diving sinker, and it seems as though that his comfortability with the pitch is becoming evident after his first start this season.

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Ross was able to start 13 games for the Nats in 2015 and ended the season with a, 3.64 ERA/1.10 WHIP/69 K/3.42 FIP, line. He was solid for the club last season and this season he can further his emergence if he can continue to throw like he did last week against the Miami Marlins. For his first start of the season he was able to post a, 7 IP/1 ER/5 K/2 BB, line. The Marlins have their fair share of offensive talent, so his early success holds some weight.

His two walks are in line with his career 2.5 BB/9, and the K output is little lower than what we will usually get from him, but he should have no problem getting closer to his 8 SO/9 mark. The addition of a changeup helps in a lot of ways, especially in terms of varying speeds and attacking the zone. Ross is not exactly a flamethrower, he tops out in the lower 90s with his sinker and his slider usually sits in the low 80s, but his changeup sits right around 86-89 mph. So with a hard diving sinker, a slower lateral moving slider, a harder and fading type of changeup gives Ross the ability to work strictly at the bottom of the zone with all his pitches. Thus, allowing him to avoid getting in trouble up in the zone.

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Ross showed his upside last season and his early signs of development this season, should entice owners to fully buy in. He gets the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for his next start, and clearly facing the Phils weak lineup is a great fantasy match-up. Owners need to act fast and make sure they hit the waiver wire to make sure they can get him before other owners swoop in and snag him.

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