Oakland A’s Daniel Mengden: Deep Waiver Wire Add

Daniel Mengden has been great for the Oakland A’s over his first few starts. Should fantasy owners now give him a closer look off the waiver wire?

Over the years, baseball has seemingly lost nearly all of its most distinguishable characters. But Oakland A’s prospect, Daniel Mengden, certainly looks the part of a baseball throwback as his grade A mustache, and old school delivery, set him apart.

Mengden was a 4th round pick by the Houston Astros in 2014 and came over to the Athletics in the Scott Kazmir trade last season. Mengden has never been a top prospect, but he has shown success in the minors, and now  in the majors.

He has an array of pitches at his disposal, but mostly features a fastball/slider/change/curveball combo. His fastball tops out around 95 mph, but he normally sits in the low 90s. The lack of overpowering stuff has limited his upside, but his great command and ability to change speeds, allows him to excel.

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After a mediocre 2015 season in A ball, Mengden hit his stride this season in the minors. Between AA and AAA this season, he has posted a tidy 1.19 ERA over 11 starts. He notched 67 K and 22 BB, and had a 8.8 SO/9 in 68 innings as well, garnering the attention of scouts and the organization. After Oakland’s rotation was depleted by injuries, Mengden was promoted in June.

Since his promotion, Mengden has been able to post a, 2.81 ERA/1.16 WHIP/26 K line. He has gone at least five innings, and struck out at least five over his four starts in the majors as well. His most impressive outing was against a loaded Texas Rangers lineup, which he was able to limit to one run over six innings.

Mengden continued that success against the Giants on June 27th, going seven innings while only surrendering two runs. He gets the struggling Pirates offense for his next start this upcoming weekend, offering fantasy owners another favorable matchup to exploit.

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The A’s lineup will not offer much in the run support department, but the O.Co Coliseum still serves as a great pitchers ballpark. While he may lack the fantasy upside that owners would want, he has all the tools to be a great backend fantasy arm. so do not overlook him.