Brad Peacock is one of the more underrated pieces of the Astros success this season. Now in the rotation though, can fantasy owners make him a waiver wire add?
Whenever a team gets out to a start like the Astros have this season, the high-profile stars always get their fair share of praise. But, in every case of such hot teams, there are players in the shadows that are a key to the success. Brad Peacock falls under that category as he has been a tremendous revelation for Houston in 2017. But, can fantasy owners now make him a waiver wire add?
Once upon a time, Brad Pecock was a top prospect in both the Nationals and Athletics farm systems. He was shipped from Washington to Oakland in the Gio Gonzalez deal in 2012 and then shipped again in 2013 as a part of the deal that saw the Astros get he and Chris Carter.
While it would seem that he is a hot commodity, the stats have never really been there. He was tremendous in the minors in 2011, posting a 2.39 ERA over 23 starts. But, other than that season, he owns a career minor league ERA of 4.14 and a 4.33 ERA in the majors.
More from Fantasy Baseball
- 5 fantasy baseball waiver wire pivots to replace Triston McKenzie
- Fantasy baseball mock draft 2023, 12-team: Aaron Judge over Trea Turner?
- 3 fantasy baseball sleepers being drafted too late
- NBA DFS picks December 25: Merry Bucking Christmas
- Fantasy Baseball: Hot pitchers worthy of starting this weekend
Peacock made the Astos out of the spring as a long man in the bullpen, clearly well off the fantasy radar. Yet, Peacock went out and was mowing people down in the bullpen. His name was starting to gain traction again, a 13 K/9 and only two earned runs over 16 innings will do that, and then the conversation shifted to if he should be given another shot to start.
Waiver wire gems all arise when opportunity and talent intersect.
That conversation has eventually turned into a reality as half of the Astros rotation has gone down to injury, thrusting Peacock into the rotation. Peacock’s last three outings have come as starts, and for the most part, he has continued the success. Over his last 15 innings, he has surrendered six runs, nine hits and struck out 25 batters.
He only went four innings due to the Astros stretching him back out, but his last start versus the Rangers was his most impressive. He went six innings, only giving up two runs while striking out nine. While all the stats look nice, owners looking for more tangible proof need to take a glance at some clear adjustments that Peacock has incorporated.
The easiest to see is the fact that Peacock has gone strictly from the stretch this season. He admitted that he was not comfortable with his windup and made the right call to abandon it.
The second change came in his pitch usage. Peacock has refined and bumped up the usage of his slider by nearly 20% since the last time he was in a big league rotation. His fastball still sits in the 91-93 mph range, but for the first time in his career, he has a pitch that is generating a 23%+ Whiff rate in his slider.
Looking further into his pitch data, batters are having a hard time distinguishing his fastball from his slider as both pitches are coming out of the same arm slot once out of the stretch. Batters are posting a sub-.200 AVG against both pitches this season and this does not even take into account that he is sprinkling in his curve and changeup more too.
Next: Fantasy Baseball: Starting Pitcher Injury Updates
Brad Peacock may have never hit the ceiling that some had originally projected he would. But, he currently looks the best he has ever in his career and is on a team that routinely gives him a chance to win every night. He is easily the Astros’ third-best starter and should be in no danger of losing a rotation spot based on the way he is throwing the ball.
Make the move.
Add us as a preferred source on Google