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The Milwaukee Brewers and fantasy baseball managers were dealt a blow when All-Star starting pitcher Freddy Peralta left his Sunday start early with a shoulder injury. Diagnosed with a right posterior shoulder strain, the Brewers placed Peralta on the 15-day injured list, with manager Craig Counsell anticipating a “lengthy absence.”
Fortunately, Peralta is expected to pitch again this year. However, fantasy baseball managers will need to find a way to keep their fantasy staffs intact without one of their most valuable hurlers. Easier said than done.
While trades are definitely an option, it's not always the best idea to rid a fantasy baseball roster of further depth after it was just dealt an injury blow. That leaves the waiver wire as the best path for managers to take.
At this point in the season, it's rare to find a set-it-and-forget-it option on waivers. However, there are some streamer-worthy pitchers who have the potential to develop into season-long holds.
That said, here are three fantasy baseball pitchers worth picking up after the Freddy Peralta injury.
3 Fantasy Baseball Pitchers To Pick Up After Freddy Peralta Injury
3. Aaron Ashby
What better option than the projected next man up for the Brewers in Aaron Ashby? Counsell and the Brewers had stretched out Ashby's arm, adding him to the rotation as a sixth arm earlier in May. As such, he would be a logical choice to take Freddy Peralta's place in the rotation.
While the left-hander has mostly worked out of the bullpen in his short MLB career, it hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the game's- and fantasy baseball's- best-kept strikeout secrets.
In nine games, the 24-year-old owns a 3.49 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 34 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings pitched. Ashby's command has been a concern, as his 13.8 percent walk rate is even higher than last year's 9.0 percent mark.
There had to be a reason why he was on the waiver wire, right? Walks aside, there's no denying the upside the Brewers' hurler possesses as a member of Milwaukee's rotation.
Look no further than Ashby's 27.6 percent K rate and his 64.8 percent groundball rate. Generally, pitchers are able to keep the ball on the ground or strike hitters out at an elite rate. Ashby has the ability to do both very well, which gives him ace upside if he can work on his command.
The arsenal is there, as the southpaw relies on five pitches: a sinker, slider, changeup, curveball and fastball. Ashby's slider is legitimately one of the best weapons in baseball, as he owns a 41.3 percent whiff rate and a .179 expected batting average against with the offering.
Ashby features above-average break in both his wicked slider and curve. Add it all up and he looks like a budding ace if he can keep the walks down. Rostered in less than 20 percent of Yahoo leagues, Ashby is worth picking up.
2. Zach Eflin
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zach Eflin was flying under the radar until his most recent start against the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. Even though a possible win was spoiled by the Phillies' lineup, Eflin was dominant, racking up a career-high 12 strikeouts in seven innings of two-run ball.
Eflin's excellent performance brought his sneaky-good season to light. The 28-year-old right-hander owns a 3.65 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 1.13 WHIP and 35:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Eflin's numbers look just as good under the hood, as his 2.24 expected ERA, minuscule 83.2 average exit velocity against and 4.6 percent walk rate point to a pitcher able to limit hard hit balls and keep the basepaths empty.
Normally a groundball pitcher throughout his career, Eflin showed elite strikeout upside against Los Angeles. Putting those two strengths together is resulting in the best season of his career. Rostered in just 17 percent of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues, the Phillies righty is there for the taking.
1. Roansy Contreras
Baseball's 67th-ranked prospect and the Pittsburgh Pirates' no. 6 prospect, Roansy Contreras arrived with the team in the Jameson Taillon trade with the New York Yankees. The 22-year-old has been on the rise, especially after his fastball began touching 97-98 MPH on the radar gun.
With bat-missers in a slider and a curveball, it's no wonder that Contreras was able to routinely post strikeout rates at or above 30 percent at nearly every stop in professional baseball.
While he's pitched just 10 2/3 innings at the major league level, the Pirates hurler looked good in that limited stint. With a 16 percent career swinging strike rate, Contreras consistently gets hitters to chase what he's offering, making it easy to see strikeout upside at the big-league level.
Pitching for the 17-24 Pirates hurts his fantasy baseball upside- and he is a bit of an injury risk after dealing with a forearm strain earlier in his career. However, Contreras, who was called up to pitch on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies, is worth adding and stashing in the hopes that he sticks in Pittsburgh's rotation.
