Nick Lodolo (SP, CIN) - Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups

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ROSTERED IN: 24% of leagues (Yahoo)/6% of leagues (ESPN)

ANALYSIS: Cincinnati Reds fans have pinned their hopes on a somewhat-distant future, because they pretty much have to. While Hunter Greene quickly stole the spotlight with his extraterrestrial velocity and the combo of Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson make up the core of Cincy's (apparently non-existent) rebuild, TCU alumnus Nick Lodolo deserves more than a blip on the radar. The 6'6, 205-lb. LHP entered 2022 as a consensus top-50 prospect, and has a bit of an A.J. Puk vibe, except that he has demonstrated the reliability/durability to clearly project as a future-rotation centerpiece as opposed to a hybrid reliever. Between his quick advancement and no minor league ball in 2020, he has just 69.0 professional IP from Rookie to Triple-A, and while he slowed down in three outings with the Louisville Bats, he accumulated a 2.35 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 0.5 HR/9, 1.4 BB/9, and 14.1 K/9 in 21 total starts.

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His MLB debut against the Guardians was far from pretty on all fronts, but he bounced back nicely with a 5.0 IP, three ER, eight K performance in an away contest with the Padres. His BB & HR rates have been uncharacteristically shaky, but he still tallies strikeouts at an impressive tick (25.5% so far), and solid marks in hard hit rate, average exit velocity, and GB/FB ratio suggest that his .400 BABIP is due to trend downward. Nick Lodolo has always kept walks and homers in check, and in utilizing a diverse repertoire that makes up for the lack of fastball velocity, the #7 pick from the 2019 draft has the necessary tools to quickly navigate the big league learning curve, provide the Cincinnati faithful with a ray of sunshine, and make an impact for Fantasy Baseball Managers in deeper formats. Keep an eye on his Sunday start against the division-rival Cardinals in GABP, where limiting the long ball is always a challenge.

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