RADIO
Pierre Camus recommends NL RP Corey Knebel as a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup and add in 2017 for his role as the Brewers' closer and high strikeout rate.
BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues
OWNED IN: 52% of Yahoo! leagues
ANALYSIS: Any time a closer is newly minted, the fantasy community immediately takes notice. Corey Knebel is no exception, as he takes over Neftali Feliz's brief reign in Milwaukee. Knebel certainly has "closer stuff," with an eye-popping 41.1% K%, .156 BAA and no home runs allowed this season. He's also inducing a 12.5% swinging strike rate, which is well above last season's 7.7% SwStr%. He won't necessarily blow hitters away with a 96 MPH fastball, but his velocity has kept ticking up each year he's been in the majors and he also employs a knuckle curve about one-third of the time to keep hitters off-balance.
The Brewers have no long-term investment in the 29-year old Feliz, as he was merely a stopgap after the team traded all of last year's closers away. If Knebel can prove more effective in the role, it should be his to keep the remainder of the season. He notched his first save on Sunday, marking 10 straight appearances without allowing an earned run. Given the dearth of quality relievers out there, Knebel is worth an add in just about any format, even if only to prevent the competition from gaining an advantage in saves.
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