Jason Vargas (SP, PHI) - Week 19 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brady Grove profiles Philadelphia Phillies starter Jason Vargas as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 19 of the 2019 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: In a very much anticipated move, the New York Mets traded Jason Vargas to the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies at the 2019 trade deadline, and thus far the one-time All-Star has carried his momentum with him to his new city and made the most of the environment change. The now 36-year-old Vargas has been heating up with a 2.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in 18.0 IP across his last three starts, and went 6.1 innings, allowing just one walk and two earned runs, in his first start for Philadelphia.

While he has curbed the issue in his first start as a Philly, Vargas has struggled at times this season with a high walk rate (9.3% in July), and he allowed a 0.77 GB/FB ratio last month, which certainly was a strong contributor to his damaging HR/9 of 1.9. Fortunately, he has done enough in other areas of his pitching approach to suppress much of the remaining room for potential offense. He has at least maintained a strikeout rate north of 20% every month since April, he limited hard contact to just 34.9% on batted balls through July while forcing 26.5% soft contact, and he has a 40.7% rate of grounders on the year. It may not be the sexiest line, but it is a reliable formula for quality start-making that Jason Vargas has put on display in the MLB since 2005, and he looks like a strong option for a great finish for his new club.