R.A. Dickey (SP, TOR) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 26% of Fleaflicker Leagues

ANALYSIS: With all the noise Toronto made this trade deadline, it's only fitting we find a way to include a Blue Jay. Luckily for us, R.A. Dickey has given us plenty of reasons to discuss his recent spurt.

Dickey has been fantastic in his last four starts, accumulating a 1.53/0.85 line and 20/5 K/BB ratio over 29.1 IP (4 GS). That doesn't include his strong outing today vs Kansas City (7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K). The knuckleball (90.21%) continues to be his best friend while he's throwing the fourseam and sinker occasionally.

So what changed with Dickey, and is it sustainable? Let's take a look.

R.A. Dickey Before and After July 4th (FanGraphs)

The most noticeable improvements are the ERA, BB/9 and HR/9 rates. The HR/9 and BB/9 are well below his historical numbers (1.11 and 2.84, respectively). It should be noted that these numbers came against rather tame offenses (@ CHW, TB, @ OAK, PHI). None of those teams are in the top half of MLB for HR or OBP.

I'm willing to give Dickey a pass on the favorable opponents and buy his recent spurt of production. He will regress here on out, but a 3.40 ERA sounds reasonable. He's backed by the best offense in baseball and should have the added motivation of being apart of a pennant race. His next start comes at NYY, which I would pass for streaming consideration. He owns a 5.14 ERA on the road and the Yankees have 140 HR (2nd). You may not have the luxury to wait on Dickey in deeper leagues, so 12+ team leagues should make the move now.