Shawn Tolleson (RP, TEX) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

OWNED: 62% of Fleaflicker Leagues

ANALYSIS: Shawn Tolleson so far on the year has been impressive with a 2.73 ERA, 0.99 Whip, 1 W, 7 SV and 32 K. Since being named the closer Tolleson has converted all 7 of his save chances. Tolleson's numbers are supported by his underlying skills. He has a 30.5 K%, with a minuscule 3.8 BB%. His ERA seems legit with a 2.74 FIP and a 2.43 xFIP.

There have some great improvements from last year that have led to this years success. His First Strike% went up 12.9% to 68.6% which means that more often than he is starting the count 0-1 which is a huge advantage to the pitcher. Tolleson has also thrown more balls in the zone (53.4%) while at the same time getting more batters to swing and miss (13.7%) which is over 4% higher than last year.

The main reason for Tolleson's improvement is how well his slider is doing. He is really getting swings and misses on it with a 43% swinging strike rate. His fastball (95mph) and changeup (80mph) have a huge difference to them which highlights each one and both of them induce a high number of groundballs. His ability to induce grounders is really important playing in Texas which is a small park and can give up a lot of home runs.

On the team front, the Rangers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball going back to May. They are 23-11 since May 1st. More wins equals more save chances.