Zack Godley (SP, ARI) - Waiver Wire Pickups

May 28, 2017

Chris Zolli recommends NL SP Zack Godley as a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup and add in Week 9 of 2017 for his recent run of quality starts.

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ANALYSIS: Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Godley originally made it to the big leagues in late 2015 for a short stretch in which he looked like a pretty good pitcher. He went 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.25 WHIP through six starts, and it seemed like the jump from Double-A to the bigs might not be too much of a problem for him. He started 2016 in the minors again, bouncing from Double-A to Triple-A in short order. In Triple-A, Godley had an ugly WHIP, but his sinker was good enough to get him another call-up anyway. This time, the wheels fell off. Godley worked as a spot starter and long reliever, but just about every start came with a minimum of a handful of runs. It really bottomed out when he gave up 16 earned runs over a five-day stretch in August of 2016, and he was permanently relegated to the bullpen. Even there, he regularly gave up runs and it appeared the magic of 2015 was nothing but a memory.

However, in 2017, Godley has regained his 2015 form. He carried a 2.25 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in a couple starts at Triple-A, so he got the call once again. Since returning to the major league club as a starter, he’s notched a 7.01 K/9 and 2.45 ERA on the way to a 1-1 record after four starts. His sinker has continued to be his signature pitch, leading to an outstanding 65.1 percent ground ball rate. He’s also generating swinging strikes on 13.7 percent of his pitches, the highest rate of his career.

There are fears with his .224 BABIP combined with an 82.6 percent LOB%, but Godley is a good pitcher to stream at a minimum.