It's getting to the point of the season where pitchers' innings are going to be a concern and pitchers are landing on the injured list. Finding replacements is going to be a key part of finishing strong. One player who could help is Alex Cobb.
The Angels right-hander is only rostered in 45 percent of CBS leagues. Cobb is 7-3 with a 3.96 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 26.2 percent strikeout rate and 8.2 percent walk rate. Cobb has pitched better than the surface numbers. He has a 3.64 xERA, and is in the 94th percentile of barrel percentage, allowing 3.6 percent. Cobb is getting hitters to chase consistently, ranking in the 92nd percentile.
Cobb is allowing little hard contact, inducing ground balls at a 54.9 percent rate and a fly ball rate of 22.6 percent. He has allowed three home runs in 72.2 innings. A .320 BABIP is slightly unlucky considering his .291 career mark and a 61.9 percent left-on base percentage is unlucky.
Cobb has a few bad starts this season, but he's been better lately. He has pitched at least five innings in four of his last five starts and allowed one earned run or fewer in four. It's difficult to find pitching and a top tier arm will cost a lot. If Cobb is available, add him. He can also be acquired in a trade for a decent price. I acquired him as part of a package and believe he can help down the stretch.
Another pitcher that might be had for a cheap price is Eduardo Rodríguez. He has pitched better than the surface stats indicate. Rodriguez is 7-5 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Rodriguez has a 27.6 percent strikeout rate, 5.7 percent walk rate, an unlucky .353 BABIP and 65.8 percent left-on base percentage. Rodriguez has an xERA of 3.61 and a hard hit rate of 34.9 percent.
Rodriguez has started to show improvement over his last four starts, so the time to send offers is now. Over his last 22.2 innings, he has allowed 17 hits, six earned runs, walked four and struck out 27. He has faced some tough offenses and pitching in the American League East isn't easy, but he has a good lineup behind him and the stats indicate better things are ahead.
The Red Sox could also be bolstered by the return of Chris Sale. He made another rehab start on Tuesday and pitched well. He went 3.2 innings and allowed no hits with six strikeouts and touched 98 miles per hour, an increase of four miles per hour over his previous outing. Sale has been out after having Tommy John surgery 16 months ago. There's always risk with a player coming off injury and a question of how many innings he will be able to throw when he returns to the Red Sox, but he's worth adding if he's available.
A bat to acquire now is Michael Conforto. It's been a miserable season for the Mets outfielder, but he's showing signs of going on a tear. A slow start and a hamstring injury has the numbers way down. Conforto has a slash line of .212/.345/.359 with 20 runs, six home runs and 24 RBIs in 184 at-bats. Conforto has three home runs in the last three games entering Wednesday. He has a career best 13.9 percent walk rate, boosting him in on-base percentage leagues.
While the surface stats from some of the aforementioned players have shown there's been some bad luck, the same can't be said for Wily Peralta. The Tigers right-hander has some impressive stats and could be someone people consider in deeper formats, but beware.
Peralta has made six starts and is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 0.94 WHIP. Over his last four starts against the Twins twice, Rangers and Indians, Peralta has pitched 24 innings and allowed 13 hits, one earned run, walked six and struck out 17.
Peralta only has a 15.9 percent strikeout rate and it's hard to be successful with a number so low and a walk rate of 8.7 percent. He has a hard hit rate in the 25th percentile, a whiff percentage in the 14th percentile and a fastball spin rate in the first percentile. A .187 BABIP and 89.9 percent left-on base percentage show extreme luck and there could be some disaster outings ahead.