Welcome back, FA Nation! Get ready for this week’s edition of Category Impact! If you’re new to the site or just forget how this article works since last week, let me offer a quick refresher.

Category Impact will offer up anywhere from four to six players that can help you out in a certain category, whether it is stolen bases, home runs, or strikeouts. Some weeks, there will be an added focus on a specific categories, while others will be just players that you will want to pick up, but there will be in-depth analysis detailing exactly what category, or categories, a certain player will be of added benefit.

This week’s featured category is…. WINS!

Clayton Richard , SDP SP – Despite his 4.40 ERA, Richard has been a pretty darn good pitcher this season. His FIP indicates he should be closer to 4.00 than he actually is, and he’s on pace for a career high in K/9, as well as an increased ground ball rate and reduced home run rate. He’s inducing soft contact nearly one-fifth of the time, while a ground ball occurs practically three times in every five at-bats (58.6 percent). Richard pitches in an uber-friendly ballpark and the nearing return of Wil Myers should help the San Diego offense, as well as boost Richard’s win potential on a given night. His 5-6 record may not be the flashiest, and his start today against Atlanta is rather daunting, but a 1.25 WHIP is one indication that he can be productive moving forward.

Over his last seven starts, he’s completed seven innings in all but one of those starts, going 4-2 in the process with wins against the Cardinals, Pirates, Braves and Marlins. Most recently, he twirled a two-hitter over seven innings against the Marlins. Since the calendar turned June, he’s allowed just four earned runs on eight over 14 innings. He’s in a groove on the bump and it’s time to ride him while he’s hot.

Mike Soroka , SP ATL – I hope you didn’t forget about this guy, just because he landed on the disabled list for a few weeks. In case you did, I’m sure you saw the 20-year-old ride a no-no into the seventh inning yesterday against the New York Mets. After yesterday’s quality start, he’s 2-1 through four starts with a 2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 19:5 K/BB ratio through 21 big league innings. Soroka is sure to experience growing pains at the big league level as he’s just 20 years old, but his solid numbers at the minor league level indicate he could be a mainstay in the Atlanta rotation for years to come.

The Atlanta offense is loaded and with the looming return of Ronald Acuna , another bat in the lineup will provide Soroka additional run support in each start moving forward. His ownership is near criminal on ESPN, and while the primary reason for that was the disabled list stint, it’s far too low. It’s time to scoop him up before it’s too late. Don’t miss out.

Brent Suter , MIL SP – Don’t look now, but despite his 4.61 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, Suter is 4-1 over his last five starts, and 5-2 over his last seven. Now, the other numbers aren’t great, including the fact that he hasn’t completed six innings in any start this season. That’s right, he doesn’t have a single quality start all season! Suter hasn’t been a huge bonus in the strikeout department either, but he’s punched out at least five batters in each of his last five appearances.

Suter has done a good job of enforcing soft contact and he’s getting batters to chase outside the zone more frequently than prior seasons. The reduced ground ball rate isn’t ideal, nor is the increased line drive and fly ball rates, but when your BABIP is done in the mid-.280s, you can get away with some of those things. Despite the fact that his FIP is similar to his ERA, Suter is better than his 4.61 ERA indicates. Lastly, albeit out of his control but critical to getting a win, the Milwaukee offense can be one of the more lethal units in the game.

Justin Miller , WAS RP – Predicting bullpen guys to help out your wins isn’t necessarily a black-and-white sort of thing, given that there is a compendium of factors involved. However, certain stars align for Miller to garner a win, or at the very least, help your team’s ratios and holds. Albeit a small sample size, he’s been outright filthy for the Nationals and is earning their trust every pitch he throws. Through 12.1 big league innings this season, he has four wins, two holds, a spotless ERA, a great 0.19 WHIP and a masterful 21:0 K/BB ratio. That’s right, he has yet to walk a batter!

Miller pitches for a good team, is attracting a higher leverage role and in a tie game, that Washington offense can erupt and give Miller a win on any given day.

Seth Lugo , NYM SP – Regardless of what role he’s in, Lugo is getting the job done. He’s reducing his hard hit percentage and for you Statcast junkies, his launch angle against his 8.8 degrees, which is the lowest mark of his three year professional career. Living primarily off his curveball, fastball and sinker, he’s experienced great success this season and batters are having a tough time with his three primary pitches. See for yourself (courtesy of Baseball Savant):

PITCH

BA

SLG%

wOBA

Curveball

.155

.155

.146

Sinker

.233

.433

.335

Fastball

.111

.133

.131


Adding Lugo might give you some concern because you want him to be a starter for your fantasy team, but rest assured that even as a long reliever, he’s very valuable. The 28-year-old righty is punching out over a batter an inning, while maintaining excellent marks in terms of ERA (1.77), WHIP (0.85) and batting average against (.185). He’s hardly owned in ESPN fantasy baseball leagues (13.9 percent) and that simply just cannot happen. Despite the Mets’ play of recent weeks, the wins will come for Lugo, especially if he stays in the rotation with the injuries they’ve experienced. Add Lugo, regardless of his role.