If you're the attentive sort who frequents the waiver wire, chances are you already have Domingo German — he was one of the more advisable two-start options for this week, after all — but you probably didn't think you'd keep him beyond the two starts.
Well, you should've, and he just showed why Tuesday night, delivering his third consecutive start with nine strikeouts or more.
But wait, it gets better.
He entered the day with the third-best swinging strike rate, according to FanGraphs, behind only Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, and that was before adding 17 more Tuesday against the red-hot Mariners.
It isn't some fluky sample-size thing either. German has three legitimate swing-and-miss pitches, his fastball, changeup and curveball each generating a minimum of five whiffs at least three times. Most pitchers are lucky to reach the majors with two, and many don't develop more than a show-me beyond that.
The fact this rookie can turn to any one of them in a key situation, keeping the hitter guessing in a way few pitchers can, puts him so far ahead of the eight ball that the only things that can bring him down, really, are walks and home runs. And he's not unusually susceptible to either — or at least shouldn't be, judging by his strike percentage and fly-ball rate.
The only thing fluky here is the ERA so far.
... But that ERA is beginning to correct itself over his past three starts, all quality efforts with a combined 28 strikeouts to just two walks. For the strikeouts alone, German seems worth keeping, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if he ends up performing like a top-40 starting pitcher the rest of the way (maybe top 30 if innings weren't a concern).
Freddy Peralta would be more exciting if he didn't lean so much on his fastball, throwing it about 80 percent of the time, and didn't have a history of control problems in the minors. But he has demonstrated big strikeout potential in each of his call-ups and should get a long leash with Zach Davies looking at an extended absence.
Don't forget about the old guy coming back from a one-month absence for continual blister woes, which not only put him on the DL twice but skewed his numbers whenever he attempted to pitch. Rich Hill's velocity was fine Tuesday, and he shut down a good lineup. Given his health history, you shouldn't get too attached to him, but I'd slot him between German and Peralta in terms of priority.
Bruce Bochy is going back to what's familiar with Hunter Strickland down 6-8 weeks with a broken hand, turning to the same guy who filled in for an injured Mark Melancon down the stretch last year.. Sam Dyson may only be the third-best reliever in the Giants bullpen — and that's without Strickland — but with his knack for putting the ball on the ground, he's good enough to hold off Tony Watson and Melancon for now.
Another home run puts Jesus Aguilar on a 31-homer, 100-RBI pace — and that's with him not becoming a regular starter until May. The return of Eric Thames has cut into his at-bats a little, but with the way he has feasted on both lefties and righties, getting him in the lineup seems to be a top priority for the Brewers. He probably shouldn't be available in 25 percent of CBS Sports leagues still.
Not only has Johan Camargo flashed 20-homer power this year, but he also delivered what would be a top-15 walk rate if he had the at-bats to qualify. So just imagine if his BABIP wasn't 130 points lower than a year ago. At the very least, he could be another Yangervis Solarte, in spite of his 13 percent ownership, and Tuesday's four-hit, five-RBI game could be the start of it.
