Welcome to Pickup of the Day, where every weekday we’ll pick an under-the-radar player whose immediate value is on the rise. The idea here is to identify a starter who can give you some solid innings off the scrap heap, a talented backup who’s been given a chance because of a starter’s injury, an unheralded regular with a favorable matchup, or a potential breakout player who’s starting to put it together. Unlike regular waiver-wire advice, Pickup of the Day is geared more towards interim success, but hopefully we’ll have the intuition to help you snag a waiver-wire gem a few times this season.
The Phillies are finally poised to promote Aaron Nola after the 2014 first-round pick made easy work of his competition in the minors, posting a 2.39 ERA and 92/18 K/BB ratio over 109 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. The former LSU Tiger will make his major league debut on Tuesday versus the Rays. Nola profiles as more of a No. 3 starter than an ace, and he’ll have to work in front of a poor defense and offense. Still, he’s quite polished and most feel he’s been major league-ready for a while.
