Chris

O'Grady

O’Grady is now off the 40-man roster. He missed most of the season with a shoulder injury.

O’Grady is slated to make his major league debut in a start Saturday against the Giants. After being let go by the Angels in April, the 27-year-old has reeled off a 3.29 ERA and 54/15 K/BB ratio over 54 2/3 innings this season in Triple-A. However, he makes for a shaky fantasy option in his MLB debut.

O’Grady struck out six, but he walked two and gave up five hits -- including a solo homer to Justin Turner in the top of the first inning. The 27-year-old left-hander has a 5.23 ERA through his first two major league starts.

The 27-year-old rookie really struggled to command his pitches early in the game. He issued three walks in the first inning alone, including a bases-loaded free pass to Adam Duvall that forced in a run. After surviving that inning he looked good until allowing a solo home run to outfielder Patrick Kivlehan in the fifth frame. O’Grady struck out six batters and gave up a total of four hits. He has a 5.40 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 15 innings through his first three major league starts.

O’Grady initially stayed in after a visit from the trainer, but he was clearly uncomfortable and was lifted after throwing a few pitches. It certainly looked like an injury that will likely send him to the disabled list, but the Marlins should have an update after the game.

Well, that came out of nowhere. After allowing three runs in each of his first three starts -- and failing to make it out of the sixth inning in any of them -- the southpaw kept the Reds in check all night. He benefited from five strikeouts compared to just the two walks. With Thursday’s showing, the 27-year-old owns a 3.68 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in four games. A stiffer test will surely come Tuesday when O’Grady draws the division-rival Nationals.

It’s the first time in five major league starts that O’Grady has given up more than three runs. Still, while his rotation spot seems secure, there’s little here to suggest that O’Grady will prove very useful in fantasy leagues the rest of the way.

O’Grady tweaked his oblique in the second inning of Monday’s start versus the Nationals. It’s unclear how long he’ll be sidelined, but oblique injuries almost always require longer than minimum DL stints. Odrisamer Despaigne threw 3 2/3 solid relief innings after O’Grady departed and would seem to be an obvious candidate to take his spot in the rotation.

O’Grady threw 48 of his 81 pitches for strikes in his major league debut. He was summoned from Triple-A New Orleans to replace the ineffective Jeff Locke, who was designated for assignment on Tuesday. O’Grady was 3-5 at NOLA, but he sported a respectable 3.29 ERA with a 54/15 K/BB ratio over just 54 2/3 innings. If he can replicate these types of results over the next start or two he might be worth a look for fantasy owners in desperate need of pitching assistance.

O’Grady recorded a 3.28 ERA and 57/14 K/BB ratio over 57 2/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A in 2015. He doesn’t throw hard but is funky enough to miss bats, giving him a shot to make it as a LOOGY.