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 A’s haven’t missed a beat with Chris Bassitt replacing the injured Jesse Hahn (forearm) in the rotation. Bassitt has made four starts for Oakland over the last month and hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of them, posting a 2.74 ERA and 13/2 K/BB ratio over 23 innings. The 26-year-old Hahn isn’t expected back for a while and Bassitt will continue to hold down a rotation spot in the meantime. He’s worth a look in deeper formats.