With Kevin Gausman getting called up mid-week to start against the Tigers on Wednesday, he will arrive too late to help weekly league owners in his season debut. That's no reason, though, to delay in picking him up in standard and deeper mixed leagues.
Because the former first-round pick has sped his way through the minors, it's hard to know what to make of his uneven minor league numbers. From last season's 47 2/3 innings with the Orioles we do know this: Gausman pitches with strong command, and if he can keep the ball in the park, he has a chance to be highly successful. He was very good in a relief role, and he deserved a much better fate in his five starts, which produced a misleading 7.66 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. Gausman struck out 20 batters with only six walks in 24 2/3 innings as a starter, but a .355 BABIP inflated both his ERA and WHIP.
Gausman is almost certain to allow fewer hits on balls in play, and he has shown stronger ground ball tendencies in the minors, so he should improve vastly on last season's 1.5 HR/9 ratio. Even if Gausman doesn't remain in the Orioles' rotation beyond this start, the potential for him to be a regular in the rotation at some point this season makes him worth stashing in the vast majority of leagues.