Yesterday we examined the records of this year’s most promising rookie batters, paying special attention to the preseason ROY picks from the Generals (found here and here). Today, let’s give the same treatment to the pitchers.
(Once again, ordered by my subjectivity)
| Player | IP | W-L | ERA | WHIP | K | K/9 | BB/9 | BABIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinson Volquez | 29.1 | 4-0 | 1.23 | 1.23 | 33 | 10.13 | 4.91 | .287 |
| Johnny Cueto | 35 | 1-3 | 5.40 | 1.09 | 33 | 8.49 | 1.54 | .284 |
| Jair Jurrgens | 38.1 | 3-2 | 3.05 | 1.04 | 28 | 6.57 | 3.05 | .245 |
| Clay Buchholz | 28.2 | 1-2 | 4.08 | 1.26 | 27 | 8.48 | 3.14 | .299 |
| John Lannan | 30.2 | 2-2 | 2.64 | 1.53 | 24 | 7.04 | 4.11 | .294 |
| Hiroki Kuroda | 37.2 | 1-2 | 3.82 | 1.27 | 20 | 4.78 | 1.91 | .295 |
| Joba Chamberlain | 11.1 | 1-1 | 1.59 | 0.97 | 14 | 11.12 | 2.38 | .308 |
| Nick Blackburn | 38.1 | 2-1 | 3.52 | 1.38 | 19 | 4.46 | 1.41 | .340 |
| Manny Parra | 23.2 | 1-1 | 4.94 | 1.77 | 19 | 7.23 | 4.94 | .370 |
| Ian Kennedy | 23.2 | 0-2 | 8.37 | 2.03 | 16 | 6.08 | 7.61 | .347 |
| Franklin Morales | 25.1 | 1-2 | 6.39 | 1.78 | 9 | 3.20 | 6.04 | .294 |
| Luke Hochevar | 10.2 | 1-1 | 5.91 | 1.88 | 8 | 6.75 | 4.22 | .405 |
| Max Scherzer | 4.1 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7 | 14.54 | 0.00 | .000 |
| Nick Adenhart | 2 | 0-0 | 22.50 | 4.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 22.50 | .347 |
Though none of the Generals picked him for ROY (though, to be fair, Mike wrote a whole post about him), Edinson Volquez has been burning up the league, leading rookie starters in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, and is posting the highest K rates (not counting Chamberlain from the bullpen and Scherzer’s tiny sample appearance earlier this week).
UPDATE (6/4/08): I just want to record here for posterity the fact that, as I was putting together the second round of these rookie roundups, I realized that Volquez is not technically a rookie, having pitched more than fifty innings combined from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons. So he shouldn’t really belong on these lists. Anyway, back to the post:
Johnny Cueto, the subject of much discussion around here, has had a couple of rough starts, but is still striking out batters left and right, and is still rocking a 1.09 WHIP. Similarly, Jair Jurrjens (who again?) has a great 1.04 WHIP going, complemented nicely by a 3.05 ERA, though some of that may be riding on his .245 BABIP.
It’s not until we get to Clay Buchholz that we find a ROY pick from the Generals (Rob, in this case), and Buchholz is holding his own with a solid K rate. Just behind him is the Nationals’ John Lannan, who has won two shutout games in his last two starts. Hiroki Kuroda, Jeremy’s NL ROY pick, is pitching better than his W-L record might indicate. Meanwhile, Joba Chamberlain, despite missing some playing time, is posting numbers that ache to be let loose from the bullpen, and Nick Blackburn is holding his own as Minnesota’s latest control pitcher.
And then there’s Manny Parra and Ian Kennedy, Patrick’s and Jeremy’s other ROY picks, respectively. About the best we can say here is that both pitchers are suffering from some awful BABIP, if nothing else. Ahem.
With the rest of the pitchers, we’re getting into some wee little sample sizes (though if you want the local take on Scherzer, it’s here, and Adenhart, here), so we’ll check back for more from them next time. For now, any pitchers you think should be here?
3 responses so far ↓
1 A // May 2, 2008 at 11:31 am
Is Lannan worth picking up or is he a flash in the pan?
2 Patrick DiCaprio // May 2, 2008 at 11:57 am
It depends on the type of league. He will be a pitcher with an ERA in the 4.3-4.7 range by the end of the year, for a bad team. He gets lots of groundballs and looks like he has improved a bit this year. He won’t have a 2.64ERA but he can be valuable, but not in a mixed league.
3 Phil // May 2, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I know the Cubs don’t use the two Sean’s(Marshall and Gallagher) I was just wondering your thoughts on them as prospects and as possible fantasy starters somewhere down the road
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