And finally we reach the last of the pitching skills trifecta- walk rate. One of the big reasons why I pay least attention to this stat, especially for minor leaguers, is because anecdotedly it’s the easiest skill to improve upon. It’s very difficult for a pitcher to dramatically increase his strikeout rate, because a pitcher is either blessed with the “stuff” or “pitchability” to strike hitters out, or they aren’t. Also, unless a pitcher learns a new pitch or completely changes his approach, it’s also very tough for a pitcher to increase his groundball rate. Without having looked at the top 15 lists yet, I’m willing to bet that the BB% leaders will lead to the most boring names yet. But let’s try anyway to see if we could uncover a hidden gem. Off with the Triple-A leaders…

 
Is that the same Yusmeiro Petit who was a top Mets prospect ages ago, was then traded to the Marlins in the Delgado deal, and now resides in the D-Backs farm system? Surprise, surprise. Those K% and BB%’s are mighty impressive, and looks just as exciting when you see that it equates to a 67/8 K/BB ratio in 60 innings. But the GB% is what has always been the problem with Petit. He has posted a GB% above 40% just once in his career, that coming at Triple-A in 2006. The K% this year represents a big jump from what he had done in previous seasons, so whether that’s the result of genuine improvement, or simply because this was his 4th, yes 4th, stint at Triple-A, I don’t know. I’m real curious to see him get an extended look at the MLB level though, but I can’t say I’m too optimistic as he’s always going to be bitten by the home run ball and until this year, he has never struck out enough hitters to limit the base runners when all those homers are hit.

Dodgers minor leaguer Dwayne Pollok also appeared on yesterday’s GB% leaders, but I didn’t comment on him there. He looks very Aaron Cook-like, which is the same way I described Eddie Bonine who also made the above list. All 3 have low strikeout rates, but excellent control and groundball rates near 60%. This is the type of pitcher that could pleasantly surprise an MLB club, although one whose value is probably higher in real baseball than fantasy, unfortunately. Throw Brian Duensing into this category as well.

Nice to see Mitch Talbot’s name on this list as well. I don’t see him mentioned much when hearing about the Rays’ top pitching prospects, but maybe he should be getting more fanfare.