MLB Starting Pitcher Rankings
Just how good is the National’s rotation?
There was a handful of big time changes in my top 50 due to injuries, hot streaks and some dominating performances. This list is put together as I perceive each of these pitcher’s value heading into the rest of the season. In parenthesis next to each name I will give you the player’s ranking from my last article.
May 19th Starting Pitcher Ranks
1. Justin Verlander DET (2)
2. Jered Weaver LAA (1)
3. Clayton Kershaw LAD (3)
4. Cole Hamels PHI (5)
5. Cliff Lee PHI (11)
6. Roy Halladay PHI (4)
Cliff Lee (up 6 spots) makes the jump into my top 5 this week. Since coming off the DL he has pitched 14 innings (3ER) and has 16 strikeouts. Roy Halladay fell out of my top 5 not only to make room for Lee but because his K/9 rate is its lowest since 2007 and he’s throwing the second most pitches per inning over his past 5 seasons. Keep in mind he’s 35 years old and has logged in at least 220 innings pitched over the past 6 years.
White Sox Pitcher Philip Humber Throws Perfect Game!
Phil Humber threw the first perfect game in the majors in almost two years, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.
It was baseball’s 21st perfect game and first since Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay threw one against the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2010. It was the third in White Sox’s history, joining Mark Buehrle against Tampa Bay on July 23, 2009, and Charles Robertson against Detroit on April 30, 1922.
With the White Sox lined up on the top step of the dugout, Humber fell behind 3-0 to Michael Saunders leading off the ninth. But he rebounded to strike him out. John Jaso then flied out before Brendan Ryan, another pinch-hitter, struck out to end the game.
Boston Red Sox: The Drama Continues
You know it must be the start of the MLB season when the Orioles are in first place (yet we know they wont be there for long) but they sit there for right now while the Yanks and Sox struggle to fight their way back to the top. So far this season the Sox are off to another slow start they find themselves in last place in the division with a 4-6 record and the bullpen is still shaky having blown a couple of games in the first week, but over the weekend the bats seemed to wake up against the Rays as they scored a combined 25 runs on Friday and Saturday. Heres what have seen from the Red Sox so far:
Coming off one of the worst collapse in MLB history that included a 7-20 record and missing of the playoffs, all the way to the off-season drama of chicken and beer, you would think things would be different but then again maybe not. This season there’s a new manager, new closer, new GM, new shortstop and was new hope for the upcoming season but its still the same ole tune. This season started off on a bit of a sour note with Crawford being injured and then new closer Andrew Bailey hurting his thumb and needing surgery and on top of that Josh Beckett also had a injury to his thumb.
MLB 2012 Division Winners
Ah, hear that? Birds are chirping. Sun is shinning. The bitter chill that comes from winter air has disappeared (for the most part) and warmer weather is on the way. Tonight is the beginning of 6-months straight of baseball with the Miami Marlins opening their new digs against reigning World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals.
The offseason between the 2011 and 2012 season was one that was certainly filled with drama, but was also one of the most exciting a baseball fan has seen in recent years. Albert Pujols, who we many never see a player similar to him again, bolted the World Champs to sunny California and the LA Angels of Anaheim. Prince Fielder decided to follow in his dad’s footsteps and play for the Detroit Tigers. Terry Francona lost is his after yet another 90+ win season, and the Red Sox replaced him with the man who “apparently invented the wrap” in Bobby Valentine.
With spring training comes a long and painful six-weeks that is essentially for pitchers. Hitters are ready to rock in about half that given time and cannot wait for the calendar to turn to April. That being said, this is what @AndrewOtovic sees the 2012 MLB season will bring. (It should be noted that what looks good today, April 4, could look disastrous by the All-Star Break).
AL East: New York Yankees
Whole Votto Money
A fourth Mega Millions winner has stepped forward, this one from the state of Ohio. Coincidentally, he plays for the Cincinnati Reds. Joey Votto, first baseman for the Reds just agreed to a 10-year, $225 million extension which will keep him in a Red uniform through the 2023 season. The extension will go into effect for the 2014 season and will see one of the stars of the Reds making on average $22.5 million per year. The contract isn’t too far off of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder money, so not it’s time for Votto to put his money where his bat is and live up to this huge contract. If everything goes according to plan, Cincinnati and Votto will have a very good future ahead of them for many seasons.
Beckett Headed to Texas
In the latest news from the 2012 Red Sox pitching rotation, Josh Beckett is headed to Texas. The pitcher has an alleged thumb injury that needs to be evaluated, and he will have it done in San Antonio. Apparently this came up about 10 days ago, but there were no negative effects on his pitching, so nobody was worried. This is just a matter of putting Beckett at peace with the situation.
Although Beckett is fully expected to make his first start of the season on Aprtil 7th, the club has told Alfredo Aceves to prepare just in case he will be starting that game. Additionally, the Sox are having him prepare for the Red Sox home opener on April 13th. This is just a precautionary measure in an effort to cover all of their bases. Expect Josh to be taking the mound on Saturday.
Is this something that the Red Sox need to be worried about moving forward? Have your say in the comments section below!
BREAKING: Magic Johnson Buys Dodgers
Moments ago, CBSSports.com confirmed that the bid to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers that included NBA Hall of Famer and Lakers legend Magic Johnson has been accepted and a deal has been agreed upon. Reports are surfacing that the deal is for $2 billion. The Guggenheim Baseball Management group will now look to help re-right the shaky ship that has been the Dodgers over the course of this messy sale thanks to Frank McCourt and his divorce.
“I am thrilled to be part of the historic Dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by Frank McCourt as we drive the Dodgers back to the front page of the sports section in our wonderful community of Los Angeles,” said the former Lakers star. Magic will provide a fresh face to a franchise clearly in need of a facelift. There is already plenty of talent on the field, but the off-field incidents were causing lots of distractions for the players. Now their 2012 MLB campaign can begin fresh.
Sox Get Their Man
Red Sox Nation can rest easy today knowing that an important bit of business has been finalized prior to Opening Day 2012. Jenny Dell, better known as Heidi Watney 2.0 to Red Sox fans, tweeted minutes ago that the Red Sox have optioned potential starting shortstop Jose Iglesias to Triple-A Pawtucket. Given that the Red Sox are a little short on shortstops, this move can only mean one thing, Mike Aviles will be manning the middle infield alongside Dustin Pedroia. Aviles got a good amount of action last season, so he should be good to go once the season starts. Look for Iglesias, who was rumored to potentially be the starting shortstop this season, to get called up here and there to get some action. Also, you can pretty much guarantee that he’ll be a September call-up.
Fantasy Alert – Young Pitchers Beware
It’s that time of the year again! Baseball is back, and a fresh fantasy baseball campaign is about to get underway. For many, your teams have already drafted, while others are squeezing in their drafts last minute before the Mariners and Athletics open up the 2012 Major League Baseball season in Japan early Wednesday morning. For those of you who have already drafted, this little tidbit of information I’m about to share with you could have you rethinking your pitching staff. For those of you still looking to draft, buyer beware.
The March 26th issue of Sports Illustrated just hit newsstands, and I couldn’t help but share a fascinating statistic with all of you. SI’s Tom Verducci has been tracking a statistic he created over a decade ago that he calls the Year-After Effect. He created it when he started noticing young, promising pitchers that were getting injured the season after they saw an increase in their workload. There are two factors that go into the equation. The pitcher must be no older than 25 years old and pitch more than 30 innings than what they did the previous year. For instance, if Felix Hernandez (currently 25 years old) pitched at least 30 more innings in 2011 than he did in 2010, then he would be at risk for injury or ineffectiveness in 2012. Luckily for Mariners fans, he does not fit all of the criteria.
However, over the last six MLB seasons there were 55 pitchers that met the criteria for the Year-After Effect. Of those 55 pitchers, 46 of them were either injured or had a higher ERA the following season. That is an 84% rate! With a formula that is so effective, we can’t help but look at some of the pitchers that fit the criteria heading into this season. The following players were highlighted in Sports Illustrated as pitchers that should be watched this season because of the huge impact they had on their teams last season. The pitchers are listed in descending order from their spike in innings from ’10 to ’11.
1. Derek Holland (Rangers) – 25 years old, 3.95 ERA, +71 1/3 innings
Boston Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves, starter or reliever ?
FORT MYERS, FL. – After Alfredo Aceves finished his worst outing of Spring Training in the Red Sox’s 10-5 loss to the Phillies, he made a strong point when it comes to evaluating whether he should make the starting rotation. Aceves gave up 9 runs, 10 hits, 3 home runs in only 3 innings of work, something the Red Sox fans are not accustomed to see from him since he became a Red Sox before the 2011 season. Now to the real question can Aceves be a starter this year or a reliever. Well if you only judge him by his 2012 spring training performance you will probably say he’s earned the right to be giving a chance to be starter, yes he gave up 9 runs in his last outing but in his first three he was great and we know every starter will have a game like that one.
But when it comes down to see if Aceves is a true starter or a reliever we have to let the numbers decide that. In his career Aceves record it’s out of this world 24 wins and only 3 losses with a 2.93 ERA, so let’s see his stats when we split them to see his numbers as a starter and as a reliever. As a starter he only have 9 starts in his career with a 2-1 record and a 4.18 ERA in 47.1 innings with 24 strikeouts, opposing hitters have a .248 batting average against him. Now as a reliever he have pitch in a 105 games with a 22-2 record and a 2.62 ERA in 192.2 innings with 143 strikeouts, opposing hitters have a .205 batting average against him.
Well there you have it Red Sox nation Alfredo Aceves in the last few years have been one of the best relievers in the game, so that’s why for me he is a reliever.
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