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Gaudin Putting Up Gaudy Numbers? |
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Who is Chad Gaudin? He began the season with the Cubs but was subsequently released. Prior to that, he spent three years in Oakland, a year in the Blue Jays minor league system and before that two years as a reliever for Tampa Bay.
All that and he's only 25. Now pitching for the Padres, San Diego represents a place of solace and redemption for all pitchers. Gaudin has been on a roll lately, striking out 19 Mariners over two starts and then eight Rangers on Sunday night. CBS reports that Gaudin became the first pitcher ever, since the Ballpark at Arlington opened in 1994, to go eight or more innings and allow only one hit. Furthermore, this Texas lineup is one of the best it's seen.
Chad's K/9 ratio ranks 6th amongst starting pitchers at 9.42. He's behind the likes of Verlander, Lincecum, Vazquez, Lester and Harden. That's good company. Gaudin's inning totals are right up there with most starting pitchers (70IP), despite making only one April start.
Sabermetrics suggest Gaudin has been getting a bit lucky, evidenced by his 3.91 ERC and 3.82 DIPS. Those are both nearly a full run lower than his current 4.97 ERA. A .289 BABIP is just about average.
While home/road splits are not yet defined as obvious for Chad, pitching in Petco Park has to be seen as a great thing.
There is absolutely no reason why he should be on a waiver wire in your league right now.
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The Land of the Rising and Falling
The Rising: Fernando Nieve – With injuries to Oliver Perez and John Maine, the Mets were forced to look for alternatives within their farm system. The 27-year-old Nieve has stepped up and been a savior for a battered Mets team. Fernando has made three starts and currently holds a 1.31 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. In twenty innings he’s struck out 13 batters, which isn’t terrible. Jerry Manuel has indicated that Nieve will remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Proof that he’s been pretty good is in the teams he’s faced: The Yankees, The Rays and The Cardinals. He has provided the Mets with a quality start in each of the three starts, has gone at least six innings and has given up fewer than three runs in each. He’s still available in many leagues but is worth taking a flier on when you consider the ballpark he’ll be pitching in and the potential offense behind him once healthy.
The Falling: Kelly Johnson – The Braves’ second baseman was drafted in all leagues likely as a middle infielder and in some, a starting second baseman. Currently batting .215, Kelly has been dropped in many leagues. Among regulars, Johnson has the fewest base hits in the month of June. He’s nine for 69 and sporting a .130 AVG. He’s yet to homer and has only three extra base hits this month, all being doubles. With such a low AVG and lack of walks, comes few opportunities to score runs or drive them in. Johnson has rendered himself useless and is landing on many waiver wires across the nation.
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200 Strikeout Candidates
Revisiting Predictions
It's been 10 weeks already so most of the leaders should be considered legit. In March, I identified 25 legitimate candidates that could strikeout 200 batters in 2009.
It's now time to see how they are doing. It's also time to welcome a few newbies into the running for 200 strikeouts.
Only six struck out 200 in 2006. Eight did it in 2007 and ten managed the feat last year.
Javier Vazquez, Justin Verlander and Tim Lincecum are more than halfway there.
Can Jon Lester make the jump from 152 to 200?
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Weekly Roundtable
Verlander, Lester or Greinke?
This week's roundtable was hosted by yours truly.
Three pitchers who have exceeded expectations so far are Jon Lester, Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander. Owners of these pitchers have been relying on them as weekly starters who play an intricate role for their fantasy teams. All three are on pace to strike out over 240 batters. If you had to choose one of these pitchers to continue this trend, who would it be? Why?
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