Ubaldo Jimenez – How good has Ubaldo Jimenez been in 2010? Well, let’s count the ways. His “worst” start was April 11th against the Padres when he allowed 2 ER in 6 innings of work. He’s yielded 1 HR in 71 innings and has a 0.93 WHIP. And he’s allowed 7 ER for the ENTIRE season while also posting 10 Quality Starts and a 9-1 record. It cannot get any better for Jimenez who toes the rubber Monday afternoon against the Giants in a much anticipated matchup versus two-time Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum. Obviously, Jimenez won’t keep his ERA under 1.00 for the entire season and he certainly isn’t going to continue enjoying a 91% LOB% or 0.13 HR/9. But Jimenez does own a 2.70 FIP and he’s lowered his BB/9 from 3.51 in ’09 to 3.03 this season. All said, Jimenez is the front runner for the 2010 NY Cy Young and, even with regression, looks to finish the season with an ERA under 3.00 and a real chance at 20 victories.
Tim Lincecum – The Giants’ Ace hasn’t been his dominant self during the past two outings as he’s been touched for 11 ER in just 9 2/3 innings while striking out 11 and walking 10 batters. If we learn anything from this bump in the road, it’s that Tim Lincecum is, in fact, human. For the season, Lincecum’s numbers are still ridiculously good – 2.64 FIP (lower than Ubaldo Jimenez, by the way), 10.91 K/9, 0.55 HR/9, 3.00 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. The biggest concern for Lincecum is his elevated BB/9 rate which sits at 3.41 compared to 2.72 in ’09. All major league pitchers go through a rough patch from time to time and the past two starts prove Lincecum is no different. Based off his key indicators, Lincecum is going to right the ship soon, perhaps later today when he faces Jimenez and the Rockies.
Randy Wolf – Wolf labored through 5 innings Sunday against the Mets, including a 36 pitch 1st frame, and allowed 2 ER while striking out 3 and walking 5 batters. While Wolf shut down the Astros’ offense in his last start (7 IP, 0 ER), the lefty hasn’t been the same pitcher in 2010 as he was in ’09. Wolf’s key indicators are trending in the wrong direction. He’s striking out fewer (5.98 K/9 in ’10 compared to 6.72 in ’09), walking significantly more (4.09 BB/9 in ’10 compared to 2.44 in ’09) and allowing a lot more HRs (1.31 HR/9 in ’10 compared to 1.01 in ’09). Batters are swinging at fewer of Wolf’s pitches but making better contact than last season, especially on pitches outside the strike zone. Most alarming, Wolf’s fastball (which he works mostly in the upper half of the strike zone) has dropped from 89 mph in ’09 to 87.7 this season. All told, until Wolf improves his command and fastball velocity, he’s going to struggle to post consistently good numbers for the Brewers and his fantasy owners.
Anibal Sanchez – After the Marlins were on the wrong end of Roy Halladay’s perfect game Saturday, they returned the favor, at least partly, by shutting out the Phillies 1-0 behind Sanchez’s strong start on Sunday. The right hander allowed 0 ER, 3 Hits and struck out 7 in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 5-2 for the season. Sanchez now owns a 2.89 ERA and has yielded just 1 HR in 62 innings. Prior to Sunday’s start, Sanchez had posted a 3.07 FIP, 3.23 BB/9 (compared to 4.81 in ’09) and induced swings-and-misses on 30% of pitches outside the strike zone (compared to just 22% in ’09). He is definitely worth a look in all formats, especially if he continues to keep the BB/9 rate low.
Raul Ibanez – After going 0-for-1 Sunday, Ibanez now owns a .744 OPS with just 3 HRs and 21 RBI in 2010. If you own Ibanez and haven’t started to panic yet, now’s probably a good time to begin. After a fantastic first half in 2009 when he recorded a 1.015 OPS, hit 22 HRs and drove in 60, Ibanez struggled to the tune of a .232 BA and smashed just 12 HRs in the second half last season. Now, he’s started 2010 with a whimper. Ibanez can barely hit left handers as he’s posted a .214 BA and .640 OPS in 42 ABs this season versus southpaws. He’s also posted a .156 ISO compared to a .280 mark in ’09. Aside from improving his K/9 (18% in ’10 compared to 24% in ’09) and BB/9 (14% in ’10 compared to 10% in ’09), there’s not much to like here. Based on these key indicators and the fact Ibanez has now struggled for nearly three-quarters of a season, I don’t expect much of a rebound moving forward in 2010.
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NLFantasyBB
May 30, 10 at 11:04 PM
Just as an FYI on Wolf... Lucroy was behind the plate and he and Wolf were just completely out of sync. Added to that was an ump who was squeezing the strike zone. The broadcasters were adament in saying that Lucroy should be talking to the ump trying to get the corners.
Even with all that, Wolf went 5 without too much damage. The walks were a result of a tough strike zone. Wolf's stuff is not good enough to just groove down the middle. I give him credit for going the 5 and keeping things in check.