Van-Living Daniel Norris and Two Other Fantasy Baseball Rookies to Watch in 2015

Three Fantasy Baseball Rookies to Watch in 2015: Pitchers

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Qualifications for the Modern Day Hall of Fame Pitcher

What does it take to become a Hall of Fame pitcher? Does he need a certain amount of wins? Does he need a Cy Young Award on his resume? Is a memorable postseason required?

For the longest time, it seemed there were milestone numbers a player could reach for an automatic trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Offensive players had 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, or living up to the adage “three out of ten make a Hall of Famer” with a .300 career batting average. These are no longer automatic trips to Cooperstown thanks to PED suspicion and general offensive explosions.

Meanwhile pitchers trying to get into the Hall of Fame have a different disadvantage. They no longer pitch as many games or innings as they used to so it’s important to always consider the era when comparing statistics. Cy Young, the all-time leader in wins, had 511 in his career. A modern-day pitcher can easily get into Cooperstown with less than half of that. For instance, Pedro Martinez goes into Cooperstown this summer with 219 wins in his career.

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Asking a pitcher to win 300 games in a career is a very high demand. In spite of the fewer starts we see on a regular basis, we’re pretty lucky to have four pitchers who played throughout the 1990s get to the milestone. Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, and Randy Johnson all won over 300 games.

Johnson was the most recent to reach 300, doing so in 2009. This may be the last time for a while too as nobody is very close at all. The 300-win mark is a good automatic judge for a Hall of Famer, but at the same level as 600 home runs. The only pitcher with 300 or more wins not in the Hall of Fame is Clemens and it has everything to do with PEDs—not baseball skill.

Wins are not everything when it comes to determining a pitcher’s value for Hall of Fame candidacy. As mentioned before, Martinez was elected in 2015 with only 219 of them. His career 2.93 ERA, 3,154 strikeouts, and three Cy Young Awards all helped him become an easy choice. A more realistic number for the modern-day Hall of Fame pitcher to try achieving might be 250 wins.

This total is still far from a guarantee. Players like Tommy John, Jim Kaat, and Mike Mussina all surpassed 250 wins and are without a Hall of Fame plaque. Andy Pettitte also celebrated his 250th career win at one point. Other statistics, like his 3.85 ERA, take away from this accomplishment.

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In terms of strikeouts, reaching 3,000 seems to be milestone most want to reach. Again, though, this is not a guarantee at the Hall of Fame. Curt Schilling finished his career with over 3,000 and hasn’t come very close to Hall of Fame enshrinement. He doesn’t have the cloud of PEDs hanging over his head either. Similar to Pettitte, other numbers Schilling had are holding him back.

Unfortunately, for the Hall of Fame, using a pitcher’s ERA is not a good representation. While a very good number, it doesn’t tell the whole story of a pitcher.

The best example I could find of a modern day Hall of Fame pitcher might be Tim Hudson. Even with him, I’m not sure he belongs in Cooperstown even though he’s one of the best pitchers of this era. More than 200 wins, an ERA below 3.50, and a winning percentage of .633 make him worthy of all of the accolades anyone can earn.

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The modern day Hall of Fame pitcher may not look as elite as he used to with few exceptions. Someone like Hudson, consistent for nearly two decades, is what it takes now for a pitcher to earn his spot in the Hall of Fame.

Some of the Best Free Agent Pitchers for the 2016 Season

MLB: Intriguing Possible 2016 Free Agent Pitchers

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Ubaldo Jimenez Might be the Greatest Pitcher in Colorado Rockies’ History

I’ve been obsessing lately over the Colorado Rockies. Writing several pieces for Call to the Pen about them, my interest seems to be a simple one: the team’s pitching.

It’s amazing how environmental factors can change the physics of a sport. To someone who knows nothing about baseball, they might be surprised to learn how much the thickness of air affects the game.

I did some brief research into the history of the Rockies’ pitching statistics to find out who the best was. The answer appears to be Ubaldo Jimenez.

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Jimenez’s 18.6 WAR as a pitcher is the top of any. His 7.5 in 2010 was also the highest in team history. He’s the leader or near it in several other categories. Again, this has a lot to o with how great he pitched in 2010.

That remarkable season, Jimenez went 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA. He also had 214 strikeouts.

Impressively, Jimenez’s numbers at Coors Field were very good as well, which they’d almost have to be. At home he was 9-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 2010. On the road he was 10-6 with a 2.63 ERA including 2 shutouts.

In the history of the Rockies, nobody has more than 3 shutouts. This happens to be a record Jimenez shares with Jason Jennings.

Pitchers don’t last long with the Rockies. A lot of it is probably their ego. Several decent pitchers have spent a few years before eventually leaving. It has to be tough on management to really know a pitcher’s value too when they have to handicap an ERA.

Nothing against Jimenez, but as a franchise’s best pitcher it’s a bit sad. In second place would probably be Aaron Cook which is equally as upsetting. Both quality pitchers who have had their good seasons, just about every team in baseball has a nice handful of pitchers better than the Rockies’ number one.

A Review of the 2015 Boston Red Sox Starting Rotation

“Pitching wins championships.” – someone who wasn’t alive during the Steroid Era

However true it is that you win in baseball with good pitching, the way the Boston Red Sox are altering their roster makes me think they have never heard of this logic. They came into this winter with a capable offense then added help with Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez to make it even better. The rest of their moves have been a half-assed attempt to rebuild a laughable starting rotation.

As of today, the starting rotation is looking like this:

#1: Clay Buchholz

#2: Rick Porcello

#3: Wade Miley

#4: Justin Masterson

#5: Joe Kelly

Certainly not the worst rotation ever assembled, the lack of a true ace is concerning.

By Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Clay Buchholz”) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Buchholz, Miley, Masterson, and Kelly all had bad seasons in 2014. Porcello was the exception of the bunch, actually having a career year. At the same time I do not believe Porcello is a number one starter. He struggles to strike batters out which may be his downfall pitching in Boston and against teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays who hit lots of home runs–not that he hasn’t faced those teams before. He will just be facing them a lot more frequently.

Overall this is a very average at best rotation. With a legitimate number one starter though, suddenly things would look a lot better. Everyone moves down one spot into a more appropriate place. Assuming Kelly is one of the pitchers traded to pick up a better arm, everything is perfectly set.

The Red Sox are taking a big risk with this rotation. While I do believe Miley will have a better season in 2015 than he did in 2014, I think Masterson is done. He has had only 2 good seasons in his career. Masterson’s control issues could get himself in some big trouble real fast too and pitching in Boston has a lot more pressure to it than in Cleveland.

The Red Sox may have been better off leaving a spot in the rotation for Brandon Workman or Anthony Ranaudo to prove themselves then make a trade in July when things don’t work.

Possibly not done yet–and hopefully for their sake, this team cannot honestly believe they did everything they could to address the most basic need this offseason.

Pitching is oxygen and right now the Red Sox are barely breathing.

The All-Time Tim Team: Part 2 – The Pitching Staff

The offense for the All-Time Tim Team turned out a lot weaker than we would have liked. The bottom of our lineup has guys who would be better suited as utility men on a contending team.

Thankfully for the Tims, our pitching staff is a bit better. From really old players who would need to be reanimated to a pair of pitchers that won the World Series recently, this is the All-Time Tim Team’s pitching staff comprised of only five starters, a middle relief pitcher, a setup man, and a closer because we’re so damn good that’s all we need.

Starting Rotation

Tim Keefe

Coming off a very impressive 1883 season, Tim Keefe headlines the starting rotation for the All-Time Tim Team. That 1883 season was the best WAR any player has ever had so we are looking pretty good at least every fifth day. Keefe won 342 games in his career with a 2.63 ERA. His biggest struggle will be playing against players who actually train for strength as opposed to the ones he’s used to from the 1800s whose idea of weightlifting was building their own house from scratch.

Tim Hudson

Second in the rotation is Tim Hudson. A very quality number two starter in any rotation, Hudson is the ultimate winner. His 214 career wins is only more magnificent thanks to his .633 winning percentage. He’s not a strikeout pitcher however the Tims do have a decent defense to help him out whenever the opponent puts the ball in play.

By Rich Anderson (Tim Hudson warming up) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Tim Lincecum

A teammate of Hudson’s on the 2014 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants will be joining him on the Tims. Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winning starting pitcher turned middle relief pitcher, is back in as a starter thanks to the faith Tims have for each other. Certainly if we have the technology to raise Tim Keefe from the dead we can do the same for Lincecum’s arm.

Tim Wakefield

Imagine how confused batters will be when one day they face Lincecum’s crazy deliver and fastball then the next they have to deal with Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball. This is exactly the strategy we will have in our starting rotation. Wakefield won 200 games in his career, mostly with the Boston Red Sox. With the Tims he will be counted on most to provide some veteran leadership and give us a good gimmick in the rotation.

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Tim Belcher

Finally rounding out the five man rotation is Tim Belcher. A career 146-140 pitcher, Belcher still did have a respectable 4.16 ERA. The Tims are hopeful we can get the 1989 version of him that went 15-12 and had 8 shutouts. As a fifth starter, we will settle for a bit less.

Middle Relief

Tim Worrell

When the starters need to come out it will be Tim Worrell coming into the game to relieve them first. Worrell will also be capable of saving a few games if necessary, something he did 38 times successfully for the Giants in 2003. His 678 games, mostly out of the bullpen, and his experience playing for multiple teams will make him a very valuable commodity for the Tims.

Setup Man

Tim Spooneybarger

The Tims’ 8th inning man will be Tim Spooneybarger. The fans’ choice for funniest last name on the team, Spooneybarger had a very short yet successful big league career with the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. In 88 career games he had a 3.24 ERA. The Tims would be honored to have someone with such a fun name on their pitching staff to entertain the only other two relief pitchers during the early innings.

Closer

Tim Burke

Picking up the majority of the saves for the Tims will be Tim Burke. His career 102 saves makes him the obvious choice as no other team currently has more saves. Burke comes to the Tims with a 2.72 ERA. His best year was my birth year, 1987, where he was 7-0 with 1.19 ERA. We don’t need him to be that good though, but close to it would help out a lot in those close games.

Five Pitchers without a No-Hitter with Potential to Throw One in 2015

Predicting when or even if a pitcher will toss a no-hitter is like accurately guessing the day you will die. The only difference is estimating a no-hitter is a lot more fun and you will actually be around to brag about it when you’re right.

Taking into account what they have done in their careers so far and in 2014, these are five pitchers who have yet to throw a no-hitter who I think could do it in 2015.

Matt Harvey

An obvious choice for everyone to throw a no-hitter sometime in the future is Matt Harvey. New York Mets fans are so excited to have him that if it were up to them he would already be in Cooperstown with his number retired and Flushing renamed to “Harvey.”

So far we have only had a very small sample of what Harvey can do. A 10-start season in 2012 and 26 more in 2013 is all we have witnessed due to the current injury he is still recovering from. Harvey certainly has the stuff to throw a no-hitter on any given day against any team. He also happens to be in the same division as some teams with inconsistent offenses so the odds are even more in favor of a Harvey-No-No.

By slgckgc on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Corey Kluber

The Cleveland Indians have a new ace and his name is Corey Kluber. Beginning with his performance in 2013, Kluber continues to prove that he deserves to be mentioned among the best pitchers in baseball even if we can’t distinguish the difference between him and anyone else in an Indians’ uniform. Following the way he pitched in 2014, many more people believe.

What makes me see Kluber as someone capable of throwing a no-hitter is how inexperienced other batters are with him. Other big name pitchers have been around long enough where tape exists on how to beat them. However Kluber remains a bit of a mystery and for now he can use this to his advantage.

Chris Sale

The way I see it, Chris Sale is his generation’s Randy Johnson. He has a similar build, throws with the same arm, and strikes fear in opposing batters. Sale’s strikeouts per 9 continues to rise each season since becoming a starter meaning a no-hitter is far more likely. It doesn’t matter how many times a batter sees him. Sale is unstoppable.

There’s not much else to say in favor of Sale. All anyone needs to do is watch him pitch an inning and they will wonder how anyone ever gets a hit off of him.

By Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Chris Sale”) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Masahiro Tanaka

Because the newest star in the New York Yankees’ starting rotation went down with a near season-ending injury in 2014 we will have to wait until 2015 to see him throw a no-hitter. It’s very likely too as even in his limited time pitching in North America he has for the most part kept opposing teams looking like they belonged on a little league field.

Tanaka’s biggest roadblock on his way to throwing a no-hitter will be the amount of home runs he allows. In his first 18 starts in 2014, he allowed 15 home runs which is far too many for a top pitcher. With that said, his best chance at a no-hitter might be on the road in a less home run friendly ballpark than Yankee Stadium. Wherever he does it, Tanaka has the skills to join Hideo Nomo as the only Japanese pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter.

Julio Teheran

Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz have one thing common many people fail to notice: they never threw a no-hitter. In fact, the last two no-hitters in Atlanta Braves’ history came when Kent Mercker started the game; the most recent in 1994. I see the next one in team history getting thrown by their Colombian star Julio Teheran.

Teheran is still very young at only 23-years-old and has plenty of time to throw a no-hitter before age catches up to him. He is already great at restricting hits and is far from a walk machine. A perfect game is just as possible for Teheran as a no-hitter is. Right now Teheran just has to hope if he does have a no-hitter going it’s not against Matt Harvey where he happens to be doing the same thing on the same night.

Overlooked Heroes from the 2001 Seattle Mariners

The 2001 Seattle Mariners are regarded as one of the best baseball teams of all-time. They won 116 games, which is tied with the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most of any team. Since the team never managed to win the World Series many people forget about them. For what should have been an incredibly memorable team, most of the stars and key players are overlooked.

Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson: None Played for the 2001 Seattle Mariners

When most people think of the Mariners they think of these three players: Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson. Two of the greatest home run hitters of all-time and one of the most dominant pitchers, most of us assume they were a big part of the 2001 Seattle Mariners. However, by this point all had moved on to other teams.

Griffey Jr. left after the 1999 season to play for his hometown Cincinnati Reds. The next year Rodriguez joined the Texas Rangers. As for Johnson, he had not been with the Mariners since 1998 when he was traded to the Houston Astros. Johnson had his own success in 2001 though, winning the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Team Batting Leaders

The 2001 season was the first one that Japanese phenom Ichiro Suzuki came to America to play professional baseball. Suzuki, or Ichiro as he is simply known as, led the team in hits with 242. This was only 15 short of the all-time record then held by George Sisler. Ichiro later broke the record in 2004 when he somehow got even better.

Ichiro got things started at the top of the lineup, but it was second baseman Bret Boone who provided the team with power. Boone hit 37 home runs with 141 RBIs in 2001, both career highs.

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Team Pitching Leaders

The Mariners’ pitching also performed well in 2001 as is the case for the majority of teams with 100+ win seasons. Their lone 20-game winner was 38-year-old Jamie Moyer. Freddy Garcia, Aaron Sele, and Paul Abbott all won 15 games or more as well. As good as their win totals were none of the starting pitchers could be considered dominant. Garcia had the most strikeouts with 163. No one else from the starting rotation had more than 119.

The bullpen was also very successful. Closer Kazuhiro Sasaki saved 45 games for the team. However, it was left-handed specialist Arthur Rhodes who had the most impressive season of all. Rhodes had an 8-0 record in 2001 with a 1.73 ERA.

They may not have a World Series victory to their name. Still, the back of these players’ baseball cards have some pretty thick numbers as does the team’s almanac from the season that should have been the first championship in Seattle Mariners history.

Three Surprisingly Great Fantasy Baseball Pitchers From 2014

Pitching wins championships and that is never more evident than in fantasy baseball. Depending on how your league scoring system works the value of pitching changes. Most leagues though, pitching is either as valuable or more than offense. The tricky part about pitching is that injuries are frequent and can be lengthy. Thankfully there are always surprise pitchers you can pick up in free agency who emerge and can help you throughout the season. Here are three from the 2014 season who may have helped you and can again in 2015.

Phil Hughes

The Minnesota Twins will not win many games in 2014, but that should not stop you from adding pitcher Phil Hughes to your rotation.

Hughes has a proven track record of winning, granted a lot of the credit should be given to playing for the New York Yankees. He may have never finished a season with an ERA below 4.00, yet at 27-years-old he has room to change for the better and this could be the year. Pitching half of his games at Target Field, a ballpark that has proven so far to favor pitchers, Hughes will continue to limit runs from his opponents. His strikeout to walks ratio has been superb so far and he could be on his way to having a career year.

Drew Hutchison

The 23-year-old Drew Hutchison shined in spring training and earned a spot in the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting rotation. Hutchison had already debuted back in 2012 when he started 11 games so this is technically not his rookie season, just his breakthrough one.

So far Hutchison’s biggest flaw has been his ability to win games, something that can be blamed on the often inconsistent offense his team provides. In his first 9 starts in 2014 Hutchison has averaged more than a strikeout per inning, which is always something you should look for when adding pitchers to your fantasy baseball team. While he needs to find some better control, you can expect him to continue with an impressive season now that the Blue Jays are beginning to provide him with good run support and he has his first shutout to his career totals.

Tanner Roark

After pitching out of the bullpen and earning a few starts in 2013, Tanner Roark has shifted to starting full-time in 2014. Making up for lackluster performances by some of the team’s aces, Roark has been racking up lots of fantasy points this year.

An added benefit of Roark is not feeling the pressure on a team with Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan Zimmermann in the same rotation. Roark may have become the best fifth starter in baseball. Playing in the same division with the offensively weak Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Miami Marlins is an added benefit to including Roark in your fantasy baseball plans. He will win games and do it with lots of quality starts.

By Keith Allison [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Three (Likely) Free Agent Pitchers You Should Pick Up for Your Fantasy Baseball Team’s Playoff Run

The fantasy baseball playoffs are here! I’m fortunate to have a bye week which means my life will feel empty until next Monday.

They may have already been snatched up in your league, but if they’re not, here are three pitchers I see performing very well down the stretch.

Carlos Carrasco

The beginning of Carlos Carrasco’s season was spent pitching out of the bullpen for the Cleveland Indians. In mid-August, he was given the chance to become a full-time starter. He has been absolutely brilliant since joining the rotation and made Terry Francona update his resume with the decision.

Carrasco’s worst game came against the strong offense of the Detroit Tigers however to make up for the 10 hits he allowed, Carrasco struck out 10. Most important of all he only allowed one earned run in that start.

The Indians still have an outside shot at one of the Wild Cards. Their opponents will probably rest the starters a bit and give rookies a chance in September so Carrasco should have no problem continuing his success.

Jarred Cosart

The 2014 campaign for Jarred Cosart started as you would expect for a young pitcher on the Houston Astros–pretty badly. Then he got a bit of a miracle call, at least from a weather standpoint. Cosart was traded to the Miami Marlins.

Since joining the Marlins, Cosart has been superb with a 4-1 record. His strikeouts are still far lower than they were last year per game, but this is a needed sacrifice if it means he’ll be walking fewer batters. And he has been giving up fewer walks leading to a much more successful season.

Cosart pitched very well late last season and now that he’s comfortable in a Marlins’ uniform I expect the same in 2014.

James Paxton

Will the Seattle Mariners ever run out of elite young pitchers? James Paxton is yet another one to join the rotation. He would have done it sooner if not for injuries holding him back for the majority of the season.

The only negative about Paxton are the hollow numbers he puts up. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher and he usually pitches only 5-6 innings a night. He wins games though and has been very effective at keeping runners off the bases and off the scoreboard.

Consistency is what Paxton will bring your team. He may never give you those big weeks, but he will give you a slightly above average one nearly every time he takes the mound.