DIPS Leaders

One of my favorite pitching stats is DIPS (Defense Independent Pitching Statistic) which judges a pitcher on only those things for which is he directly responsible (strikeouts, walks, homeruns). It assumes that, over time, most pitchers will give up the same number of hits on balls put in play. Here are the leaders so far this year (of those with at least 20 innings pitched), along with their K/9 rate to provide a better picture of their fantasy value.




Notes on a few of these pitchers:
Jair Jurrjens - His K/9 rate isn't overly exciting, but he does seem to be a pretty good pitcher. Plus, he has a bad-ass name. If you're in an NL-only league, he's a must-have. In a mixed league, I think he'll have decent value over the course of the season as the Braves should score plenty of runs.

Randy Wolf - I mentioned Wolf as a sleeper among starting pitchers before the season and I think his peformance will continue to reward his owners. He's a good strikeout pitcher in a great pitchers' park. What more could you ask for?

John Danks - I'm not buying into this. The K/9 rate isn't pretty and he pitches in a homerun park.

Edinson Volquez - I like Volquez and mentioned him as a sleeper before the season. He's a strikeout pitcher and that makes me happy, but I'm sure he'll struggle at times this year with his control. An increase in homeruns wouldn't be shocking, either. Again, I like him a lot, but expect some regression.

Nick Blackburn - The very low K/9 rate makes it difficult to think that Blackburn will continue to succeed at his current rate. He's not a bad pitcher, but I wouldn't be interested in owning him in a 12-team mixed league.

Brian Bannister - One of my favorite players. He's incredibly bright and spends a great deal of time studying "sabermetric" stats. He then uses the stats to help improve his pitching. This guy is an avid Baseball Prospectus reader. How beautiful is that? I believe that Bannister is one of those guys who will be able to succeed despite a low strikeout rate because he truly understands how to pitch. That said, he's never going to win a Cy Young award and his lack of strikeouts puts a cap on his fantasy value. But, if you're looking for a Greg Maddux-type pitcher who should post a low WHIP and a decent ERA, Bannister is a good option.

Ervin Santana - Has he finally gotten his head screwed on straight? In years past, Santana has been one of those guys who pitched 8 innings of 1-run baseball one start and then given up 8 runs in one inning the next start. So far this year, Santana has been much more consistent and posted great numbers. I'm sort of buying into this improvement. He has a history of being a decent strikeout pitcher and that should help. But proceed with caution as Santana may start giving up homers like a crazy man.

Jonathan Sanchez - He gets overlooked with Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum representing the future for the Giants, but Sanchez is no slouch. He has always been a big-time strikeout pitcher, with the only question being his control. With 10 walks in only 20 innings, it appears that control will continue to be a question. But 26 strikeouts in 20 innings is tough to ignore. In summary; Positives: Strikeouts, good ballpark. Negatives: Walks, bad run support. Conclusion: Sanchez has some value in mixed leagues, but only if the back-end of your rotation is lacking.