Second Opinion Player-Profile Game, Question #3

Play the player-profile game every day this week at 11:30am ET. Each day, we’re giving away a free copy of the 2011 Second Opinion to the first reader who guesses correctly the identity of that day’s mystery player. (Limit one copy per customer).

As announced recently, FanGraphs will once again be offering to the public its fantasy companion guide, The Second Opinion.

In the meantime, we’re playing the player-profile game that I intoduced in these pages last offseason.

The game is easy: one person (me, in this case) offers the text of single player profile, being careful to omit any proper names that might reveal the identity of the player in question. The other person (you, the reader) attempts to identify the player using only the details provided in the profile.

First reader to guess correctly (in the comments section below) gets a free copy of this year’s Second Opinion — approximately a $1000 value!

Today’s entry comes to us courtesy of Malcolm Gladwell Look-Alike and Fantasy Expert Eno Sarris.

The numbers are clues, but you probably don’t have time to look them up.

Who is it?

Looking back through [BLANK’S] minor-league history, it’s hard to find a harbinger for last year’s double-digit strikeout rate. He only once struck out as many as one batter per inning on the farm. But [BLANK] was a starter for most of that time, and his move to the pen played up his velocity (his fastball averaged 98.8 MPH) and simplified his repertoire down to that booming fastball and a useful slider. An above-average swinging-strike rate (13.3%) seems to suggest that he can continue to strike Major League batters out, but for fantasy uses, the real question is his proximity to the closer’s role. With [TEAMMATE #1], [TEAMMATE #2] and [TEAMMATE #3] in the pen around him, though, [BLANK] has too many veterans to pass to be considered a real sleeper for saves in 2011. [BLANK’S COACH] likes his veterans, as mediocre as some of his other options might be. [BLANK] is best used for strikeouts and holds out of the pen.