The Unheralded Bunch

In the early parts of a season there is no such thing as middle ground… at least in the eyes of the media and most baseball analysts. Players off to scorching starts are publicized all over the place, just like their initial statistical opposites. I’m looking at you, Barry Zito. Though I have no problem with guys like Cliff Lee and Joe Saunders appearing everywhere there are numerous pitchers performing quite well that are overshadowed by these hot and cold starts.

These are not pitchers necessarily under- or over-achieving but rather those whose names do not make headlines, primarily because they are hogged by the likes of Lee and Saunders.

Looking at some statistics this morning I found six pitchers that fit this bill the best. Some (at least one) names might surprise you but here are The Unheralded Bunch:

Javier Vazquez: 4-3, 3.55 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 12 BB, 58 K
Always a personal favorite of mine, it’s good to see Javy kicking some statistical butt. His FIP suggests his ERA should be the second lowest in baseball right now. He has a 72% LOB rate, which is just about the league average; he has not been lucky or unlucky in stranding runners or letting them score. He has the 4th best K/BB, at 4.83, but he has already posted high strikeout to walk ratios. In fact, since 2000, his low came with the Yankees, at 2.50; otherwise, his K/BBs have always been very, very good. Adding fuel to the fire is his .347 BABIP which just about perfectly matches his .345 xBABIP. Vazquez is not doing this with smoke and mirrors and his statistics should become a bit more well-known as the year goes on.

Johan Santana: 5-2, 3.30 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, 60 IP, 15 BB, 57 K
Nobody is saying Santana is bad, underperforming, or overperforming, but the fact of the matter is that he simply has not been in the news all that much this year. After becoming the prized possession this offseason it was safe to say Santana would be scrutinized by the media, forced to live up to the expectations just like all other New York acquisitions. That simply has not been the case. Santana has been good, not tremendous or outstanding, but it says a lot about a pitcher when we have come to expect a 3.30 ERA or less, with K/BB numbers of 57/15. The one chink in his armour is the 11 home runs allowed, which becomes a bit off when we realize he is allowing around seven percent less flyballs from a year ago. He has also left 85.6 percent of his runners on base. A big strikeout pitcher like him could theoretically sustain a high LOB%, but it is not very likely he will set the millennium high at 85.6.

Ryan Dempster: 5-2, 2.70 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, 63.1 IP, 26 BB, 53 K
The starter-turned-closer-turned-starter has exceeded expectations in the early going, going from a sight Cubs fans did not want to see walking towards the mound in the ninth inning to one they welcome in the first inning. Dempster has allowed just 41 hits in 63.1 innings; that, combined with his decreased BB/9, have contributed to the fifth lowest WHIP in the senior circuit. His xBABIP of .286 greatly outdoes his current .228 clip, so it is not likely Dempster will sustain this performance all year long, but he has definitely been a big part of the Cubs early success.

Mark Hendrickson: 6-2, 3.72 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.34 WHIP, 58 IP, 20 BB, 31 K
Yes, I had to double-check this a few times, run tests through SPSS, and even cross-reference with NASA to ensure this was correct, but Hendrickson…is…pitching….well. He is allowing six percent less line drives from a year ago, which are split between his grounders and flyballs. Due to this decrease, his BABIP of .293 matches his xBABIP of .294, which is right near the .300 mark. The one red flag in his corner deals with his K/BB dropping from 3.17 to 1.55.

Chad Billingsley: 4-5, 3.76 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 1.41 FIP, 52.2 IP, 29 BB, 60 K
The swingman finally placed in the rotation has not disappointed the Dodger faithful this year. Tied for fourth in the NL with 60 strikeouts, Billingsley has allowed just 2 home runs. His LOB% of 71.8 is right around the league average and he has maintained his line drive rate from a year ago. Despite this, his grounders have increased while his flyballs have decreased. His K/9 and BB/9 are also way up; he is striking out 10.3 batters per nine innings. If he can keep missing bats and keeping the decreased flyballs in the yard he could be a very effective pitcher all season long.

Joe Blanton: 2-6, 3.87 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, 74.1 IP, 83 H, 16 BB, 34 K
Due to Greg Smith and Dana Eveland making headlines for contributing so early into the Dan Haren trade, Kentucky Joe does not get much love. As his numbers above indicate, he probably deserves some. There is not much to say about Blanton, statistically, other than how his LD/GB/FB, LOB%, and BABIP of current all seemingly match his career averages. He might not be worth Carlos Silva or Gil Meche money to a prospective team, but this As team will be in good shape if Blanton sustains his current performance and still manages to be just the third best pitcher on his team.