Top 5 Starting Pitchers at 200+ Picks
By (Contributor) on March 25, 2009
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At Yahoo, five starting pitchers are very underrated. Here are the 5 SP that I am looking at 200+: Chien-Ming Wang, Ubaldo Jimenez, Mike Pelfrey, Chris Carpenter, and Paul Maholm. Some of these pitchers are young and have talent (Jimenez, Pelfrey and Jimenez), while some are rearing to come back from injury (Wang and Carpenter). These players are positioned from the rank in Yahoo.
#199- Chien-Ming Wang
Yes I know, he isn't a pick in the two hundreds. But, at 199 hes close enough. Here we go, a possible 18 game winner. Just two years ago Wang won 19 games. But injury derailed his 2009 campaign, and he went 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA.
But Wang is back fully recovered. The only question is whether he will be able to bring back his control. In Spring Training he hasn't played his best ball, but I wouldn't skip him just for this reason. He is definitely worth a gamble with his upside being so great.
#224- Ubaldo Jimenez
One of the most interesting prospects in baseball is right here, at pick 224. Jimenez has electric stuff, with a fiery fastball but a high walk total. Last year he struck out 172 batters in 198.7 innings. He went 12-12 with a 3.99 ERA in Colorado. Anyone who can do that in Colorado is definitely good. At 25, Jimenez is only getting better, and if he can improve on his 103 BB last year, then we have a great player in the making.
#228- Mike Pelfrey
I love Mike Pelfrey. I might seem a little biased (Mets fan), but I think he can be a monster. He is playing in a bigger ballpark, with a new bullpen anchored by Putz and K-Rod. He won 13 games with a struggling offense, and a 3.72 ERA. Now, mind he did pitch 200 innings, which shows he wasn't a one hit wonder. Pelfrey started the season at 2-6 with an ERA above 4, and ended up 13-11. If he can improve on his start, a monster season may be in the folds.
#236- Chris Carpenter
Ah, the comeback kid. Chris Carpenter has been dominant in spring training, throwing 19 scoreless innings straight. He is showing that he can pitch seven innings, and that he is feeling no discomfort in his arm. It looks like he is back to his old from 2005 when he won 15 games and had an ERA of 3.09. Carpenter is the pitcher anyone would want on his staff. If you can get him at this point in the draft, I would jump for joy.
#263- Paul Maholm
Paul Maholm was 9-9 with an ERA of 3.71. He is another player who is young, and has the chance for improvement. He may pitch on the Pirates, but has potential. But potential is never guaranteed. Maholm is a solid player, but plays for a terrible team. His WHIP, ERA, went down from 2007-2008, while his innings pitched went from 177-206. He is a solid player who is available late in the draft.
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