Trip Aces in Queens: Mets' Roto Is Money

With another gem last night against the St. Louis Cardinals, Mike Pelfrey further solidified his spot as the top right-hander in the Mets’ rotation.

Big Pelf started the first two months of this season by going 2-7 with a 5.33 ERA. After a 7-3 loss to the Marlins at Shea on May 26th, something clicked with Pelfrey. In 11 starts since then, Big Pelf is 7-0 and rockin the 2.57 ERA with 11.19 K/9…that’s dirty, folks. His ERA is now down to 3.67 — 1.66 runs lower than it was at the end of May. BrooklynMetFan sells the only official BIG PELF t-shirts — and he didn’t just hop on the Big Pelf-wagon recently — these bad-ass BIG PELF shirts were available during spring training!

As remarkable as Pelfrey’s transformation has been throughout the last two months, Oliver Perez’s has been just as phenomenal, and maybe even more impressive. After his last “Ollie-Implosion” on June 2nd in San Fran (.1 IP, 5 hits, 6 runs, Loss), the Mets’ southpaw has made 9 starts, lowering his ERA from a Brett Myers-esque 5.7 down to a much more earthly 4.15, a difference of just over a run-and-a-half. He’s only 2-2 during this 9-game-tear he’s currently on, but his ERA is a disgusting 2.52 ERA with a K/9 of 11.11. (**BTW, as of right now, July 25th, Brett Myers is rocking the 5.82 ERA. His cheeseburger-eating/Greygoose-guzzling- counterpart, Joe Blanton, is creeping up from behind with a 5.08 ERA of his own. First one to 7 wins, boys!)

Read the rest of this story after the jump to find out the fantasy-impact as well as the combined weight of the Phillies #3, 4, and 5 starters.

While the Phillies will be relying on the 678-pound-trio of Myers, Blanton, and Kendrick at the back end of their rotation, the only real question mark in the Mets’ roto is #5 starter and future Hall-of-Famer, Pedro Martinez (Pedro’s a lil fella, only listed at 170 pounds, probably because he doesn’t go to places like Ziggiz 5 nights a week).

But who knows how Dro’s gonna bounce back from his latest injury(s) and his father passing away? Will he still be throwing in the low 90s? Will he make more than 5 starts the rest of the season? He’s a free-agent this winter and pitching for a contract — added incentive for him to pitch well, but Mets’ fans can’t count on the former-ace like they could when he arrived in Queens — he’s an aging, declining veteran at the end of the road.

That being said, I’ll still take my chances with a shaky #5 starter named Pedro Martinez as opposed to relying on Blanton, Kendrick, and Myers every third, fourth, and fifth days. I’m pretty sure every GM in baseball would agree on this one, too.

And, since this story is called “Trip Aces in Queens,” I guess I should give a shout-out to the other ace on the New York Mets (even though he’s clearly lost a few mph off his fastball), Johan Alexander Santana.

Fantasy-Impact of the Mets’ roto:

If you grabbed Ollie or Big Pelf off waivers this year, congratulations. Neither guy is slowing down anytime soon, so hold onto them both, and send them out there every fifth day with confidence.

Even more absurd than the numbers Ollie and Pelfrey have consistently put up over the last 2 months is their current availability in almost half of ESPN leagues — Ollie is owned in just 59% of ESPN leagues, while Big Pelf is owned in a pathetic 64.3 percent of leagues! Go pick these guys up people, and waive unreliable scrubs like Matt Garza (79% owned) and Jonathan Sanchez (97% owned)!