Fantasy Baseball 2012: Should You Own Erik Bedard?
Erik Bedard, who has been pitching in the big league since 2002, owns a 56-51 record in 166 starts with a rock solid 3.68 ERA. He also has 930 strikeouts in 958.1 career innings for a solid 8.7 K/9 ratio.
Everything about Bedard is reasonable except for his durability.
From 2004-2007, Bedard was a fairly durable pitcher, averaging 27.8 starts and 164.3 innings pitched per season.
In the next four seasons, Bedard has managed just 54 starts (13.5 per season) and 293.3 innings pitched (73.3 per season), including a lost 2010 season.
Bedard is healthy now though, so that is the important thing. He made his Pirates (and National League) debut on Thursday and it couldn’t have gone much better, despite taking a 1-0 loss. There's no shame in losing a pitcher's duel with Phillies ace Roy Halladay.
Bedard gave up six hits and one walk over seven innings for a sparkling 1.00 WHIP. He gave up just one earned run for a dazzling 1.29 ERA. He only struck out four batters, but that isn’t grounds for complaints.
Obviously with Bedard you have to worry about his health. His track record is too checkered not to have that concern. Then again, it’s not like your rotation hinges upon his left arm.
Bedard is owned in just 44 percent of Yahoo! Sports leagues, and 7.7 percent of ESPN leagues. He definitely has the ability to be a quality starter for the Pirates and your fantasy team alike.
Luckily, unlike the Pirates, you can easily move on if his injury problems return.
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