Tim Wakefield: An Easy Fantasy Baseball Pass

In the Boston Red Sox-Oakland Athletics game today, Tim Wakefield had a stellar performance. 

He took a no-hitter all the way into the eighth inning, and was a mere five outs away from recording it.

Kurt Suzuki broke up the almost-no-hitter with a nice single to center field.

Aside from Brett Anderson’s great game, Tim Wakefield seemed to steal the show. Is this a once-in-forever kind of start for Tim Wakefield, or can he really contribute to your fantasy baseball team in 2009? 

Let’s take a look.

Wakefield has always been a league-average pitcher, and even at the age of 42, he looks to be just average once again. 

He averages anywhere from five to six strikeouts per nine innings. The control is also remarkably consistent—about three walks per nine innings over the past few seasons.

Looking at his career peripherals, it shows just how much of an anomaly today’s performance was. 

If he had actually no-hit the Oakland Athletics, this would have gone down as one of the biggest underdog no-hitters in MLB history. While he was extremely effective on the surface, his true skills lined right up with his career numbers. He had a 4/2 strikeout to walk ratio today.

Don’t run to your waiver wire to get this guy if you are in a mixed league. His performance, while appearing great today, is not sustainable after a close look at his skill set. 

If you are in an AL-only, or fairly deep mixed league, he should be able to contribute quality innings and help out in the win column.

Check out Fantasy Baseball Flash for all your latest fantasy baseball information!