Fantasy Baseball Profile: Is Ubaldo Jimenez a Fantasy Baseball Ace?

Ubaldo Jimenez has disproved the notion that the Colorado Rockies can’t have an ace pitcher. Instead of paying to bring in a big name free agent pitcher, they groomed one in Jimenez. He was solid in 2008 and saw across-the-board improvement in 2009.

2008: 12-12, 3.99 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, .245 BAA, 172 K, 103 BB
2009: 15-12, 3.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP .229 BAA, 198 K, 85 BB

The key to his success is his ability to produce ground balls. That’s almost a requirement in Coors Field. You keep the ball down, you keep it in the ballpark. He also did a good job of limiting free passes. He went from 4.67 BB/9 in 2008 to 3.51 in 2009. Couple that with an increase in K/9 from 7.8 to 8.2, and you can see why he was successful last year.

He was also very consistent last year.

Home: 102.3 IP, 8-5, 3.34 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .234 BAA, 86 K, 40 BB
Away: 115.7 IP, 7-7, 3.58 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .225 BAA, 112 K, 45 BB

And he was a force down the stretch:

First Half: 115.7 IP, 6-9, 3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, .247 BAA 101 K, 46 BB
Second Half: 102.3 IP, 9-3, 3.08 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, .209 BAA, 97 K, 39 BB

We know he’s Colorado’s ace, but can he be your fantasy ace as well? With numbers like that, I think so. I can see him being ranked in the top 12 by season’s end. Personally, I would prefer him as a No. 2 fantasy pitcher (see my SP rankings ).

If I miss out on Lincecum, Greinke, King Felix, Johan, C.C., Halladay, Haren, and Verlander, I wouldn’t mind having Ubaldo paired with Cliff Lee, Beckett, Wainwright, Kershaw, or Cole Hamels. That would allow me to address another positional need first, and then add two big guns to my pitching staff.

What’s your take? Do you see Ubaldo as a No. 1 or a No. 2 in 2010?

Prediction:  17-12, 3.60 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 195 K

Past profiles :
Arizona Diamondbacks:  Brandon Webb
Atlanta Braves: Yunel Escobar
Baltimore Orioles:  Adam Jones
Boston Red Sox:  Clay Buchholz
Chicago Cubs:  Geovany Soto
Chicago White Sox:  Jake Peavy
Cincinnati Reds:  Joey Votto  
Cleveland Indians:  Grady Sizemore


Originally published at LestersLegends.com .