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Fantasy Baseball: 2009 FIP Leaders

Will Ricky Nolasco be undervalued in 2010?

Gregory Smith - AP

Will Ricky Nolasco be undervalued in 2010?

I know what you are asking-what the heck is FIP? According to The Hardball Times site, FIP is Fielding Independent Pitching, a measure of all those things for which a pitcher is specifically responsible. The formula is (HR*13+(BB+HBP-IBB)*3-K*2)/IP, plus a league-specific factor (usually around 3.2) to round out the number to an equivalent ERA number. FIP helps you understand how well a pitcher pitched, regardless of how well his fielders fielded.

With that explained, I give you the 2009 FIP leaders among starting pitchers courtesy of www.fangraphs.com:

Name K/9 BB/9 K/BB HR/9 AVG WHIP BABIP LOB% ERA FIP
Zack Greinke 9.5 2 4.75 0.43 0.232 1.07 0.313 79.30% 2.16 2.33
Tim Lincecum 10.42 2.72 3.84 0.4 0.209 1.05 0.297 75.90% 2.48 2.34
Javier Vazquez 9.77 1.81 5.41 0.82 0.226 1.03 0.297 76.60% 2.87 2.77
Chris Carpenter 6.73 1.78 3.79 0.33 0.223 1.01 0.272 79.50% 2.24 2.78
Justin Verlander 10.09 2.36 4.27 0.75 0.244 1.18 0.328 72.70% 3.45 2.8
Josh Johnson 8.22 2.5 3.29 0.6 0.238 1.16 0.299 74.90% 3.23 3.06
Roy Halladay 7.83 1.32 5.94 0.83 0.258 1.13 0.313 79.00% 2.79 3.06
Clayton Kershaw 9.74 4.79 2.03 0.37 0.198 1.23 0.274 77.50% 2.79 3.08
Felix Hernandez 8.18 2.68 3.06 0.57 0.229 1.14 0.289 76.70% 2.49 3.09
Cliff Lee 7.03 1.67 4.21 0.66 0.273 1.24 0.326 76.20% 3.22 3.11
Adam Wainwright 8.19 2.55 3.21 0.66 0.247 1.21 0.309 80.40% 2.63 3.11
Jon Lester 9.96 2.83 3.52 0.89 0.245 1.23 0.323 76.90% 3.41 3.15
Dan Haren 8.75 1.49 5.87 1.06 0.229 1 0.28 77.00% 3.14 3.23
Joel Pineiro 4.42 1.14 3.89 0.46 0.265 1.14 0.293 66.90% 3.49 3.27
Ricky Nolasco 9.49 2.14 4.43 1.12 0.265 1.25 0.336 61.00% 5.06 3.35
Ubaldo Jimenez 8.17 3.51 2.33 0.54 0.229 1.23 0.29 73.50% 3.47 3.36
CC Sabathia 7.71 2.62 2.94 0.7 0.233 1.15 0.284 71.40% 3.37 3.39
Wandy Rodriguez 8.45 2.76 3.06 0.92 0.249 1.24 0.306 79.40% 3.02 3.54
Carlos Zambrano 8.08 4.15 1.95 0.53 0.245 1.38 0.308 71.90% 3.77 3.61



One guy that stands out for me is Ricky Nolasco and his 5.06 ERA. Based on his outstanding peripherals, his FIP-3.35 is almost 2 runs lower than his ERA of 5.06. He will be someone to target on the cheap in 2010. His LOB% of 61%, or runners stranded, is extremely low and should increase in 2010, which will lower his ERA.

Joel Pineiro is another guy that stands out only for his low LOB% of 66.9%. His FIP wasn't much lower than his ERA, so I have to explain that is due to how low WHIP of 1.14.

Poll
Will Ricky Nolasco be undervalued in 2010?
Yes, his FIP and peripherals are still solid.
45 votes
No, he gives up too many hits with RISP.
6 votes

51 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 1 comment |

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Behold,

most of the only numbers that matter in evaluating pitchers, right here.

I’d have to look at more statistics on Nolasco to make a judgment. However, his HR rate is the highest of all those pitchers. The LOB factor usually is a good indicator or whether a guy was unlucky or not, and his BABIP was fairly high in comparison. I’d have to examine this further.

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by Bryan Everson (The Royalty of Roto) on Oct 22, 2009 11:38 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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