Before the '08 season, Baseball Prospectus had this to say about Volquez,
After struggling tremendously in his auditions the last two years, Volquez was sent all the way back down to High-A to regain his confidence. It was a big risk, but it worked. By the time Volquez was back in Triple-A, he was absolutely dominant, and he found his taste of success in the big leagues with two quality starts in six September attempts. He was subsequently dealt to the Reds for Josh Hamilton in what basically amounts to an "I'll give you my talented guy who could go backward at any minute and you give me yours" trade.
Back on March 26th I must have been feeling the flow because at 10:43pm I picked up Edinson Volquez as a FA. It sounds crazy now but, 4 months ago no one knew what they'd get from a young starter who pitches half his games in an extreme hitters park. I'd love to tell you I'd done tons of research, crunched his numbers , and talked to a bunch of scouts before deciding to pick him up. Nope, I just got lucky. So he's been on my team all year, been inserted into the starting lineup every 5 days, and has generally been my second best pitcher behind Brandon Webb.
Now we're four months into the season and after tonight's outing he sits at 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA and 1.30 whip. Before tonight's performance Yahoo ranked him as the 12th best starter in baseball in 5x5 category leagues. So most likely he's jumped at least one spot.
So what in the Rodney Dangerfield is going on around here? This guy gets no respect at all. Okay, I'll admit he's slowed down in the past couple months and that he walks too many guys. However, his BAA is 12th in the league at .226 and his opponents are slugging only .328 against him which puts him 6th in all of MLB. When batters aren't getting hits against you and those hits are mostly singles you can get away with more walks. Especially when your K/9 is 9.41.
I understand the level of hypocrisy I'm showing by complaining that he's getting no respect and I've actually been the one shopping him for 6 weeks. I get that it sounds weird when I spit out numbers telling you why he's been great this year and I still cringe every time he pitches. What is it about this guy that freaks me out? I can't pinpoint it but, he still has great numbers and gets no love.
The thing is my trade offers including Volquez aren't just getting rejected they're getting spit on. No one seems to want or trust him. His numbers at this moment place him in the 5th round of next year's draft. Then, why don't I think anyone will touch him before the 7th? Am I crazy or does everyone think this guy sucks?