Tonight, in game 1 of the NLDS between Los Angeles and Chicago, Derek Lowe pitched six innings allowing seven hits, only one run and struck out six, while walking only one. He got the win tonight, and more importantly for fantasy GM’s, Lowe surely improved his 2009 fantasy baseball draft position with this season’s great numbers. 2008 was his seventh straight season with 30+ starts and 12+ wins. He did a few other things, as well, to make sure that he’s be drafted higher in 2009 than he was in 2008.
- He lowered his walk total from 59 in 2007 to 45 in 2008, even though he pitched more innings in 2008.
- He reduced his HR total from 20 last season to 14 in 2008.
- He dropped his ERA from 3.88 in 2007 to 3.24 in 2008, his best ERA since his 21-win campaign in 2002.
Had Lowe not stunk up May with an 0-4 record and a 6.11 ERA, we might be including him in Cy Young talks. Lowe improved in many key statistics that are important to starting pitchers, and he did it all with a pretty normal 28.3% hit rate. You’d much rather have Lowe pitch at home (2.30 ERA) than on the road (4.42 ERA), but that may be a moot point if Lowe ends up somewhere other than Los Angeles in 2009.
Entries (RSS)