Kip Wells: Fluke or Fair Game?

[Darkie Satchels]

Given, Kip & Co. had a crap start, but then turned it around in amazing fashion to shave off almost 6.00 from his ERA. Now, owning a Pirates pitcher is just a notch below calling up the Rockies bullpen. But he also took out a hot hitting team; Reds and an always potentially potent 'Stros offense. Plus, the Pirates aren't looking like the old poo-team of yesteryear...

So, that said, is he anywhere near your radar now or is he simply an annoying blimp that will fade away shortly.

[rjforlife]

2002 era 3.58 147 k in 197 innings
2003 era 3.28 116 k in 138 innings


2004 he struggled, but he was hurt all year, looks like perhaps he has come back to 2002-2003 numbers, which are nothing to shake a stick at, especially since hes probably a waiver pickup. id give him a shot, hell i drafted him, dropped him, and picked him up and started him this week.

[hybrid]

I've seen him pitch and even though his line was alright, he struggled against the Reds and was fairly lucky they didn't score more. On the Astors well, about anyone can shut them out right now ... I'd say wait till he has a few more good outings.

[acsguitar]

Houston can't hit been shutout 5 times this year...Fluke

[Yoda]

Kip developed some control issues last season but settled down nicely in the 2nd half.

If he stops trying to K everyone he will be much better off. At this point, his team blows and with his shaky control he won't help you much in the other categories. He's definitely on my radar and if he has a couple more outings like that, then I would definitely snag him up.

[pappymojo]

...he also took out...an always potentially potent 'Stros offense.

What does that even mean? always potentially? ha!

[Cooner]

It seems Kip just needs to settle down a bit- he's got the skills to be a solid fantasy pitcher who gets no wins. It's not clear to me that two nice outings against weak teams puts him on my team, but it definitely gets my attention simply due to the pre-'04 track record.

[Mercer Boy]

Kip developed some control issues last season but settled down nicely in the 2nd half.

If he stops trying to K everyone he will be much better off. At this point, his team blows and with his shaky control he won't help you much in the other categories. He's definitely on my radar and if he has a couple more outings like that, then I would definitely snag him up.

I totally agree with this. Wells is a power guy that can't put guys away. Since he can't, he should try to keep the ball down and get guys to hit grounders to the infield. If he just did this, maybe he wouldn't have 70-80 pitches in the 4th inning like he always does. He tiptoes around giving up a bunch of runs almost every inning. It's almost like he's the Danny Graves of starters.

He's got good pitches...but the combo of the bad Pirates offense and his inability to get 1-2-3 innings most of the time makes him risky. If you really need someone for a deeper league, he would be worth a look.