Which pitcher to keep?

[jonboy418]

I play in a 10 team H2H with crazy scoring stats. Basically, I want pitchers with low WHIP, low ball counts, and high Ks. Here's my choice, I only get to choose one pitcher:

Ervin Santana
James Shields
Yovanni Gallardo
Matt Cain
Cliff Lee
Brad Lidge
JJ Putz (our league uses holds)

I'm leaning towards Shields because he has a low WHIP, decent Ks and has been getting progressively better each year.

[MikeeDee]

I think you're on the right track. Shields would be my choice out of those as well.

[auclairkeithbc]

Well I think it is between Shields and Santana among the starters. Maybe Lidge should be considered as well, depending on the relative value of saves (compared to holds in the league).

I use a bunch of different projection systems and here is roughly how they are projected (WHIP, BB/9, K/9):

Santana (1.25, 2.5, 8.0)
Shields (1.18, 1.9, 7.3)
C. Lee (1.25, 2.1, 6.8)
M. Cain (1.30, 3.7, 8.0)

Lidge (1.25, 4.0, 11.0)
Putz (1.18, 3.2, 10.0)

Remember the relievers rate stats will affect you less than the starters because of limited IP.

[ILoveBush]

Without more details about your scoring, I'd say Shields as well. Gallardo's upside is intriguing, but the risk is not worth it at this point.

[jonboy418]

My league actually uses K/9 as one of it's scoriing stats. I might as well post them all for better knowledge:
- Innings Pitched
- Wins
- Loses
- Saves
- Holds
- Quality Starts
- Hits
- Runs
- Walks
- Strikeouts
- Batting AVG Against
- ERA
- WHIP
- K/9
- Pitcher Team Win

A lot of these categories are tied into one another, which is why I ask for high strikeout and low WHIP.
My strategy overall is to punt loses and essentially stream SP from my roster (low batter bench spots - high pitcher bench spots).

This year, I'm thinking about punting saves altogether and focus on only hold men. Why draft Papelbon at 55 when I can get Scot Shields at 190?

My thoughts come down to Shields or E. Santana as well. I'm thinking Shields as I stated above, but Santana has better strikeout abilities albeit for only one year, which makes me nervous.

[JHubRoyals]

I would also go with Shields.

You have a lot of good options there, and they might end up near each other at the end of the season, but Shields seems like the best mix of upside and steadiness.

[smoovethug]

I'm going Ervin Santana. You can argue that right now Santana is the better pitcher and has the higher ceiling. They will both put up similar WHIPs, Shields will probably edge him slightly, but Santana will greatly outproduce Shields in K's.