Which pitcher would you take if any? WHIR

[henryjames]

Waited a bit to long to get an "ace" in my head to head league. I usually go for quantity in Head to Head leagues and nab my pitchers in the 7th or 8th due to the risk in reaching for pitchers (See Halladay/Lincecum last year). I think it's time I draft a SP. These are my choices....and this will be my #1:

Roy Halladay
Kris Medlen
Mat Latos
Jordan Zimmerman
Max Scherzer
Josh Johnson

Then again, I could continue racking up offense as well but I'm afraid i'll really be scraping the bottom by the time the snake gets back to me. Here are my choices there:
Choo, Willingham, Morse, Ike Davis, Ryan Howard, Konerko.

So who would you pick?

Here is my team as it stands now...BTW it is a 6x6 OPS league

Josh Hamilton
Carlos González
Ryan Braun
Edwin Encarnacion
Ryan Zimmerman
Ian Desmond
Aaron Hill

[SoCal87]

Is this a keeper or one year, what's the deal?
I mean, if it's a keeper I'll take either Zimm or Medlen, if it's just a one year league I'll take a chance on Halladay.

[GiantsFan14]

I'd take Halladay and be pretty happy about it. He's a year removed from being the best pitcher in baseball and was pretty unlucky last year. If he's healthy he should way outproduce that draft spot.

[HOOTIE]

JZ
Medlen

[kaiser]

I take Halladay. While he seems to be beginning to decline, he still is the best of that bunch.

After Halladay, I go Medlin, Zimmerman, Latos, Scherzer, Johnson

[henryjames]

Thanks for the responses....so Halladay's bad year last year, shoulder troubles and the fact nothing has really been reported (positive or negative) this offseason doesn't concern you all enough to pass him up here?

[MaudDib]

Thanks for the responses....so Halladay's bad year last year, shoulder troubles and the fact nothing has really been reported (positive or negative) this offseason doesn't concern you all enough to pass him up here?

I would go Halladay as well. It is a risky move no doubt but if he does bounce back close to his value two years ago then you are getting a steal. The real problem is that I am not sold on any of those SP. I like Zimmermann but not as your ace. Same really goes for Latos and Scherzer. Medlin is solid but I would prefer if he was my #3. So I think I gamble on Halladay and hope one of those SP come back around. SP can be easier to find during the season so if Halladay has problems, it shouldn't kill your chances.

[Kimbos Beard]

Thanks for the responses....so Halladay's bad year last year, shoulder troubles and the fact nothing has really been reported (positive or negative) this offseason doesn't concern you all enough to pass him up here?

I would go Halladay as well. It is a risky move no doubt but if he does bounce back close to his value two years ago then you are getting a steal. The real problem is that I am not sold on any of those SP. I like Zimmermann but not as your ace. Same really goes for Latos and Scherzer. Medlin is solid but I would prefer if he was my #3. So I think I gamble on Halladay and hope one of those SP come back around. SP can be easier to find during the season so if Halladay has problems, it shouldn't kill your chances.

I think your concerns about Halladay are legitimate, but I think I still roll the dice with him, especially if this is not a keeper. I like Medlin and Zimmerman alot but Halladay is the pitcher with the biggest upside out of the three because he has consistently done it for years. The four years prior to last, Hallady's highest ERA was 2.79. The lowest Strikeout total was 206 and his highest WHIP was 1.12. Those stats include his last two years in toronto.

Now to be fair Halladay didn't look effective at all last year and the most recent update I read was an interview with the Phillie GM last week saying that Halladay is right on schedule with his offseason plan but that they won't know "what Doc we are getting back" until spring training starts. So there is risk there and plenty of it, but I just think there is also plenty of upside, to make this pick. I don't think you need an absolute vintage Halladay to have him put up better numbers for one year than the other pitchers you listed.

[henryjames]

Oh yeah...BTW, it IS a keeper, but we only keep 4, and I don't keep pitchers in a head to head...so it doesn't really factor in.

My other concern about Doc is that they limit his innings to 6 or 7 tops, due to the shoulder. This will cost him wins, etc.

Call me nuts...but there is a small part of me that sees the quality of SP when the snake comes back in 20 picks or so...to not be THAT much worse than what my choices are now. I almost want to grab Willingham or Howard since i have 2 UTIL spots still to fill. Then again, getting Doc this late "could" be a bargain. I just am not sure if the doc of old is even a possibility.

Zimmerman and Medlen just seem safer?

Torn.....

[Element]

Drafting Doc this season is the opposite of what you did last year. You would be buying low. I would take Doc and then hope to get 1 or 2 of those other guys once it comes back to you.