Rank these Pitchers...

[TheYanks04]

in 5x5 Roto. Who would you rank first and why?

A. Leiter
Woody Williams
Paul Byrd
Russ Ortiz
V. Padilla
D. Davis
J. Williams
T. Gordon
J. Rincon
A. Otsuka

[Viper8437]

Tom Gordon

cause the rest kinda suck

[Cornbread Maxwell]

To me its a toss up between the SD fellas.
I think WWilliams is a decent comeback candidate. He could go 3.6ERA, 1.25WHIP and turn out to be a solid 4th SP. His Ks are slightly below avg.
However, the guy I would really target on that list is Otsuka. MRs DO pitch enough innings to drastically influence your %s, not to mention they add Ks and vulture wins and saves. In Otsuka's case, he could be the best MR in the majors right now, with a real shot at taking over the closer role sometime this yr. He's got unbelievable %s and one of the highest K rates you'll find.

[TheYanks04]

Wouldn't Gordon me a better pick for MR than Otsuka? Unless Hoffman gets hurt, why would Otsuka get a chance to close? And Gordon theoretically has Mariano and a deeper pen to bail him out when he messes up.

[Viper8437]

hey look
i supported a yankees player even though i hate the yankees

you should try something like that sometime

[shortsavage]

Akinori Otsuka was solid across the board last season, and consistent: 1.75 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 87K/26BB in 77.1 innings.

Tom Gordon was dominant too: 2.21 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 96K/23BB in 89.2 innings.

Gordon will be 37 next season, while Otsuka turns 33 next week. I think when you factor all the variables in, Otsuka could have a slight edge.

I am having a lot of trouble picking a favorite from your original list. Doug Davis should not be overlooked.

[brandnew]

Gordon:
2.21 ERA, 96 K in 89 IP

Otsuka:
1.75 ERA, 87 K in 77 IP

Hoffman is kind of an injury liability, Mariano isn't really. Aki is younger, and has a higher chance of closing. I'd take him over Gordon easy

[Bukoski77]

Hoffman was comeing off an extended DL stint last year as he was kind of rusty to start off the year, but didnt show any signs of lingering injury or reason that he would hit the DL again to me. I wouldnt bank on any Padre reliever haveing extended value on account of Hoffman gettting hurt, hence vulture saves, if I were you guys.

D. Davis seems to be the steal of the draft out of the pitchers mentioned reading this. 2004 stats : 207.1INN, 34GS, 12W, 12L, 3.39 ERA, 1.307WHIP, 166K's, and 24QS ( QS - Quality Start = at least 6INN with 3ER or less allowed ) which was tied with 3 other pitchers for 4th among all pitchers in MLB last year.

All the SP mentioned except maybe Jerome Williams will probably go before him on account of name recognition in most drafts makeing him a great steal if he lasts until the 14/15th round or later. Credit wkelly91 on this thread, http://www.fantasybaseballcafe.com/foru ... &&start=45 , for enlightening me to him as he really should have been on my radar sooner.

[TheYanks04]

What worries me about Davis is that the WHIP in his only good year was 1.31. That could very well be an indicator that he was just lucky to have a 3.3 ERA in 04. In 03 he posted a 4.03 ERA with a hideous 1.59 WHIP. In fact, he never posted a WHIP below 1.50 in any of his prior 5 seasons to 04. He could have been a fluke...or he could be breaking out.

[Bukoski77]

What worries me about Davis is that the WHIP in his only good year was 1.31. That could very well be an indicator that he was just lucky to have a 3.3 ERA in 04. In 03 he posted a 4.03 ERA with a hideous 1.59 WHIP. In fact, he never posted a WHIP below 1.50 in any of his prior 5 seasons to 04. He could have been a fluke...or he could be breaking out.

I wouldnt go so far as to say breaking out as last year very well could have been his ceiling. As to every other uncertainty there, well....................., he was a Ranger besides 2003 when he spent time with Texas and Toronto before finally ending up in Milwaukee to end the year.