I’m the last to the party to talk about this, but it’s ok, these notes are more for me than anything else. Kyle Lohse signed a three-year deal with the Brewers and instantly becomes their number two starter. It’s easy to say his .262 BABIP and 77% LOB% will regress. It could be true they both regress, but he’s had a BABIP lower than .287 three out of the past four seasons. Also, for three years in a row his strikeout and walk percentages have gone in the right direction. Lohse is a legit number two starter, but he’ll be pitching his home games in the bam box in Milwaukee. In a 12-team mixed league he’s a number three starter.
David Freese will begin the year on the DL with a bad back.
Shawn Marcum is experiencing neck discomfort and therefore will not be ready for Opening Day. If you’re in any league besides a NL-only league and you own Marcum, you deserve to lose.
Jacob Turner will begin the year in Triple-A. In 13 innings (in Spring Training) he’s given up 14 ERs, 9 walks and only 5 strikeouts.
Scott Kazmir, Shelby Miller and Erik Bedard have all been named the 5th starters for their respective clubs (Indians, Cardinals and Astros respectively). Of the three, I have Miller the highest; 34th starting pitcher overall. I know the adage of how young pitchers never do well in their inaugural seasons, but after what I’ve seen I’m convinced he’ll miss a ton of bats. Bedard and Kazmir are both AL-only plays. Bedard is ticking time bomb and could get hurt at any moment so enjoy his mediocre performance.
Greg Holland’s fastball velocity is down 2 mph from last year; 94.5 mph in Spring Training. This news isn’t exciting and I dropped him from 11th to 23rd in my Closer Rankings. I believe Aaron Crow is the next in line for saves if Holland falters, but Kelvin Herra is the dark horse for saves.
Shin-Soo Choo is experiencing back spasms, but is expected to be ready for Opening Day. During the spring he’s missed five games due to back spasms and this is something to keep a close eye on. This news scares me because back spasms can reoccur at any moment and will never go away.
With the signing of Jon Garland, Drew Pomeranz was optioned to Triple-A. I literally have no idea what the Rockies are doing anymore. It appears as if they have no plan to win any time soon. Pomeranz may not be that good, but Jon Garland, really? I’m glad I’m not a Rockies fan.
