I’d like to kick off the Fantasy Baseball coverage here at SB Nation by taking a look at starting pitchers. Most baseball fans look at how many wins a starting pitcher has to determine whether that pitcher is good or not. But, wins are dependent on alot of variables outside of the pitcher’s control such as: run support, bullpen success, the quality of the defense behind him, and in some cases the ballpark itself.
Fantasy Baseball: Tracking Strikeouts/9 and Ground Ball Percentage
While it is very difficult to predict wins, it is a little easier to predict which pitchers will provide a fantasy owner a solid ERA and WHIP when you look deeper into the pitcher’s peripheral stats. Peripheral stats are strikeouts per 9 (K/9), walks per 9 (BB/9), Command (K/BB), ground ball percentage (GB%), and strand rate (LOB%).
I like to look for pitchers with solid K/9 (around 8 K/9), a solid GB% (around 45%), and solid command (K/BB around 2.75-3.00). If you can draft pitchers with these peripheral stats, you will be rewarded with a solid ERA and WHIP. With that said, let’s take a look at the K/9 leaders for 2009 and see how they fared in ERA and WHIP.
| Name | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | GB% | HR/9 | AVG | WHIP | BABIP | LOB% | ERA |
| Tim Lincecum | 10.42 | 2.72 | 3.84 | 47.50% | 0.4 | 0.209 | 1.05 | 0.297 | 75.90% | 2.48 |
| Justin Verlander | 10.09 | 2.36 | 4.27 | 36.00% | 0.75 | 0.244 | 1.18 | 0.328 | 72.70% | 3.45 |
| Jon Lester | 9.96 | 2.83 | 3.52 | 47.70% | 0.89 | 0.245 | 1.23 | 0.323 | 76.90% | 3.41 |
| Yovani Gallardo | 9.89 | 4.56 | 2.17 | 45.00% | 1.02 | 0.223 | 1.31 | 0.288 | 77.90% | 3.73 |
| Javier Vazquez | 9.77 | 1.81 | 5.41 | 41.70% | 0.82 | 0.226 | 1.03 | 0.297 | 76.60% | 2.87 |
| Jonathan Sanchez | 9.75 | 4.85 | 2.01 | 40.70% | 1.05 | 0.227 | 1.37 | 0.29 | 72.60% | 4.24 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 9.74 | 4.79 | 2.03 | 39.40% | 0.37 | 0.198 | 1.23 | 0.274 | 77.50% | 2.79 |
| Zack Greinke | 9.5 | 2 | 4.75 | 40.00% | 0.43 | 0.232 | 1.07 | 0.313 | 79.30% | 2.16 |
| Ricky Nolasco | 9.49 | 2.14 | 4.43 | 38.30% | 1.12 | 0.265 | 1.25 | 0.336 | 61.00% | 5.06 |
| Jorge de la Rosa | 9.39 | 4.04 | 2.33 | 44.70% | 0.97 | 0.248 | 1.38 | 0.316 | 71.60% | 4.38 |
| Max Scherzer | 9.19 | 3.33 | 2.76 | 41.80% | 1.06 | 0.257 | 1.34 | 0.323 | 68.70% | 4.12 |
| Dan Haren | 8.75 | 1.49 | 5.87 | 42.90% | 1.06 | 0.229 | 1 | 0.28 | 77.00% | 3.14 |
| A.J. Burnett | 8.48 | 4.22 | 2.01 | 42.80% | 1.09 | 0.248 | 1.4 | 0.302 | 75.90% | 4.04 |
| Wandy Rodriguez | 8.45 | 2.76 | 3.06 | 44.90% | 0.92 | 0.249 | 1.24 | 0.306 | 79.40% | 3.02 |
| Josh Beckett | 8.43 | 2.33 | 3.62 | 47.20% | 1.06 | 0.249 | 1.19 | 0.302 | 71.60% | 3.86 |
| Matt Garza | 8.38 | 3.5 | 2.39 | 39.70% | 1.11 | 0.236 | 1.26 | 0.284 | 75.00% | 3.95 |
| Josh Johnson | 8.22 | 2.5 | 3.29 | 50.30% | 0.6 | 0.238 | 1.16 | 0.299 | 74.90% | 3.23 |
| Chad Billingsley | 8.21 | 3.94 | 2.08 | 45.30% | 0.78 | 0.238 | 1.32 | 0.294 | 71.00% | 4.03 |
| Adam Wainwright | 8.19 | 2.55 | 3.21 | 50.70% | 0.66 | 0.247 | 1.21 | 0.309 | 80.40% | 2.63 |
| Felix Hernandez | 8.18 | 2.68 | 3.06 | 53.40% | 0.57 | 0.229 | 1.14 | 0.289 | 76.70% | 2.49 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 8.17 | 3.51 | 2.33 | 52.50% | 0.54 | 0.229 | 1.23 | 0.29 | 73.50% | 3.47 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 8.08 | 4.15 | 1.95 | 44.70% | 0.53 | 0.245 | 1.38 | 0.308 | 71.90% | 3.77 |
| Johan Santana | 7.88 | 2.48 | 3.17 | 35.70% | 1.08 | 0.249 | 1.21 | 0.296 | 78.00% | 3.13 |
| Aaron Harang | 7.87 | 2.38 | 3.3 | 34.90% | 1.33 | 0.289 | 1.41 | 0.339 | 75.70% | 4.21 |
| Roy Halladay | 7.83 | 1.32 | 5.94 | 50.20% | 0.83 | 0.258 | 1.13 | 0.313 | 79.00% | 2.79 |
As you can see, with a few exceptions, starting pitchers with a K/9 around 8.00 or better, and a GB% around 40% or better, provided very good to excellent ERA and WHIP for fantasy teams in 2009.
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