Sleeper Ace - Part 2

Jake Westbrook, SP, Cleveland Indians, did not throw a pitch last year in the majors. Tommy John surgery will do that to you. But now over a year and a half has gone by since the surgery and Westbrook is ready to go.

What can we expect? Well, before surgery he was a 15 win guy, his ERA was around 4.00 (some years better, some worse), and he struck out about 1 batter every 2 innings. I think Westbrook can keep his ERA around 4.00, the strikeouts will probably be around the same clip, but the wins is where we might see a little dip. Cleveland is not bad, but they were a little better when Westbrook was last pitching. Still, I'm seeing value.

Westbrook looks to be the opening day starter (Staff 'Ace'), which cuts both ways: On one hand, it shows that the Indians like what they see (plus Westbrook says he is feeling good). On the other hand, as the opening day starter, it is going to pit him against all the other teams aces. This could end up with him having a few losses out of the gate until the rotations start to mix.

In any event, I like Westbrook as a late round sleeper in H2H point leagues and a potential waiver wire pickup in deep roto leagues. When healthy, he is a workhorse (200+ innings), and he could do that this year. The team around him is not bad, but the division is competitive. I like him for 13 Wins, 4.10 ERA, and around 100 Ks. I also believe that the more he pitches, the stronger he will get. So if he is available after the draft, watch his starts closely. He is not a top tier starter, but could absolutely give some value to your fantasy team in deeper leagues.

-Scout Monkey

( scout_monkey@gmx.com)