This past week, with trade deadlines eminent in two of my leagues, I sat down to consider my trade options. I started by looking at who my keeper options were for next year. Looking at one of my NL-only rosters, I compared contract values to performance through the season and made a startling discovery: my most valuable player, comparing dollars to results, was Jason Jennings.
Not only that, I realized that he actually had the most points of any of my pitchers overall. Admittedly, I've focused on offense in this particular league, but Jennings is still among the top ten pitchers in the league in points for the season. Not bad for a guy I picked up off the waiver wire about two months ago.
If you consider that he pitches at Coors Field, Jennings numbers are truly historic. Only one pitcher has ever had a qualifying ERA under 4.00 pitching for the Rockies -- Joe Kennedy in 2004. Kennedy quickly demonstrated his season was a fluke by posting an ERA above six the following year. Jennings is currently at 3.34, and should easily eclipse Kennedy's team record of 3.66.
More impressive, Jennings is doing this in his fifth full season for the Rockies. As Kennedy's numbers show, Coors tends to get to a guy after a while. Jennings appears to be getting better.
But Jennings is not alone on the Rockies' staff. For years, the waiver wire in deep NL-only leagues consisted of a smattering of fifth starters and the entire Rockies rotation. This year, Jennings has pitched well, and the only threat to him for the team ERA record is his current teammate, Jeff Francis, who sits at 3.39 (and has been a tremendous help to me in my NL only roto league).
The rest of the staff, by Rockies standards, isn't that bad, either. Aaron Cook has struggled as the season has worn on, but his ERA would be among the top ten in team history, as well. Josh Fogg and Byung-Hyun Kim both sport ERAs in the mid 4.00s.
In other words, it's time to get comfortable starting these guys when the matchups are good or they have two starts. Heck, it's time to get comfortable starting Jennings and Francis every week.