Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies
Old-school stats: 13-7, 2.96 ERA in 28 starts, 170 innings.
New-school stats: 6.8 WAR, 3.2 Base-Out Wins Saved, 3.2 Adjusted Pitching Wins
The case for Freeland: He’s the closest thing you get at a mile elevation to a pitching phenom. Freeland is 13-7 with an ERA under 3.00 working a solid 170 innings, so this is no fluke. It’s also not a case of excelling away from Coors and surviving at home. Opponents are batting just .219 against Freeland in Denver . With 2 out and runners in scoring position, opponents are managing just a .131 average against Freeland.
The case against Freeland: A year ago nobody heard of this guy; now you want to anoint him the league’s best pitcher with a National League Cy Young Award? Just two years ago he went 11-10 with a 3.89 ERA – and that was in the minors. With Colorado last year, he was 11-11 but with a 4.10 ERA. All of that suggests that a bit more time for consideration is in order before advancing this guy to the head of the National League pitching class. Like a lot of pitchers, Freeland has yet to establish that he can get the same batter out repeatedly. The batting average against him the third time through the order is .285, and from pitches 76 on it’s .275.