Do you have a fantasy baseball question? Every Monday, I've got your answer! Send me your questions and comments, and I'll post them in the Mailbag. Note: Please include your full name, city and state for your question to be considered for submission.
Zac, Las Vegas, Nev.: I was reading your review of Chad Billingsley and would like to point out two quick notes. I am in Las Vegas and saw every one of Billingsley's home starts at Triple-A this year. Billingsley went past five innings only twice the entire year. One was his brilliant eight-inning, near no-hitter, the other was only seven innings in which he didn't fare too well. The second point I would like to make is that Billinsgley avergaes only five innings per start and in those five innings he averages 100 pitches. This count is troubling and considering his first two starts of the year for the Dodgers, it makes sense his WHIP is so high and both starts he only went five while throwing close to 100 pitches. This guy will be a stud in a year or two, but right now he won't be worth a roster spot.
Tristan: Both good points, and it is indeed Billingsley's inefficiency with his pitches that has made him so erratic thus far in his major-league career as well as a risk for the remainder of his rookie season. But I'll note that taking into account his road starts at the Triple-A level, he managed more than five innings in six of his 13 starts for Las Vegas overall, plus seven or more frames on three occasions. One reason for that is the lesser pitch counts most minor-league pitchers endure, but it's true that Billingsley indeed needs to do a better job throwing strikes and challenging hitters. I think he'll get there, and with his upside, I can't agree with you that he's not worth a roster spot. Remember, he's in a much friendlier pitchers' environment than he was at Las Vegas, so I see matchup potential for him for 2006 and perhaps third-tier fantasy starter status for 2007.
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