Jeff posted a question in the comments section of one of the posts.

I have a choice between Tim Hudson, Adam Wainwright, and Ian Snell for my 5th Pitcher. I already have Peavy, Smoltz, F. Hernandez and Rich Hill. Who of the 1st 3 (Hudson, Wainwright, & Snell) should I have as my #5?

These are the types of questions that I love to research and answer. First of all I would like to say that your first 4 pitchers are an excellent combination. Secondly, this is not a bad group of pitchers to be picking from.

However, to me this is an easy question to answer. Ian Snell is the best pitcher to take. Although explaining it is far more difficult to do. Here is why:

K/9

Ian Snell has posted an average K/9 rate of 8.58 through the minors and posted an 8.18 last year. Wainwright beat that last year with a K/9 rate of 8.64 and has an average K/9 of 8.85 through his minor league seasons. Hudson only posted a 5.82 and a 5.39 over the last 2 seasons. Looks like Wainwright is the better choice.

K/BB

Wainwright posted a solid 3.27 K/BB ratio. While Snell also posted a good ratio of 2.28, Hudson was not as good as the other two.

BABIP

Wainwright even has the better defense behind him, and the more pitcher friendly ballpark to play in. His BABIP was a nice .294, while Snell had an inflated .322. Hudson was right around the same range as Wainwright.

ERA and WHIP

These aren’t even close. Wainwright posted an ERA of 3.12 and a WHIP of 1.14. Snell had an ERA of 4.74 and a WHIP of 1.46. Hudson’s numbers were very similar to Snell’s.

So looking at the stats, they tell you that you should take Wainwright in a heartbeat. You know what, I would not blame anyone for taking him, especially as a 5th starter. Both had comparable numbers in the minors with similar number of innings pitched. Go ahead and ask the question. Why should I take Snell? The answer: Trends. Ian Snell is entering his 3rd year in the majors, and his second as a full time starter. Over those three years all of his numbers have been trending in the right direction. On the flip side, Wainwright’s first year was last year (except for 2 innings pitched in 05), and he was a reliever. There are many questions about whether or not Wainwright can start in the majors, and how he will do. Will he be as dominate, or is this another Ryan Madson situation? By the way, you can also get Snell much later in the draft. For this year, I would choose Snell mainly because of the extra year of starting experience, and solid numbers that are moving in the right direction. Here is an idea; take Snell as your #5 and Wainwright as your #6 starter, let them make a few starts and reevaluate them.