Last night during the “live help line” I was asked about my thoughts on Lance Cormier as a possible sleeper. So here are my thoughts:

Lance Cormier really has not pitched enough innings in the majors to get a good sampling. From what he has done, here is the good thing, he does not give up homeruns. He posted a .98 HR/9 last year, and that is backed up with a GB/FB ratio of 1.74. For a pitcher anything above 1.50 labels them as a groundball pitcher. He should get 4-6 strikeouts per outing, which is not bad.. The worst part about him is that he has a track record of giving up a lot of hits per game. 10.80 hits per game over his 3 MLB seasons and a 10.06 in his 5 minor league seasons. So he could be the classic case of an ERA that will be much lower then his component ERA.

I don’t think that I agree on him being a sleeper for this year. In a very deep league of 19 teams you will not left with a whole lot of other options. I would not take him right away, but watch his first starts after he comes off the DL. If you are in need of a starter, I would wait for Garza to come back up. Or wait until Homer Bailey, Hayden Penn, Phillip Hughes, Gallardo Yovani, or Phillip Humber get their call up. I like those pitchers coming down the line, much more the Cormier.

Those are my thoughts.

On to other news….

My favorite player Brad “that ball ain’t coming back” Lidge has been replaced as the closer in Houston with Dan Wheeler. The worst part about this change is that I can’t make fun of one of my friends for having him every year. I think I will call Houston’s management and complain. Wheeler is a good option as a closer, but buyer beware. He has not been all that great of a first week either. Although his spring training numbers were very good (ERA-1.93, 9.1 innings, 9 Ks).