As I like to periodically do, I like to look at the top 25 pitchers in K/9. More importantly though, I like to look at an obscure stat called K/100. Simply put, K/100 is a measure of a pitchers efficiency in striking people out. A K/9 of 9.00 is fantastic, but does it take 120 pitches in five innings to accomplish this? If it does, that means extra wear and tear on the pitcher, and you are only getting 5 strikeouts per game. A pitcher who is high in both K/9 and K/100 is worth more then you could imagine.

So here are the top 25 in K/9 with their K/100:

1. John Smoltz ATL - 12.00, 8.23
2. Jonathan Sanchez SF - 11.57, 7.21
3. Tim Licecum SF - 11.37, 7.08
4. Edison Volquez CIN - 10.13, 6.72
5. Josh Beckett BOS - 9.91, 7.39
6. CC Sabathia CLE - 9.28, 5.46
7. Wandy Rodriguez HOU - 9.26, 6.70
8. Daisuke Matsuzaka BOS - 8.79, 5.42
9. Todd Wellemeyer STL - 8.76, 6.14
10. Javier Vazquez CHW - 8.61, 6.16
11. Randy Wolf SD - 8.59, 6.19
12. Clay Buchholtz BOS - 8.48, 5.53
13. Chris Young SD - 8.48, 5.14
14. Bronson Arroyo CIN - 8.42, 4.71
15. Johnny Cueto CIN - 8.37, 6.62
16. Johan Santana NYM - 8.31, 6.32
17. Felix Hernandez SEA - 8.26, 6.29
18. Cliff Lee CLE - 8.24, 6.60
19. Micah Owings ARI - 8.13, 5.88
20. Scott Baker MIN - 8.10, 6.09
21. Matt Cain SF - 7.99, 4.89
22. Jake Peavy SD - 7.95, 5.72
23. Oliver Perez NYM - 7.90, 4.85
24. Aaron Harang CIN - 7.87, 5.74
25. Ben Sheets MIL - 7.71, 6.25

So what does all of this mean? Not too much considering the sample size, but you have to start somewhere. It does mean that John Smoltz is the Chipper Jones of pitching staffs. Always hurting and missing games, but when he plays, he is a fantasy monster. I also find it very interesting that only 8 of the 25 K/9 leaders are from the American League. However, those same pitchers seem to be the most inefficient of the bunch.

So where are th bargains? Jonathan Sanchez, Randy Wolf, and Wandy Rodriguez seem to be ones that constantly are dropped after one bad outing. So they might be available out on the waiver wire. That is except for Sanchez since he just has his most dominate outing this past weekend. Todd Wellemeyer is another one that people are not completely sold on yet, but they might want to be. He has an outstanding 3.00 K/BB ratio, and he has been efficient in his pitches. In fact, he is averaging only 97 pitches per start, and going 6 and 1/3 inning a start. Another pitcher to add to the surprising list is Scott Baker, who has flown under almost everyones radar.

On the flip side, Bronson Arroyo and Oliver Perez owners should be very concerned. Along the same lines, Felix Hernandez owners should be getting concerned. Even though he is posting solid K/9 and K/100 numbers, he is getting overused. He is averaging 108.5 pitches per game started. That is ridiculous for this early in the season, and on an arm that has past injury concerns.