Paul Maholm 2009

Paul Maholm is a pretty good pitcher who tends to fly under the radar when it comes to most discussions. Because of his ability to induce groundballs (between 53% and 54% each of the last three years), Maholm doesn't need an outstanding strikeout to walk ratio to be successful. That said, he's been improving, and last year struck out 6.3 batters per games while walking only 2.9. That numbers make him a very solid starting pitcher, and at 26 years old he could still improve substantially. Particularly in formats that don't place an emphasis on high strikeout totals, Maholm is worth considering for your team in 2009 now that the Pirates offense isn't the joke that it was for many years.