Scott Baker 2009

Scott Baker resembles a slightly inferior version of his teammate, Kevin Slowey. Baker is a solid control pitcher in his own right, but is just slightly inferior to Slowey in a few different ways. Probably the most important is that Baker is already 27 years old, so he's got a lot less time to develop than Slowey. While Baker did have the better strikeout rate (K/9: 7.7) in 2008, this was well above his career average, and I would expect it to be somewhat lower in 2009. Baker has good control too (BB/9: 2.3 in 2008) but not as good as Slowey. And like Slowey, he's an extreme flyball pitcher. If you're looking for a reasonably skilled pitcher to fill one of the last spots in your fantasy rotation, Baker is a good choice. Just recognize that he's got limitied upside.