John Lackey, SP, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

July 28, 2006 @ 16:00:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Ryan Dodson

John Lackey, SP, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

With the outstanding rookie seasons Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Francisco Liriano and Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander are having, in addition to Tampa Bay Devil Rays second-year pitching phenom Scott Kazmir, it would be easy to see how Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting pitcher John Lackey could get lost in the attention given to them. But he is quietly putting together a Cy Young-caliber season. Funny how most would have expected that of fellow Angels starting pitcher Bartolo Colon, but it has been Lackey who has been a rock in the Angels starting rotation.

Lackey is not as young as the pitchers mentioned above (aside from Colon) but at 27, it is safe to say that his best years are still ahead of him. Prior to this season, Lackey had showed some talent, and he put together a solid season last year, but no one expected him to dominate like he has this year. It is not listed, but he has played his whole career in Anaheim.

Table: Lackey's Career Stats

Season	GS	Hits	Wins	Losses	SO	CG	SHO	IP	ERA
2002	18	113	9	4	69	1	0	108.1	3.66
2003	33	223	10	16	151	2	2	204.0	4.63
2004	33	215	14	13	144	1	1	198.1	4.67
2005	33	208	14	5	199	1	0	209.0	3.45
2006	21	106	9	6	121	3	2	143.1	2.89

 

One of the most striking things is the consistency of Lackey. He made the same amount of starts each year from 2003-2005 and put up similar strikeout and hit numbers in 2003 and 2004. It was last year that he boosted his strikeout numbers greatly, decreasing the hits and consequently his earned run average.

Why was this? It could just be experience, but most of Lackey's emergence has come because of his ability to switch speeds. His fastball is clocked as high as 95 mph, and he has a wicked cutter that he uses to get hitters out. But more than in the past, he relies on switching speeds to confound hitters. He has developed his change-up (reaching speeds as low as 78 mph) into a pitch that freezes hitters and when both fastball and change-up are on (as shown below) he is unhittable.

Lackey was at his best most recently in a two game-stretch when he pitched back-to-back complete-game shutouts against the Oakland Athletics and the Devil Rays. Against the Athletics July 7, he pitched nine innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 11. He followed that up with another gem July 14 against the Devil Rays, again going nine innings and giving up just five hits and two walks while striking out 10. For the month of July he has gone 4-1, surrendering just seven runs in 38 1/3 innings, while striking out 44 batters.

Some other proof of Lackey's dominance this season, he ranks in the top 10 in the American League in the following categories: innings pitched (fifth), WHIP (fourth), opponents batting average (second), strikeouts (seventh), ERA (third) and complete games (third). 

The only bad number for him is the amount of losses he has, six, which is partially due to an Angels offense, which has been anemic for parts of this year. Entering games Friday, July 28, the Angels ranked 11th out of 14 teams in the American League in batting average with a team average of .267. They also ranked 12th in home runs with just 99 dingers on the season. 

Part of that is due to injuries and inexperience. Outfielders Garret Anderson (hamstring) and Darin Erstad (ankle) have both missed time, and it does not look like Erstad will make it back this season. Infielders Dallas McPherson and Howie Kendrick, two players the Angels were high on, have failed to live up to expectations. Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero and shortstop Orlando Cabrera are the only Angels who have put in a solid season this year. 

If the Angels can acquire another big bat (much like division rivals the Texas Rangers did with the acquisition of outfielder Carlos Lee) then Lackey's value will go way up. Lackey is also another bigger pitcher, and his body likely won't break down as the season wears, as has been known to happen to smaller pitchers.

Lackey has built off a solid year last year and been the ace of the Angels pitching staff this whole season. With his young age, he should only get better; and with fellow starting pitcher Jered Weaver, they should both combine to give the Angels a solid front end of their rotation for years to come. 

Lackey shows no signs of wearing down and would be a great addition via trade if your competition isn't sold on him. He's quietly having a great season and could be a great boost for your stretch run.

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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