+0.5 Points: Something of a Stud

Yesterday was as good as any day can be when only three players produce. Mike Mussina and Ricky Nolasco overcame tough matchups to win their starts and Matt Holliday homered twice. Both pitchers have amazed me all year, and it’s all about command of the strike zone for both of them.

Nolasco struck out 13 Rockies- in itself an impressive feat- but he did so without walking anyone. Nolasco’s control just keeps getting better as the year goes on. He walked 25 batters in his first 13 games, over the course of 66 innings. This isn’t a bad rate, especially for a pitcher finding his bearings in the league, but something clicked and Nolasco’s been a changed pitcher in the last two months. His strikeout to walk ratio is 77 to 9 since June 10th, and, for those of you without a calculator or an aptitude for mental math, that’s a rate of nearly 9 to 1.

Nolasco’s command has improved, and as an owner of Verlander and Dice-K, it’s reassuring to have at least one pitcher who’s efficient with his pitches. Nolasco will strike people out because he’s in the strike zone and he has good stuff, but he’s not going to mess around too much. Even though he stuck out 13 last night, he went 8 innings and spent only 93 pitches. It’s the most strikeouts anyone’s totaled on less than 100 pitches in 2008. In fact, he ties 5 other pitchers for the highest single-game strikeout total of the year. He ties a couple of no-name pitchers as the one of three pitchers since 1956 to record as many Ks with as few pitches. Greg Maddux did it in 2000 and Tom Seaver pulled it off in 1971.

In real baseball and in fantasy baseball, Nolasco is something of a stud.