Key Stats: Look past the 21 wins he accumulated in 2011. Instead look at a pitcher who is 27 years old, who not only post a career high in Wins, but decreased his BB/9 by over 1 and his ERA by almost a run from the previous year. He increased his K/9 and the percentage of ground balls he gave up. Not only did he also proceed to give up less fly balls, but his HR/FB ratio dropped by 3%. 20 wins in 2011 is far from a guarantee, but there is no doubt all his supporting numbers moved in the right direction from years prior.
Skeptics Say: In addition to his ground ball percentage increase, his line drive percentage increased by over 3%. This explains the increase in BABIP from '10 to '11. On the plus side of that, his opponents batting average remained nearly identical those two seasons (.223 and .222). Arizona is a friendly ballpark for homers, so him keeping the ball out of the air is a big plus, but he is forced to rely on good defense to keep the rest of his numbers down....
Original Story:
