We’re all surprised at just about every facet of Ian Kennedy‘s 2011 stat line, but, personally, I was shocked at how good his 2010 numbers were, too. He didn’t win 21 games or post an ERA under 3.00 like he did last season, but his 1.20 WHIP was pretty good and I’ll always take a chance on a pitcher with a .223 OBA over 194 innings. With two back-to-back useful seasons — and useful doesn’t even begin to describe his numbers last year — Kennedy has become somewhat of a proven commodity. His 3.22 FIP was 20th-best of the 98 pitchers who threw at least 160 innings, and his 1.09 WHIP ranked 13th. You might take one look at Kennedy’s BABIPs from the last two seasons and conclude his OBAs were lucky to be .223 and .222, but Kennedy is a moderate fly ball pitcher, and fly ball pitchers tend to have lower BABIPs because flies result in hits almost half as often as ground balls. I’d be surprised if Kennedy touches 20 wins again, but he...
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