Philip Humber (29)
W – 11
ERA – 3.95
WHIP – 1.29
K/9 – 6.2
The former top prospect-turned-journeyman was finally given a shot to start in the majors and he did pretty damn well. It came out of nowhere, and was a very interesting tale of 2 halves. Looking at his stats, it seemed like he had a great 1st half, then fell apart in the 2nd half. Interestingly, his strikeout rate went from a meager 5.5 K/9 rate in the 1st half to a very respectable 7.7 K/9 rate in the 2nd half. However, along with the added strikeouts, he also had a low LOB% of 67%, ridiculously high hit rate of 36%, his LD rate went from 14% to 21%, and his HR/FB rate went from 6% to 11% so he was clearly more hittable in the 2nd half. Lefties lit him up at a .325 mark in the 2nd half as well. His overall stat line of 3.75 ERA and 1.18 WHIP looks great and is backed up by peripherals that support that line, but it’s more likely he regresses and stays inconsistent than that he progresses or remains as successful in 2012. He failed to be better than mediocre 4 times in AAA before his breakout with the White Sox, so I’m more than a little skeptical. That being said, he should definitely be drafted in deep mixed leagues and should be a useful pitcher.