Javier Vazquez

Vazquez's 2011 campaign, which looks like it might be the last of his career, started out with a whimper. Two months into the season a legitimate argument could be made that he was the worst starting pitcher in the majors. Then suddenly in mid-June his fastball started topping 90 mph again with regularity and he went from being among the worst starters to among the best, putting up a better than 4:1 K:BB ratio and ERA in the low 2.00s for the rest of the year. If he goes out on that kind of high note more power to him, and all indications this spring are that he is calling it a career.

Frank Sinatra's beloved "New York, New York" may as well be fingernails on a chalkboard to Vazquez, who just can't seem to find success in the big city. After a disappointing season in which Vazquez was bumped from the rotation on several occasions due to ineffectiveness, he declined arbitration from the Yankees and inked a deal with Florida and the greener pastures of the National League. The move back to the NL should help, but Vazquez's average fastball velocity plummeted to 89.0 mph last season, leading to legitimate concerns about whether he can ever get it back anywhere close to its previous levels. Toss in the fact that his arm already has more than 2,600 innings of major league mileage on it, and the prospects for a bounce-back season aren't as bright as you might think.

Moving back to the NL suited Vazquez well as he may have had the best season of his career as Atlanta's No. 1 starter. He continued to be a reliable source of strikeouts with his third consecutive season of over 200 strikeouts and the best rate (9.7 K/9IP) of his career. He also allowed less than a home run per game for the first time in his career and improved upon already strong control (238:44 K:BB ratio). For whatever reason, he avoided some of the drama that plagued his days with the White Sox. About the only knock on his season was that he only went more than eight innings in six outings, but part of that may have been due to a deep Atlanta bullpen. Vazquez was traded to the Yankees in December, which should lead to a few more balls leaving the park and a lower strikeout rate in 2010. He's a different pitcher than he was during his failed stint in the Bronx a few years back, but don't expect him to repeat his 2009 success.

Vazquez was an above-average starter in a bad park for him in front of a mediocre defense in the AL. The move from the White Sox to the Braves could be worth half a run or more of ERA depending on how the Braves' outfield defense shakes out. Whatever you think he might do this year, bump it up a notch, because he's going to get downballot Cy Young votes and be an NL All-Star.

Vazquez had a very quiet 15-win, 213 strikeout season for the South Siders. After bouncing around for a few seasons he seemed to benefit greatly from spending his second straight year with pitching coach Don Cooper. With a young rotation (aside from the fossilized bones of Contrerasaurus Rex) behind him and Mark Buehrle after the trade of Jon Garland, Vazquez will be asked to anchor the Sox rotation this season. He's been a steady source of solid K and WHIP numbers for several years even though his longball issues can inflate his ERA and that trend figures to continue this year.

In early August, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper worked with Vazquez on a higher release point. After that, he rattled off five outings with 10 or more strikeouts, including a two-hit, 13-strikeout gem at Toronto. Fair or not, Vazquez is often judged based on his $10 million salary. That sounds like a steal for a guy posting 1.2 WHIPs and throwing 200 innings (or close) for the past seven seasons. If he can build on that late-season success, watch out in 2007.

Vazquez rebounded a bit in 2005. Although still in the fours, his ERA improved and his strikeout rate made a big comeback. In the end, however, given his home park and the awful outfield defense behind him, this was the best Vazquez could do. Heck, the 2004 Yanks and 2005 D-Backs may rank among the very worst defensive outfields in this young century. Think that had anything to do with the high ERAs? With the trade to Chicago, he could be undervalued on draft day.

Vazquez rebounded a bit in 2005. Although still in the fours, his ERA improved, and his strikeout rate made a big comeback. In the end, however, given his home park and the awful outfield defense behind him, this was the best Vazquez could do. (You know, the 2004 Yanks and 2005 D-Backs may be among the very worst defensive outfields in this young century -- think that had anything to do with Vazquez' ERA rising the last two years?) Vazquez filed a trade request in October; if he winds up in the right situation, he could be very undervalued on draft day.

Vazquez upped his K's while dropping his ERA, making 2003 the first in what could be a few career years with the Yankees. A nasty, nasty workload -- 110 pitches a game -- makes it clear in retrospect he wasn't going to be back with the Expos no matter what, but he held up fairly well under the strain, and there's no obvious reason to expect a breakdown in 2004.

Instead of becoming The Man after a breakthrough 2001, Vazquez regressed. But that's been known to happen from time to time with young pitchers, so it's no cause for alarm. Still 26 with a world of talent and a 16-win, 200-K season already under his belt, and no record of horrific pitch count abuse. Let's go out on a limb and pencil him in for an All-Star appearance next year.