Josh Beckett

Beckett's 4.65 ERA is obviously disappointing, but moving from the AL East to the NL West doesn't hurt a starting pitcher's stock one bit. In seven starts for the Dodgers, Beckett compiled a 2.93 ERA while his strikeout rate rose from 6.6 K/9 with the Red Sox to a mark more in line with his career average - 8.0. The velocity on Beckett's fastball dipped for the fourth straight year in 2012, and it was a steep drop - 91.5 mph vs. 93.1 in 2011. Still, being in the division he's in should allow him to retain a fair amount of fantasy value in 2013, even if he's no longer ace material.

From a statistical perspective, Beckett had one of the most successful seasons of his career, finishing with an ERA less than 3.00 and a WHIP hovering around 1.00. Unfortunately, he was caught up in the season-ending fade with allegations of drinking in the clubhouse and poor conditioning. As Beckett has become a leader of the pitching staff, he's come under scrutiny for setting a clubhouse atmosphere that contributed, in part, to the September collapse. For better or worse, the Red Sox signed Beckett through the 2014 season and he'll be in the starting rotation come April. Avoiding injuries, perhaps through better conditioning, will be a key for Beckett, who has pitched more than 200 innings just once in last four seasons.

Other than securing a four-year commitment from Boston, the 2010 season was not too kind to Beckett, who dealt with a back injury that kept him out of action for two months. Upon returning, he struggled with his fastball command and inability to get his curveball over the plate. Even when healthy, good-hitting teams teed off on Beckett and teams that see him often in the AL East tend to hit him well. All that Boston can hope for is focused offseason preparation from Beckett, a creature of habit who will no longer have pitching coach John Farrell. He will have Jason Varitek on board, a catcher he's very comfortable with, but questions certainly abound entering the 2011 season even though he'll return as one of Boston's top-three starters.

Beckett bounced back from an injury-plagued 2008 season to post some very good numbers last season. For the third time in four seasons with Boston, Beckett topped the 200-inning mark. Like his best seasons, Beckett was dominant for stretches, especially during summer. Some mechanical flaws surfaced in late August, but the Red Sox have one of the best pitching coaches (John Farrell) in the game and those flaws were quickly corrected. He's a power pitcher for sure, but has learned to spot the breaking ball during his years in Boston and should return as a top-of-the-rotation starter in 2010. This is a contract year for Beckett, who, at 29, still has some innings left in his arm. Playing for an organization that handles its pitchers carefully, Beckett is in a position to repeat his success of recent years.

Beckett's dominating 2007 season gave way to a sometimes-dominant, sometimes-not pitcher during the 2008 season before a right arm injury cropped up in August. He avoided any serious damage to the arm, but he was clearly not the same overpowering pitcher in his September and postseason starts. We'll be waiting on word of his offseason training to see how the arm is doing, but knowing his makeup, we're betting on Beckett coming back with a vengeance in 2009. If healthy, he'll be the Red Sox' number one starter.

Beckett became Boston's best starter in 2007 and finished second in the Cy Young voting when he relied less on his fastball. He cut his home runs allowed from 36 to 17 and walks from 74 to 40, and all his rate numbers fell nicely into place. His dominant postseason (as well as his World Series performance for the Marlins in 2003) has cast him as a big-game pitcher. He'll be Boston's No. 1 starter for the foreseeable future.

Despite his 16-11 record, Beckett had a disastrous year. He gave up a whopping 36 home runs, tied for second-most in baseball. His 5.01 ERA was eighth-worst among all qualified AL pitchers, and he allowed the ninth-most earned runs in all of baseball. The only good news about Beckett's year -- besides the 16 wins -- is that he pitched more than 200 innings for the first time in his career. It seems that he's moved past the blister problems that had previously plagued him. Beckett's age (27 in May), relative health and live arm offer some cause for optimism, along with a Red Sox lineup that will give him strong run support. Beckett's numbers should improve in 2007, if only because they really can't get any worse.

Beckett set a career high for innings, wins and strikeouts in 2005, but still didn't hold up for a full season, and the Marlins finally got tired of waiting for him to fully realize his vast potential. Now in Boston, he'll have better run support than Florida could muster for him, but also a lesser defense behind him and a much less friendly home ballpark. If this is the year he puts it all together, he's going to have to do it on his own.

Beckett had another disappointing season in 2004 as he landed on the DL three times with blister problems and a back injury. He still has outstanding control and a strikeout rate that should make him an elite pitcher. One of these years he'll stay healthy and challenge for a Cy Young. The question is how much are you willing to pay to find out if this is the year?

His 2003 will forever be defined by his Game 6 shutout to clinch the World Series, but Beckett was pretty good before that, too. He set career highs in innings and strikeouts despite more blister problems and an elbow injury that had the Marlins collectively holding their breath. The first year he stays healthy, he becomes an instant favorite for the Cy Young.

Of the chronic injuries a young pitcher can have, blisters probably don't rank as one of the five worst. Beckett still struck out better than a batter an inning despite not being able to grip the baseball properly, and if he can get the blister problem resolved he's the kind of talent who can post a 15 K game or a no-hitter any time, anywhere. Of course if the blisters do clear up, then he'll have to worry about Jeff Torborg working his arm down to the nub, but first things first.