Oliver Perez

2013

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2011

Perez did little to endear himself to Mets fans suffering through another poor season. He refused to go to the minors to work through his issues before finally landing on the DL with "knee tendinitis." Perez was out for more than two months, and after returning, he became the de-facto blowout pitcher, seeing minimal action. The Mets would love to rid themselves of the $12 million remaining in the last year of his contract, but look for Perez to be in camp with the team and possibly be a deep lefty out of the bullpen.

2010

Perez signed a three-year, $36 million contract prior to the 2009 season and subsequently suffered through a horrific year. He was bothered nearly all season by his right knee, which required September surgery to remove scar tissue from the patella tendon. That injury hampered his velocity and diminished his already questionable control. Perez had been able to throw strikes early in games, but the tendinitis prevented him from having the delay in his delivery, impacting the control and limiting his velocity. Perez is expected to be ready for spring training and could open the year in the Mets' rotation, depending on the team's offseason changes. You know the drill with Perez, so be prepared to whittle your fingernails down to a nub when he is on the hill.

2009

Perez finished 2008, 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, which was a substantial drop from 2007, when he went 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. The big change in his WHIP was due to his poor control, as he walked 26 more in 17 more innings in 2008 plus he was frequently behind in the count, forcing him at times to groove a pitch in the middle of the plate, resulting in the uptick in his ERA. When Perez has difficulties it is due to an inconsistent arm angle and release point, which make his pitches drift to the right and stay up in the zone. He is looking for a four- to five-year deal, worth somewhere between $12-15 million per, and is represented by agent Scott Boras, which is likely too much for management's liking, but the Mets otherwise have only three established starters -- Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey and John Maine -- under their control. Regardless of where he ends up, Perez will be a middle of the rotation starter, who will have spurts of brilliance combined with ones that make you tear your hair out.

2008

Perez took strides in resurrecting his career, building off his playoff success in 2006, to look more like the dominant pitcher he was in 2004 than the one who struggled thereafter. He can still be maddeningly inconsistent, and his key is to throw with a consistent arm angle and release point, which allows all the pieces to come together. When Perez struggles, bad mechanics make his pitches to drift to the right and stay up in the zone. Perez was dominant in May and June, then missed two weeks with a stiff back and struggled down the stretch, but that might have slightly been due to fatigue as this was his first full season since 2004. When he is on, Perez possess a nasty fastball-changeup-slider combination that keeps hitters off balance and is penciled in as the team's No. 3 starter heading into the season.

2007

Perez's maddening inconsistency resulted in the Pirates giving up on him after he struggled the first half of 2006 on the heels of his poor 2005, making his breakthrough 2004 campaign look like a fluke. Pittsburgh dealt him to New York at the trading deadline in the Xavier Nady trade and he displayed just enough in his stint during the regular and postseason with the Mets to show why young left-handed starters continue to get chances at sticking in the majors. When he is on, Perez possess a nasty fastball-changeup-slider combination that keeps hitters offbalance, but he just as easily, and more often than not, struggles with his command leading to runners on base and meatball pitches in the center of the plate. Perez is a high-risk, possible high-reward option that might get a shot at filling one of the back-end spots in the Mets rotation.

2006

Perez is probably just glad the 2005 season is in the rear-view mirror. After an amazing 2004 campaign in which Perez went 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA and 239 strikeouts, he tantalized fantasy owners with what might lie ahead in 2005. Unfortunately for both Perez and his owners, he slumped to a 7-5 mark with an earned run average that nearly doubled to 5.85. Surprisingly, the Pirates won 13 of Perez's 20 starts last year. While the team is counting on a big rebound season by the 24-year-old lefty, it might be wise to project his numbers somewhere in the middle of his last two seasons. That is, of course, assuming he doesn't get into any fights with laundry carts in St. Louis.

2005

Blessed with an electric arm, Perez harnessed his stuff in a big way in 2004 and finished 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA and 239/81 K/BB ratio in 196 innings pitched, erasing any questions about his command. The lefty led MLB starters with 10.97 strikeouts per nine innings. At 23, the future is bright for Perez, who was one of fantasy baseball's most pleasant surprises last season. He’s not going to sneak up on anyone in 2005, so he will certainly be a hot commodity when your drafts/auctions roll around. With a bit more offensive support, Perez could easily rack up a few more wins. If he does, you are looking at an elite fantasy pitcher.

2004

The young lefty, who was the key player obtained in the Brian Giles trade last year, has an electric arm, but he needs to improve his command (77 walks in 126.2 innings) before he can make the leap to the next level. On the plus side, Perez whiffed 141 batters last year, and is a threat to record double-digit strikeouts every time out. He's high-risk, high-upside, but on the perennially rebuilding Bucs, he'll be given every opportunity to prove himself right away.

2003

Perez has improved his numbers at each stop in the chain. He's always recorded high strikeout totals -- 287 strikeouts in 250 career minor league innings -- and in his first major league season, that trend continued. As Perez learns to make better situational pitches, his home run total should drop (he gave us 13 jacks in 90 big league innings) and so too should his overall numbers. That's scary when you consider he posted a 3.50 ERA as a 21-year old rookie.