Ross Ohlendorf

2013

There was no outlook written for Ross Ohlendorf.

2012

Ohlendorf beat the Bucs in arbitration prior to the 2011 campaign despite the fact he went 1-11 in 2010. He didn't win any arbitration awards in the most recent winter. The big righty was shut down late in 2010 and never found his mark in 2011. He threw in only nine games, registering an 8.15 ERA and 1.940 WHIP in 38.2 frames. His stuff is decent enough, but he lacks the athleticism most big league pitchers possess. There are plenty of unanswered questions revolving around his shoulder injury and fantasy owners would do well to exercise caution around the native Texan.

2011

Ohlendorf got beaned in the head by a batted ball and struggled with a shoulder ailment, causing him to miss plenty of action in 2010. The Pittsburgh offense behind Ohlendorf failed to score four runs for him 26 straight times, the longest such streak since 1974. Limited to 108 innings, the Princeton-educated righty registered a 4.07 ERA, 1.385 WHIP and .260 BAA along with a 1-11 record that would've done Schleprock proud. If Ohlendorf can stay healthy and forgo an almost irrational urge to pick runners off at first base, he could rebound nicely in 2011. His heavy fastball has limited hitters to BABIPs of .265 and .290, respectively, in the last two seasons.

2010

Ohlendorf's rapid development was the Pirates' biggest pitching surprise of the 2009 season. The big Texan compiled a 3.92 ERA, 1.234 WHIP and a 109:53 K:BB ratio in 176.2 innings. Ohlendorf, who was shut down early to keep his workload increase close to 40 innings over the previous season, gave up three earned runs or less in 20 of 29 starts. Considering he started all of five games in his career prior to 2009, it wouldn't be surprising to see him regress a bit. Ohlendorf proved to be a nice in-season fantasy pickup last year and could contribute once again in 2010 as a late-round draft choice.

2009

Ohlendorf found himself with his third organization in as many years following a trade to Pittsburgh at the deadline in 2008. The right-handed starter hasn't settled down at the major-league level, but with the Pirates starved for starting pitching, Ohlendorf will get a chance during spring training to make his case for a rotation spot. He did show excellent control at Triple-A last season, registering a 65:13 K:BB ratio in 69 innings. General manager Neal Huntington favors hard throwers, meaning that Ohlendorf will be given plenty of opportunities to pitch his way onto the big league staff in 2009.

2008

The Yankees have shifted Ohlendorf towards a bullpen role given the number of right-handed options they've already got who are major league ready, and he was actually a part of the bullpen plans in September, where he delivered six strong appearances during the playoff race. Like many of the other talented young farmhands, Ohlendorf will need to adjust to a new role or wait until he's in a different organization before he'll have a chance at making an impact.

2007

A Chris Young starter kit, Ohlendorf is a tall control pitcher out of Princeton. He doesn't have Young's stuff, but held his own at Double-A by keeping mistakes -- walks and homers -- to a bare minimum. It's a very difficult way to live in Triple-A or the AL East, so you should wait a year on him. Among Yankee pitching prospects, he's at best third in line behind Philip Hughes and Tyler Clippard, and arguably behind Humberto Sanchez too.