Joe Kennedy

Kennedy pitched reasonably effectively in a variety of spots for the A's following a trade from Colorado. He figures to serve in a similar role in 2006, which is more valuable in real life than fantasy.

After high expectations and an 18-31 record in three seasons in Tampa, Kennedy somehow put the pieces together in Colorado of all places. His 163 hits in 162.3 IP in a roomy stadium say this was more than a fluke. Still, acquiring any Colorado pitcher is an enormous risk and Kennedy is no exception.

Want to know how up-and-down Kennedy's year was? On May 5, he threw a one-hit shutout at Detroit, posting a game score of 90, tied for best in the AL last year. In his very ... next ... start, Kennedy gave up 10 runs on 13 hits in four-plus innings at Minnesota, good for a game score of minus-5, worst in the league last season. Wow. It was a tough year for Kennedy, who lost a month due to a shoulder injury, and was so ineffective afterward (0-5, 7.33 in nine starts after coming off the DL) that he was sent to the bullpen for the rest of the year. Kennedy has very severe lefty-righty splits (.230 BA, .686 OPS versus lefties, with one homer every 42 AB; .324, .906 versus righties, with a tater every 26 AB). Kennedy was traded to Colorado in the offseason. His value was already shaky to begin with; now that he's in Colorado, it's pretty much gone.

Kennedy got stretched from a 20-start, 5.9 innings/start debut workload in 2001 (at the age of 22) to a 30-start, 6.6 innings/start workload in 2002 (five complete games), with essentially the same ERA (4.44 in 2001, 4.53 in 2002). Continued good WHIP numbers, but we're still concerned about his low strikeout rate (a below-average 6.0 K's per 9 IP in 2001, and it dropped to 5.0 in 2002). He'll be a fixture in the Rays' rotation, perhaps even No. 1 on the staff, if healthy. However, with that low K rate, lots of balls get put into play behind him, and he therefore needs a great defense behind him to put up really good numbers. Tampa Bay doesn't have that yet. Bid on Kennedy as if he was a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher on a sub-.500 team, which is where he is in terms of his development right now.