Mark Redman

Redman was the Royals’ lone All Star in 2006, propelled to that status by a run of five straight wins in June. He faltered in July and August but then caught fire again, pitching quality starts in six of his final eight. Redman credited his strong finish with the adoption of a new cutter. He finished with inconsistent overall numbers, but armed with the cutter could be a nice sleeper if the free agent lands in the right situation.

After a shaky spring training, Redman started the 2005 campaign on fire. He collected quality starts in 13 of his first 14 appearances, though he had just a 4-3 record to show for it. Through 93 1/3 innings, he sported an impressive 2.80 ERA. Then the wheels fell off. Redman went 1-11 the rest of the way, finishing with a 5-15 mark overall, and a 4.90 ERA. His season ended a few starts early with a fractured index finger. Redman will put up innings in Kansas City, but his inconsistency makes him a questionable fantasy pick.

Redman's K/9IP and K/BB ratio dipped in 2004, with a resultant ballooning of his ERA. His road numbers showed some ability (2.90 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) compared to A's home games (7.46 ERA, 1.86 WHIP) so there's hope now that he's in Pittsburgh.

He missed about a month with a broken thumb, but even so, it was a career season for Redman by a wide margin. The rest provided by the injury might have been a blessing in disguise, as his early season pitch counts were downright brutal, including three starts of 130+ pitches. We'll see if the strain takes its toll this year.

For a little over three months, from May to early August, Redman was the most underrated left-hander in the American League, compiling a 2.44 ERA over one 19-start stretch, and working six innings or more in every one of those appearances. The innings caught up to him, though, and from mid-August on, things really bottomed out. Redman was hit hard over his last seven starts (37 earned runs in 38 2/3 innings), then shut down for the year with a tired arm (gee, no kidding). In the offseason, the Tigers decided to move the left-center field fence in 25 feet, a change that figures to hurt Redman, a fly-ball pitcher, as much as anyone. His ERA split for last year (3.29 home, 5.07 road) might be a little misleading, as five of his messy seven starts at the end of the year came on the road, so don't completely right him off yet. Then again, don't make getting him a priority, either.