John Patterson

Patterson was expected to be Washington's ace in 2006, but instead he managed just eight starts between DL stints before finally being shut down completely and undergoing surgery. He still managed an excellent 42:9 K:BB ratio in his 40.2 innings though, and assuming he's at full strength in the spring he should be able to step right back up to the top of the Washington rotation. Especially in leagues where strikeouts count, Patterson is worth pursuing despite the injury risk.

Finally healthy enough to take a regular turn in a rotation, Patterson exploded, finishing in the NL top 10 in ERA (ninth, 3.13) and batting average against (eighth, .233). He wasn't simply a product of RFK Stadium either -- aside from a slightly better HR rate his home/road splits were balanced across the board, and improved control was far more responsible for his breakout. Provided he can stay on the mound and out of the trainer's room, he should take a run at 200 strikeouts in 2006.

He gave up way, way too many home runs, but Patterson's K rate was one more hint of his potential. There's still plenty of time for him to make the D-backs rue the day they dealt him.

Patterson got hurt at the wrong time late last spring and lost what seemed to be a certain spot in the rotation. After an ugly summer in Triple-A, he came back to pitch in relief in September and did OK (1.46 ERA, 1.22 WHIP in seven non-Coors outings). He'll challenge Oscar Villarreal, Edgar Gonzalez and Andrew Good for the last two rotation spots in the spring of 2004; a year ago, we'd have rated Patterson as the best of that quartet, and really, although Villarreal's stock has risen significantly in the meantime, nothing happened physically to Patterson in 2003 that should make us change our mind.

Patterson has a great shot to start the season as Arizona's fifth starter. The fifth spot gets skipped more frequently in Arizona than it does elsewhere, as Bob Brenly makes sure that Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson go every fifth day and then fills in the rest of the rotation around The Big Two. That will probably be an ideal situation for Patterson, who'll turn just 25 in the spring and will be attempting to complete his first full baseball season since injuring his elbow during 2000. A role as a fifth starter whose turn gets skipped every few weeks will help insure his arm against overuse and potential injury. It won't help his fantasy value, though. Patterson did well in limited duty with the D-Backs in 2002, posting a 3.23 ERA in seven games (five starts), with a 1.1 WHIP and 31 K's in 31 innings.