Starting Pitcher Power Rankings, y'all!

It's been almost a month and a half since we last dropped some mad power rankings science on all y'all, and just a few things have happened in the interim. New(ish) faces! Near no-hitters! Awesomeness! Are you ready to read on and get down with this?

Oh, and just to mix stuff up a bit, we're looking at Win Probability Added as a key metric this time around. We don't know what it is or how it is tabulated, but it sounds really good, and we'd like to think that it adds a sprinkle of legitimacy to this made up chart.

Power Rankings! Go!

1. Ricky Romero
Previous Rank: 1. Numbers since the last rankings: 7 starts (team result: 4-3), 50.2 IPs, 36Ks / 13 BBs, 3.02 ERA, o.98 WPA.

Just keeps plugging away. Quietly consistent. Showing more endurance late in the season than he did last year. Has gone seven or more innings in all but one start over this span, and went six versus the Red Sox in that start. Assuming the Ace role, and owning it.

2. Brett Cecil
On the last episode: 3. The rundown: 7 starts (4-3), 46.2IPs, 3.47 ERA, 33/ 17 K/BB, 0.891 WPA

Keeping the ball down (finally!), and getting great results. Walks are still a little too high. A disaster start versus Angels keeps him from the top of the list.

3. Brandon Morrow
Back then: 2. Since then: 7 starts (6-1!), 41.1 IPs, 3.70 ERA, 58/17 K/BB, 0.776 WPA.

Threw possibly the most brilliant game in Jays history. Has had some sketchy outings around it, but looks to be settling into the rotation role. Sick stuff, but never looks to be overexerting.

4. Shaun Marcum
Previously: 6. What he do: 7 starts (team: 4-3), 43.2 IPs, 38 Ks / 6 BBs, 4.33 ERA, 0.319 WPA.

Putative number one starter, and still Mr. Staff Leader Guy. Incredibly articulated facial hair crafting. Long balls are an issue (seven over past seven starts).

5. Kyle Drabek
Back in the day: 4. Last ten slow jams: 63.0 IPs, 7-2 W-L, 51/22 K/BB, 2.57 ERA

Looks like he's gotten better as the season has gone on. 154 innings to date likely means he won't make it to Toronto, except maybe to hang with his future boyz. Hoping he never sets foot in Vegas. (Nashville!!!1)

6. Joel Carreno
Once upon a list: 10. 10 excursions, and then you get: 5-1, 51.2 IPs, 2.79 ERA, 65/8 K/BB

Surprise addition to last list. Climbs the charts based on ridiculous strikeout numbers. We're sure that the pseudo-scout blogs were already all over this guy, but you can add us to the Carreno Caravan.

7. Marc Rzepczynski
In those times: 5 In our times: 6 games, 4 starts, 20 IPs, 13/8 K/BB, 6.30 ERA, -0.221 WPA.

Looks wonky. Is not fooling anyone, and is depending on his defense. (Which isn't a bad thing, necessarily. But we're all about the strikeouts.)

8. Zach Stewart
Used to be: 9. Ten games add up to: 56.0 IPs, 3-1 W-L, 2.89 ERA, 42/22 ERA.

Like Drabek, stats look better as the year has gone on. We're hearing lots of love for him throughout the interwebs.

9. Brad Mills
The last time: 8 The evidence: 3 starts (3-0! Clutch!) 15.1 IPs, 5.28 ERA, 13/9 K/BB, 0.132 WPA

Got the call, and did his time with the team. A good first start versus Baltimore followed by a couple of weaker outings versus actual professional baseball teams.

10. Jesse Litsch
Then: 7. Before the breakdown: 4 starts (1-3), 22 IPs, 4.09 ERA, 9/6 K/BB, 0.062 WPA.

He's gone for now, and maybe for good. Likes to dump sugar-water over diabetics. Will be hard pressed to start next season in the rotation. Might be an option as a swing man. Wouldn't mind seeing him work out of the pen in minors to start the season.

Starting Pitcher Power Rankings, Part 2 - Go!

This is the part of the post where we make excuses for how lame the rest of the post is going to be, so here goes: We were going to take this seriously this week, and break down the perfomances of Jays starters over the past two weeks. But then we realized that we're writing up fictional Power Rankings for our own amusement. Also, pretty much every starter has had a bad week. So we're kinda making this up as we go.

Now, take heed! The Power Rankings sayeth:

1. Ricky Romero (Last week: 1)
An ERA of 9.31 in his last two starts, both losses. Five strikeouts and five walks, 14 hits in 9.2 innings. Yikes. And yet, no one takes the crown away.

2. Brandon Morrow (Last week: 4)
6.00 ERA over his last two starts, but a 15/3 K-to-walk ratio augurs well for the second half.

3. Brett Cecil (Last week: 3)
5.06 ERA over his last two, but still leaving the ball up and out of the zone. BABIP of .400 in those starts, so possibly unlucky.

4. Kyle Drabek (Last Week: 9)
We realize that it doesn't mean anything, but he tossed a no-hitter, is an Eastern League All-Star and is making noise about wanting to take on Big Leaguers now. "Whenever they think I’m ready then I’ll be ready to go." Badass.

5. Marc Rzepczynski (Last week: 7)
Gets the call to the show in spite of evil 6.66 ERA in PCL. After one start, MLB ERA is 6.35. Progress! Goes a respectable 5.2 innings against tough Twins lineup, and strikes out seven.

6. Shaun Marcum (Last week: 2)
He's broke, and on the DL. Struck out seven in his last appearance, but gave up two dingers and lasted just four innings.

7. Jesse Litsch (Last week: 5)
Here's a head scratcher: Jesse had an OPS against of .854 in his last two starts, but a BABIP of .211. He also had only two strikeouts. We can't figure that out, but there's a part of us that wonders what's going to happen when the balls start to fall in at a regular rate against Jesse.

8. Brad Mills (Last week: 8)
Alan Ashby noted on last night's radiocast that he's likely the next to get the call. 4.31 ERA in Las Vegas, which probably translates to something under 1.00 in a regular environment.

9. Zack Stewart (Last week: Unranked)
A good month at New Hampshire, with a couple of blips. Sitting on a 4.28 ERA. A few too many walks mixed in (37, versus 68 Ks in 88 innings). Seems further from the Bigs now than he did at the time of the Rolen trade.

10. Joel Carreno (Last week: Unranked)
This slot probably belongs to Henderson Alvarez, but we were a little too impressed with Carreno's 103 Ks versus just 24 walks in 86 innings so far. Gives up too many hits (96), but did you see those strikout-to-walk numbers?

Go Starting Pitcher Power Rankings!

There was a time when we were all punk rock about this blog, and all about taking down the hegemony of the clichéed, tiresome sporting press. (No, really. If you look close enough, you might find that day.) So the idea that we are going to indulge in something meaningless and lame like the filler "power rankings" pieces that publications pull together to pass off zingers as analysis is kinda antithetical to what we had set out to do.

But on the other hand, we're much better with the zingers than with the analysis. As such, we've decided to pull together a weekly (or until we get tired of it) Starting Pitcher Power Rankings column, mostly so that we can let you track our mood about the Jays' emerging rotation. (Who says the post-Halladay days aren't fun!)

So, get your respective Team RickRo, Marcum or Cecil homemade t-shirts on, and get ready for the introductory rotation roundup.

1. Ricky Romero (Last Week: 2...in my head, which is where this all comes from anyhow.)
Like we said on Twitter after last night's tough loss to the Cardinals: You know that RR Cool Jay is the ace of the staff because he's been losing or getting no-decisions in well-pitched games in the painful fashion that seemed to be inflicted on Roy Halladay endlessly over the past decade.

2. Shaun Marcum (Last Week: 3)
Marcum moves up, in spite of less then exemplary results this week. He put up decent Game Scores of 57 in a win at San Diego, and 56 in a five-inning outing against the Giants, but not enough to get back to the summit.

3. Brett Cecil (Last Week: 1)
If Brett Cecil were a 20 pack of Chicken McNuggets, we would eat him up in all at once, and not even share. But just as we were stitching the letters on our Team Brett t-shirt, he got knocked around by the Padres and Cards, pushing his ERA to 4.06.

4. Brandon Morrow (Last Week: 4)
There's this suspicion that we have that one day, Brandon is going to have a full month's worth of those starts that make us swoon. He's a number four who we could see leap-frogging to the top of the heap in one stupendous week.

5. Jesse Litsch (Last Week: Unranked)
Because of our commitment following last weekend's outstanding start against the Giants, we cannot comment negatively on any other aspects of Jesse's year so far. Suffice to say, Jesse Litsch is awesomely awesome in every way.

6. Kyle Drabek (Last Week: 9)
PCL pitchers have been awful, while Drabek has been a little better than okay in the Eastern League. We're wondering if the Jays shouldn't just leave him there and forgo any Sin City escapades.

7. Marc Rzepczynski (Last Week: 7)
Probably keeps a spot in the rankings based on reputation, in spite of his 7.01 ERA. However, a good outing against Sacratomato this week (7.2 IPs, 9Ks, 0 ERs) keeps him in the mix.

8. Brad Mills (Last Week: 6)
Mills has scuffling for most of the past month. Hasn't pitched since June 11.

9. Brian Tallet (Last Week: 5)
Last year was the Summer of Tallet. The Summer of Tallet is over.

10. Bobby Ray (Last Week: 8)
He's been hurt since May. But he's not getting any worse.

That's the countdown kids. Feel free to let us have it in the comments or on the Twitter. And remember: Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!