Volstad, Chris

Volstad, the 2005 first round pick of the Marlins struck out 6.1 last season. That was a disappointment for many fantasy owners, but it probably should have thrilled them since he hadn't topped 5.5 since A-ball. Of course that wasn't what was "wrong" with Volstad last season, what was wrong was that he gave up 29 home runs in 159 innings ( a whopping 17.5 Hr/FB) as opposed to three over 84+ his rookie campaign (3.9). Sinkerballers do that to you when they ain't sinking.

The K's severely limit Volstad's appeal in fantasy although at 6.1 he would be usable. The Marlins will not be fielding a triple-A + Hanley offense this season, largely due to the not-so-friendly reminder from the league office and Players Association that Florida needed to be using it's luxury tax revenues for improving the team rather than increasing owner profits. That doesn't mean the offense will be more than ordinary. The park helps, but

Volstad's home run rates ought to lie something between the ridiculous 2009 and the sublime 2008, but there's considerable variability in this type of pitcher. He has not shown any ability to limit baserunners on a major- or minor-league level, so when he is bad, he's going to be very bad. 8-0-4.75-1.40-110. 190IP