One of the major pitching components I look for in 5x5 leagues is strikeouts per 9 IP.  Wins can provide a false sense of a pitcher’s success, so I search for a better gauge of efficiency.  If you are in a competitive league, your fellow owners probably do the same thing.  Here’s a look at some players you may be considering when trying to increase your team’s strikeout total.

Johnny Cueto - After a disastrous 6 inning-5 earned run performance against the Padres, Cueto has made 5 strong starts in a row lowering his ERA to 3.67.  Do you remember how dominant he was in the first 3 months of 2009 before his ERA blew up and he landed on the DL?  Well, after a 6.00 ERA in April, he now appears on track.   Cueto has struck out 40 batters in 49 innings, giving him decent value for those looking for K’s.

Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino – Both of Houston’s young flamethrowers sport gaudy K/9 ratios, but neither has found any consistency.  They have ERAs in the 5.00 – 6.00 range along with an equally unimpressive WHIP.  They’re best left on the bench in NL-only leagues until there is some sense of progress beyond the K’s.

Tom Gorzelanny – Between 2007 and 2008, Gorzelanny struck out 202 batters in 307 innings, so he never really displayed dominant strikeout ability.  He’s somehow found his inner K-mojo amassing 95 strikeouts over his last 92.2 IP.  That’s a pretty decent sample size, but I am more worried about his ERA staying in the 3.00 level.

Ian Kennedy – So far Kennedy has a 3.24 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in addition to 49 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched.  He amassed 273 K’s in 248 IP over his minor league career – so he certainly has the pedigree to keep up a healthy ratio.  

Brandon Morrow – Ringing up 54 batters in 41 innings sure is impressive, the 6.15 ERA and 1.68 WHIP cause concern.  He did have a strong outing against the Rangers on Sunday, so there is room for hope.

Daniel Bard – Don’t forget about hard-throwing relievers like Daniel Bard.  He has 26 Ks in 22 IP which trumps a lot of starters - Fausto Carmona has 26 strikeouts in 51.1 inning pitched and Mark Buehrle has 20 K’s in 51.1 IP.